The Ray C. Anderson Foundation staff visited Harambee House in Savannah, Georgia on August 8th, representing all of the family foundations that fund the Drawdown Georgia Climate Solutions & Equity Grants program.
Harambee House is a local, community based organization in Savannah, Georgia that empowers African Americans and People of Color with training and resources for environmental justice and community empowerment around five key pillars: workforce development, youth affairs, environmental justice, climate justice and spirit and cultural connections.
They received a two year, $200,000 grant for 2025-26 to expand a partnership between local farmers and their existing community gardens initiative. Many of the communities where Harambee House works are in the shadow of large industrial plants responsible for toxic air pollution, as a result of many years of inequitable zonings and land use and redlining. These families are located in disinvested areas on the outskirts of Savannah, without grocery stores and other means for obtaining affordable and nutritious food.
Many of the residents would like to be taught to grow their own food, but their soil is contaminated with toxic substances, requiring costly testing and remediation.
When they applied for a Drawdown Georgia Climate Solutions & Equity Grant in 2024, Harambee House had already begun a community gardens initiative where they teach residents how to grow healthy food in containers, but the interest and need was already stretching their capabilities. Without access to more land (uncontaminated land), and without a way to increase yield and grow starter plants, their hands were tied.
Their grant was funded to allow Harambee House's community farmers to expand and scale their program to partner with several local landowners who are willing to lease their land for free to grow crops for Harambee House's community members. These partnerships are allowing the community farmers more space to grow vegetables and fruit for immediate consumption, while also constructing greenhouses for growing seedlings and facilities for washing, packaging and preserving additional yields for alternative distribution methods. They are meeting Harambee House's goals for employing climate-smart agricultural practices to achieve the overall goal of nutritionally rich and healthy food sovereignty.
While visiting Harambee House, the Ray C. Anderson Foundation staff were able to meet with the founder, Dr. Mildred McClain, and her staff, as well as many other community leaders who benefit from all funding that is provided to the organization. While visiting the main house, they met neighborhood champions, clergy, nonprofit and research leaders and many volunteers.
The afternoon was spent in the field with Ofun Maja, Harambee House's community gardens and farmer champion, Dawud Shabaka, deputy executive director, and landowners who are donating use of their unused farmland for the community gardens. They also toured and met with numerous other staff and volunteers that plant, maintain and harvest the gardens in Pooler, GA, Garden City, GA, and the Hudson Hill Community in Savannah.
The Drawdown Georgia grant to Harambee House is funded by a collaborative of foundations with roots in Georgia. Funders for this project include: The Ray C. Anderson Foundation, The Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation, Reilly Family Fund, Tull Charitable Foundation, Ghanta Family Foundation and Atticus Fund.
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