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MEDIA KIT
Sow Much Good (SMG) was founded to eliminate socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic health disparities that result
from a lack of access to nutritionally dense food products in
marginalized populations. SMG works to achieve food justice
through programming and community based initiatives
designed to provide equal access to organic food sources;
to inspire individuals to take charge of
their health and to promote
healthy lifestyles through food
and nutrition.
The Facts
An urban food desert is an area
in a city where healthy,
affordable food is difficult to obtain.
Mecklenburg County has 60 neighborhoods with over 73,000
residents living in urban food deserts.
S›ince its inception in 2008, Sow Much Good has helped
spare hundreds of people from nutritional starvation through
education, the Grow Your Own program and local farm
stands.
Diabetes, hypertension and obesity are no one’s birth right –
these chronic health problems can be greatly reduced
through a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Sow Much Good
gives marginalized communities access to the nutritious
produce and education they need to combat these
devastating diseases.
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Sow Much Good is committed to growing
healthy communities in underserved
neighborhoods by:
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Vision:
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Providing direct access to fresh, affordable
food.
Educating and engaging residents to
adopt healthy eating habits.
Advocating for the right of every person to
have real food security.
Neighborhoods that
suffer from food
insecurity will be
transformed into well-served communities.
Values:
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We believe in igniting the power within to:
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Be stewards of the land.
Practice sustainable growing methods.
Collaborating with the communities we serve.
Create meaningful spaces.
Promote healthy food as a right, not a
privilege.
Advocate for social justice.
Mission, Vision & Values
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After spending 20 years in corporate America, a force
tugged inside Robin Emmons to leave her job in the
financial services industry for an unplanned journey.
One week after quitting, Emmons helped her brother
find residence in a mental health facility; however,
while being treated he became unhealthy due to the
consumption of canned and sugary foods. Robin, a
gardener, donated produce to the facility and her
brother’s physical health improved dramatically.
It was here, in 2008, where Emmons found her passion - using food as
a vehicle to promote social justice on important issues such as food
access in marginalized communities. The advocate, activist,
humanitarian, gardener and now, farmer, dug up her entire
backyard and sowed the seeds for the nonprofit, Sow Much Good.
She dedicated herself to eliminating systemic barriers in the food
system that disproportionately affects the working poor and
underserved populations.
Since the launch of Sow Much Good, the activist has worked tirelessly
to raise awareness about inequities in the food system that eliminate
the basic human right of a significant number of people to access
clean, healthy food through workshops, farm stands and speaking
opportunities.
The farmer is an alumna of the McColl Center for Visual Art's
Innovation Institute, a CNN Hero, a William C. Friday Fellow for Human
Relations (2011 - 2013 Class) and a graduate of UNC Charlotte with a
degree in Political Science. She has been featured in the local and
national media for the organization’s work to alleviate nutritional
starvation in low-income communities through gardening.
About the Founder
Emmons is a native Bostonian and a NC transplant of 20 years who
resides in Huntersville, NC with her husband.
Sow Much Good Facts
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Food Desert, an area in a city where healthy, affordable food is difficult to
obtain, most prevalent in low-socioeconomic minority communities, and is
associated with a variety of
diet-related health problems.
73,000 people in 60 Charlotte
neighborhoods live in a food desert.
Since its inception in 2008, Sow Much Good has
helped spare thousands of people from
nutritional starvation through education, the
Grow Your Own program and local farm stands.
Sow Much Good uses non-chemical growing methods to include composting;
manual pest control; development of an ecosystem in the garden space for
amphibians and reptiles.
Sow Much Good hasl micro farm locations that produce over 8 tons of food
per year.
Sow Much Good was commissioned to design and build a learning garden at
the Charlotte campus of the nationally recognized KIPP Charter School in
August 2012.
In the grocery store, organically grown tomatoes sell for about $3.50/lb. Sow
Much Good sells these same tomatoes for about $1.50/lb. at farm stands in
food deserts.
Currently the government spends over $168 billion dollars on un-insured or
under insured people suffering from hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol
and obesity. Eating organic produce helps reduce these health conditions
dramatically.
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Sunset Road Urban Farm : : Charlotte, NC
 A Sow Much Good / Martin Marietta
Neighborhood Collaborative with a
farmers market, honey bee collection and
chicken coop onsite.
Hubbard Road Farm Site :: Huntersville, NC
 Harvest from this four acre site used to
support farmer’s market which sells
produce at very low costs in underserved
communities.
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Winner, Charlotte ATHENA Leadership Award, ATHENA International (2014)
Honoree, AETNA African American History Calendar, Transforming Communities
(2014)
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CNN Hero, CNN Heroes (2013)
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Winner, Humanitarian Award, UNC Charlotte Alumni Association Awards
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Heroes Next Door, “EBONY Magazine” (May 2013)
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Speaker, TEDx Charlotte (2013)
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Newsmaker of the Year, “Charlotte Post” (2012)
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Heroes Among Us, “People Magazine” (August 6, 2012)
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Winner, Sustain Charlotte Sustainability Award for Food Production (April 2012)
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Finalist, SEED20 Competition (2012)
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Alumni, McColl Center Innovation Institute
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Awarded, WildAcres Leadership Initiative - William C. Friday
Fellowship For Human Relations
Awards & Recognitions
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Winner, Presbyterian Congregational Health Promoters Community Service Award
2014 AETNA African American
History Calendar
Robin Emmons
Sow Much Good
Charlotte, NC
“Food is the one thing we
share in common. It's a space
where we can all meet.”
2014 calendar entitled “Community Transformations
African Americans creating sustainable neighborhoods.”
“The
Secret
Lifeselected
of Walter
Mitty”
The
Walter
Mitty Team
24 inspiring
stories
from
the world on how they #LETLIFEIN.
Findaround
Your Frame
“Today’s Charlotte Woman” August
2012
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Media Contact & Speaking Requests
 Denada Jackson, Bella Boca PR
[email protected], 704.957.1447
Organization Info
 www.sowmuchgood.org
Social Media
 Facebook
 www.facebook.com/SowMuchGood
 Twitter
 @SowMuchGood
 Instagram
 SowMuchGood