Creating Change in the Community – Clean Socks Hope, Inc.

Clean Socks Hope, Inc., a faith-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit located at Midtown Commons in New Albany, Indiana , is pursuing a Special Project with the City of New Albany by razing a former drug house, clearing the three lots and re-purposing the property as a neighborhood green space. The goal is to supplement their wildly successful Midtown Neighborhood Network Food Co-op by creating space that their clients’ children and the community can use to learn, supplement and end food insecurity by growing what is needed and then creating an economy by selling their excess yields at New Albany’s Farmer’s Market.

The Community Foundation of Southern Indiana granted a $12,000 Catalyst Grant to support the outdoor classroom and life lab by constructing a greenhouse. The greenhouse will allow Midtown residents to extend their food budgets by growing their own food. While this concept is not new, this will be the first garden co-op in the area for and run by working poor families and their children. It will also instill community stewardship of local green space and raise ecological awareness through education, outreach, training, and demonstration projects.