TIGERMOUNTAIN FOUNDATION

Since 2007, TigerMountain’s (TMF) MISSION has been to empower people by building flourishing community gardens on vacant lots in South Phoenix. TMF provides healthier eating and life skills support plus workforce development through neighborhood revitalization and beautification. Our VISION is to act as a change agent for eliminating food insecurity, improving wellness and building stronger, more active communities. TMF has a multi-faceted approach – 1. Workforce/economic development; this provides sustainability through agri-landscaping income, incubator farm workforce development, farmers market income, and community gardens. 2. Personal Strategy Roadmap (PSR) includes goal setting by participants, financial literacy education, case management, mentoring, educators, instructors and recidivism reduction; participants are mentored individually based on their needs to enable them to reach their goals. 3. Active lifestyle, healthier living; outdoor exercise, nutrition and cooking instruction, wellness promotion – this will reduce the incidence of poor food choice illnesses in this community, and bolster immune systems to fight Covid-19. We "grow" future leaders with participants being assigned a mentor and completing a Personal Strategy Roadmap with personal and community goals, workforce development and active living healthy lifestyle education. We are a BIPOC and minority led initiative that embraces and embodies diversity and inclusivity with growers/producers, especially people of color, women, senior citizens, at-risk youth, the LGBTQ+ community, farmers from around the world, reentry populations, veterans and people with disabilities located in traditionally underserved communities. TMF is intergenerational, and multi-cultural – all are welcome. Based on hours worked, we offer participants incentives on the path to real time workforce and economic development. TMF uses ABCD -- Asset Based Community Development to give the community a hand up, not a hand up.