Victory Garden Blitz volunteers celebrate a record effort in 2016, bringing the total number of gardens installed to more than 3,000 since the program began.Photo: Case Construction Equipment
Case Construction Equipment and its parent company, CNH Industrial, donated a skid steer to the 8th Annual Victory Garden Blitz in the Greater Milwaukee area, helping the volunteers achieve a record-breaking installation of 555 gardens.
The effort brought the grand total since the project began in 2009 to more than 3,000 gardens for communities throughout Milwaukee.
The original Victory Garden Initiative started as a way to support the war effort during WWI and WWII. Today, their mission focuses on empowering communities to grow their own food and re-establish the relationship between human and food ecology.
Case/CNH Industrial is one of many partners of the Victory Garden Blitz. In addition to financial sponsorship of the initiative, the manufacturer donated the use of an SV300 skid steer for the event. The machine helped move more than 550 yards of soil.
“We are so grateful to Case and CNH Industrial for lending us the skid steer again this year,” said Gretchen Mead, executive director of the Victory Garden Initiative. “It’s hard to imagine how we would be able to build 555 gardens – a new record – all throughout the Milwaukee area if we didn’t have the support of CNH Industrial.”
The Greater Milwaukee Victory Garden Blitz is a county-wide event that builds gardens for people in all neighborhoods and walks of life in order to help them grow their own vegetables, Mead said, “right in their own front yards, backyards, empty lots and community spaces. These gardens have been shown to help people eat better food, contribute to a sense of wellbeing for many of the garden recipients and connect community members to each other.”
Athena Campos, senior director of marketing for Case Construction Equipment, called the installation of 3,000 gardens “an amazing achievement and one that we’re proud to hold up as an example of community improvement and sustainable living.”
The gardens are made possible with a $160 donation or sponsorship. Each garden is 4 feet by 8 feet. Volunteers perform the full installation. Soil is provided by local composters.
For more information about the Victory Garden Blitz, go here.
