SMITHFIELD, Va., Aug. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pure Farmland^™ is proud to present the recipients of the 2021 Pure Growth Project grant program. After receiving 103 applications from community gardens and farms across 29 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, 55 organizations have been carefully selected to receive grants ranging from $1,000 to $20,000, providing a total of $125,000 in financial support to nurture these unique neighborhood spaces. Pure Farmland launched the Pure Growth Project initiative in 2020 to ensure community gardens and farms continue to thrive, and to help increase access to fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables nationwide. In the spirit of continued growth, Pure Farmland increased its financial commitment by 25% this year in hopes of positively supporting as many community green spaces as possible.

"Pure Farmland provided $100,000 in grants to valuable green spaces throughout the country last year. Through on-the-ground visits and virtual discussions, we saw the direct impact of the funds and how they helped these amazing organizations grow, from greenhouse development and construction of raised beds, to fostering educational programs so residents can learn skills to produce their own food," said Michael Merritt, senior director of marketing for Pure Farmland at Smithfield Foods. "The impact of last year's Pure Growth Project grant program encouraged Pure Farmland to expand the initiative in 2021 to empower these deserving organizations to continue to do good in their communities. We're honored and excited to see the amazing work of this year's grant recipients."

2021 Pure Growth Project Grant Recipients
Bonton Farms | Dallas, Texas
Garden of Tomorrow | Phoenix, Ariz.
Summit Community Gardens | Park City, Utah
Geer Street Learning Garden | Durham, N.C.
Homeless Garden Project | Santa Cruz, Calif.
Red Bird | Beverly, Ky.
Root Cause Farm Community Garden | Fairview, N.C.
Rosalinda Sauro Sirianni Garden | Pittsburgh, Pa.
Sweetwater Organic Farms | Tampa, Fla.
Urban Harvest STL | St. Louis, Mo.
Acta Non Verba: Youth Urban Farm | Oakland, Calif.
Bed-Stuy Farm | Brooklyn, N.Y.
Bethany Community Gardens | Indianapolis, Ind.
BOSS Ursula Sherman Village Gardens | Berkeley, Calif.
Bruno Vegetable Garden | Birmingham, Ala.
Camden City Garden Club, Inc. | Camden City, N.J.
Campbell Avenue Garden (LEAP) | Roanoke, Va.
CoHO Gardens | Conway, Ark.
Community Gardens of Carrollton, The Giving Garden | Carrollton, Texas
Duncan Street Miracle Garden | Baltimore, Md.
Fort Stanton Urban Farm | Washington, D.C.
Friends of Alemany Farm | San Francisco, Calif.
Garner Grows | Garner, N.C.
Gateway Greening, Inc. | St. Louis, Mo.
Grow Dat Youth Farm | New Orleans, La.
Harvest for the Hungry | Houston, Texas
Historic Mableton Community Garden | Mableton, Ga.
Live Oak Community Garden | Dallas, Texas
Lydia's Magic Garden | New York, N.Y.
Madison Garden | Chicago, Ill.
Melrose Foraging Forest | Cincinnati, Ohio
North Lawndale Greening Committee Slumbusters' Garden | Chicago, Ill.
North Lawndale Triangle Garden | Chicago, Ill.
Organic Food Garden | St. Louis, Mo.
Our Block Community Garden | Chicago, Ill.
Phoenix LOC Grow Space | Phoenix, Ariz.
Raleigh City Farm | Raleigh, N.C.
Redden Gardens | Covington, Ky.
Seminole Heights Community Garden | Tampa, Fla.
Sgt. Anthony Community Garden | Jersey City, N.J.
Shamba Ya Amani | Houston, Texas
Sickles Street Garden | Philadelphia, Pa.
SkyART Artist's Garden | Chicago, Ill.
Spaces of Opportunity | Phoenix, Ariz.
Target Hunger Shotwell Garden | Houston, Texas
Tenderloin People's Garden | San Francisco, Calif.
The Fellowship Garden | Tulsa, Okla.
The GRACE Project | Poulsbo, Wash.
The Healing Green Space | Bolton, N.C.
The Zubi Garden | Newark, N.J.
Urban Community Farm | Fort Myers, Fla.
Village Institute for Sustainable Technologies and Agriculture (VISTA Gardens) | Tampa, Fla.
VINES | Binghampton, N.Y.
Wasatch Community Gardens | Salt Lake City, Utah
WE Over Me Farm | Dallas, Texas

For more information, please visit puregrowthproject.com. Pure Farmland is a brand of Smithfield Foods.

About Pure Farmland^™
Pure Farmland^™ is a maker of high-quality, plant-based protein products, such as breakfast links and patties, burger patties, meatballs, pre-seasoned protein starters, and dinner links and serves retail customers. Pure Farmland products are proudly crafted in the USA with soy protein, coconut oil, natural flavors, are gluten and dairy free, and serve as a good source of protein. To learn more about Pure Farmland, please visit www.Pure-Farmland.com, and connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Pure Farmland is a brand of Smithfield Foods.

About Smithfield Foods, Inc.
Headquartered in Smithfield, Va. since 1936, Smithfield Foods, Inc. is an American food company with agricultural roots and a global reach. Our 63,000 team members are dedicated to producing "Good food. Responsibly.^®" and have made us one of the world's leading vertically integrated protein companies. We have pioneered sustainability standards for more than two decades, including our industry-leading commitments to become carbon negative in U.S. company-owned operations and reduce GHG emissions 30 percent across our entire U.S. value chain by 2030. We believe in the power of protein to end food insecurity and have donated hundreds of millions of food servings to our communities. Smithfield boasts a portfolio of high-quality iconic brands, such as Smithfield^®, Eckrich^® and Nathan's Famous^®, among many others. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com, and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

SOURCE Smithfield Foods, Inc.