West Oakland is an urban food desert with something like 85 liquor stores, many fast food outlets and 0 proper grocery stores. The bottom line is that fresh produce is not common in those stores, and all of the food at those outlets is marked up from 30 to 100%. It's not a good way to eat.
OBUGS is one of many West Oakland organizations working to bring fresh, healthy, affordable food to the neighborhood (City Slickers, People's Grocery, etc). OBUGS is unique in that it is working to create demand for this food, not just supply.
Anyone who hasn't had access to fresh food won't know how to cook it, and probably won't like it at first. I know this firsthand having grown up in the Midwest, where canned green beans were our veggies for the day most days. By introducing kids in a hands-on environment to this kind of food, they're making it easy to fold into their daily lives as a lifelong habit.
OBUGS is also just a great place to volunteer. In my experience at a volunteer management nonprofit, I know that what's crucial to a volunteer experience is feeling that what you're doing really matters.
OBUGS has a staff of two full-time employees and an annual budget that's the size of other nonprofits' printing allocation. The workdays we do are something they truly need. And it's not something that others have yet stepped up to do.
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- EIN 94-3345794
- 510-465-4660
- 1724 Mandela Pkwy 1 Oakland CA 94607 USA
- http://www.obugs.org
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Nonprofit Overview
Causes: Children & Youth, Children & Youth Services, Community Improvement & Capacity Building, Food, Nutrition
Mission: Since 1998, OBUGS (Oakland Based Urban Gardens) has been building healthy communities through experiential learning programs offered to children, youth, and families.
Results: We are currently serving over 500 children each week and gearing up for a fun-filled summer camp program culminating in a camping trip.
Target demographics: We work with children and youth ages 2-14.
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This organization's nonprofit status may have been revoked or it may have merged with another organization or ceased operations.