Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Sep 03, 2025

Kimbal Musk is starting a gardening movement to tackle food poverty

Kimbal Musk is starting a gardening movement to tackle food poverty

A donation to the Million Gardens Movement helps provide a garden kit to a family that can’t afford it.

Elon isn’t the only Musk seeking to change the world through sustainability innovation.

His brother, Kimbal Musk, has launched The Million Gardens Movement (MGM), aimed at building “a happier, healthier world” by getting more people gardening, “no matter if they have a windowsill, fire escape, or backyard”.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Musk, executive director of the non-profit Big Green, and Frank Giustra, owner and publisher of Modern Farmer magazine, joined forces to create the movement.

Their goal is to connect every family in the US to a regular source of fresh fruit and vegetables through the power of gardening.

By setting up the world’s single biggest green-fingered community they hope to combat food insecurity and malnutrition.


MGM is “creating a culture shift around gardening and the value of growing your own food,” says Giustra. “We’re breaking down barriers by showing how simple it is to grow fruits, herbs, and vegetables.”

The initiative’s website features tips and resources from Modern Farmer, coupled with health and nutrition programming from Big Green.

Modern Farmer also says it will help connect growers with local food banks to donate produce.

Americans can either sign up to join the community and receive personalised guidance throughout the year or donate $10 (€8.5, to give a beginner-friendly garden kit to a family that can’t afford it or lives in a food desert.

The Little Green Gardens are ready-to-use fruit and vegetable garden beds, and over 5000 kits have already been distributed. 7,531 gardens in total have been started, while 632 have gone into schools to teach kids about gardening. Nearly 2000 people have signed up to grow in 2021.

Musk explains that each garden bed comes “with a customized growing plan and online lessons and activities to support the growth of culturally relevant at-home veggie gardens.”

Celebrities like Harrison Ford, Nicole Scherzinger and Salma Hayek have also joined the movement, using the hashtag #MillionGardens to praise the benefits of growing your own fresh fruit and veg.


Food deserts and the pandemic

A food desert is an area that has limited access to affordable and nutritious food.

According to MGM, over 35 million Americans (1 in 4 families) have experienced food insecurity since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Food insecurity was also a problem in Europe before the pandemic began and has been compounded since it broke out.

During COVID-19 times, food poverty was particularly an issue for those who were already isolated, self-isolating because of infection, disabled, and experiencing poverty.

"This was a huge problem almost everywhere on the continent," according to Graciela Malgesini, EU and Advocacy Officer at the European Anti Poverty Network (EAPN).

Italy, for example, saw a surge of 50 per cent in people using food banks during the first six months of 2020, compared to the same period in 2019.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Food Insecurity Experience Scale, which measures individuals and households access to food, food insecurity rates are as low as 3.1 per cent in some European countries and more than 20 per cent in others across the continent.

This suggests a growing problem of severe food instability over the past two decades, due to rising food bank use and a lack of governmental response to hunger.

In this absence, it says, we rely on charities to fill the gaps in the social security net.

The benefits of gardening

According to MGM, 9.3 million Americans started gardening in 2020 and up to $677 (€575) a year, on average, could be saved by growing your own fruit and vegetables.

In fact, over 30,000 lives and $5 billion (€4.2 billion) in medical spending could be saved each year in the US if people ate one more serving of fruit and vegetables a day, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates 3.9 million deaths worldwide were attributable to people not consuming their 5-a-day in 2017.

Diets low in fruit and vegetables were accountable for around 172,000 and 118,000 deaths respectively, according to the Global Burden of Disease study 2017.

The WHO recommends adults consume at least 400g (i.e. five portions) of fruit and vegetables every day.

The pandemic has also put a harsh toll on mental health and a recent study from Princeton University found that vegetable gardening is a crucial way to improve mental and physical wellbeing.

“Planting a seed is an act of hope for a brighter tomorrow. We hope millions will join us to grow their own garden and give a garden to a family,” writes Musk.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
×