Hope Blooms: Plant a Seed, Harvest a Dream

Hope Blooms describes an innovative, award-winning project 10 years in the making which sprang from the vision of one person who worked in inner-city health and who saw the many negative effects of inaccessibility to good food and realized the power of hope for change. Her dream of using organic, urban-based agriculture to feed and involve a Halifax community caught up in the cycle of poverty has blossomed into a vibrant, inclusive social enterprise that has given its participants a sense of family, a love of education and hope for the future. Driven by the tenet, “Food is the one true universal language”, the content here revolves around food cultivation, preparation and sharing.

The book opens with a brief overview in the “Foreword” by Arlene Dickinson, of television’s Dragons’ Den, who wholeheartedly supports Hope Blooms for its empowerment of youth. The “Introduction” by director and founder, Jessie Jollymore, shares in more detail the rationale, goals and programming under which Hope Blooms operates, and presents a timeline beginning in 2008. Chapter 1 takes a more in-depth look at the programming, listing the many accomplishments to date. In Chapter 2, several young participants share views of their inner-city life and how involvement in Hope Blooms has changed their mind-set, while the third chapter focuses on how this enterprise took the concept of a simple community garden so much farther. Chapter 4 contains recipes that have been developed from the produce of the gardens and their own greenhouse—including trout raised with a hydroponic system. Chapter 5 summarizes some thoughts about the value of an enterprise such as Hope Blooms. The sixth chapter details the young committee’s approach to Dragons’ Den and what they gained from the experience.
The final chapter lists some post-secondary academic accomplishments of those who have benefitted from Hope Blooms scholarships (generated with funds raised from sales of salad dressing made with their own produce), and shares in their own words what it has meant personally to be part of this family. One ambitious young man, Mamadou Wade, offers his interpretation in this short poem:

victory I taste,
fear stays near, doubt looms, but
dreams squash nightmares.

The motto of Hope Blooms is, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” It is clear from the wise and passionate voices speaking in this book that new attitudes are a crucial element of the concept, and that those attitudes are fostered daily and over the long term by the inclusive nature of the enterprise. A sense of belonging, being valued for whatever you can contribute, embracing diversity (new Syrian immigrant families have been drawn in) and always seeking ways to give back—all these are key to the success of Hope Blooms. Dreams are encouraged and supported, evidenced by the academic achievements of many of the young people who have made a commitment to the group. A world of choices becomes open to them: studying organic urban agriculture, culinary arts, food management, computer science among other pursuits. Instead of continuing to live in poverty amid food insecurity in their neighborhood, these young people are gaining the self-confidence to realize their dreams and create their own healthier futures.

Like the garden they cultivate, Hope Blooms is full of sunshine in both its words and its engaging, thoughtfully-captioned photographs. The enthusiastic participants are shown in high quality photos, involved in activities and celebrating their newfound abilities and relationships. Although the type size is small and quite dense and the reading level fairly high, the text is presented in small chunks accessible to a young adult or adult readership. Prepare to be inspired when you read this one.