We're Transforming Food Deserts to Beauty!
Beauty's Community Garden's programs, events, and educational materials focus on breaking the cycle of food insecurity, poor nutrition, and the resulting health outcomes people within communities with limited access to fresh produce experience. These communities are called food deserts. Our garden is located in one of forty plus food deserts in Houston. We are committed to bringing awareness and impacting the lives of the residents in these communities.
2.1 Million
People within the U.S. reside in food desert communities.
400,000
Reside in one of 40+ food deserts in
Houston, Texas alone.
Health Impact
Poor diet and access to processed foods result in poor health.
Learning about what we eat and where it comes from has a transformative influence on how we grow, feel, and act.
More than giving food that feeds for a day, we teach you how to become your own food source, and the advantages of bringing plant-based foods into your diet, gaining a global, cultural, and scientific appreciation for food, and setting you on a lifetime path of personal, physical, and emotional wellbeing.
Sweet Potato Leaves
Ipomoea batatas
Herbaceous perennial - tubers & leaves
Plant and Harvest - end of May to first frost
Plant as a seed or slip, temperature 75°F-95°F
Name - Sweet Potato Leaves (root vegetable)
Sweet potato leaves (leafy green) are a herbaceous perennial vine, bearing alternate triangle-shaped or palmately lobed leaves and medium-sized trumpet-like flowers. The stems usually crawl on the ground and form adventitious roots.
Culinary Use
The entire sweet potato leaf is edible. It can be boiled, stir-fried, steamed, or added to soups and salads. To reduce bitterness blanche for a few minutes.
Nutrition
Sweet potato leaves are fat-free, 1 Cup (64 g) 100 grams: 41 Calories. Daily Value: Potassium 312 mg (8%); Carbohydrate 7g, (2%); Fiber 1.9 g (7%); Protein 2.2 g (4%); Vitamin C (2%); Iron (3%); Vitamin B6 (10%); Magnesium (12%); Calcium (3%).
Sweet Potato Leaves Cultivation
Sweet potatoes are a warm-season crop (summer & fall) that grows easily from slips and loves warm, moist temperatures. Harvest 90-125 days. Suitable temperatures are between 75°-95°F. Harvest leaves during the season to give potatoes room to grow.
Body Benefits
Sweet potato leaves contain antioxidants. The leaves could help with eye health, blood pressure, heart health, swelling, hair health, digestive system, and bone density.
Origin & History
The sweet potato originates in South America in what is present-day Ecuador. The domestication of sweet potato occurred in either Central or South America at least 5,000 years ago.
“I started volunteering at Beauty’s Garden in 2020 to raise vegetables and work in a garden like I love to do. It’s hard to make new friends in middle age, and to make it worse I came to Houston at the beginning of the pandemic so I was so isolated, living and working alone. There was no where to go! Nothing was open where I could talk to other people! The Garden turned out to be the only place I could bring my mask and interact safely, outdoors, with diverse but like-minded people. We literally have people from age 8 to 80 coming to help every week. During a time of loneliness and crushing ennui across the country, we’re growing organic food together for the needy, learning about horticulture, and sharing at our potlucks. I hardly know anyone in Houston but my Beauty’s Garden friends are looking forward to seeing me every week.”
Maggie Wineland
New Houstonite
Knowledge is Power!
Root-level transformation happens through discovery, empowerment, and support focused on a path to a healthy and dignified life.
PROGRAMS: Our programs provide the foundation for our community impact. Our year-round Urban Farming and Rooted In Wellness (formally Cooking Healthy) programs are held at the garden and sometimes online. Our Desert to Beauty program expands our community engagement and impact to other 40+ Food Deserts communities. These programs are just a taste of what to expect. You can learn more about what we're up to by clicking the link below.
PUBLICATION: The Green Seedling Magazine, is a seasonal, quarterly, fun-filled, STEAM educational green to health magazine providing engaging family-friendly content. The magazine was a joint project between Beauty's Community Garden and PEACE through PIE, under a two-year, BeWell Acres Homes grant focused the grant ended December 2023. Feel free to access each magazine copy by clicking the link below.
SUPPORT: As a non-profit, we count on your support to develop and provide programs, events and food to the community. Our 8th annual PEACE through PIE Community Event & Fundraiser, was held Saturday, January 13, 2024 (see post event page). Thigh this annual event we raise funds to support our year-round garden and rooted in wellness programs, youth education programs and events throughout the year.
The next annual MLK PEACE through PIE event will be January 18, 2025.
