A Letter to Our Garden Partners 2020Another year of growing together
Small Axe PeppersJan 15, 2020
One of the great things about the holiday season is it gives us a moment to reflect on the growing season that just passed and dream about the one to come. In these moments of reflection, we are genuinely overwhelmed by what we have accomplished accomplished together.Small Axe Peppers had another unprecedented year with 75 community gardens in 15 cities selling peppers to be made into hot sauce. While the final results are still being tallied in appears that you sold us more than 6,000 pounds of community garden grown peppers. Quite a difference from our first year, five years ago, when only five gardens sold us less than 200 pounds! The success of 2019 leaves us very optimistic about the future.
This year the good people of the popular internet show “The Hot Ones” featured one of our sauces again. “The Chicago Hot Sauce” has received critical acclaim from a series of celebrities who appeared on the show, from Shia LaBeouf to Da Baby and even Chicago’s favorite son, Chance The Rapper! It was only the first year making the Chicago Hot Sauce, but thanks to some great partners, we had 7 gardens n the area that grew at least 1400 pounds of jalapeño peppers. This is just the beginning. We are sure there will be more gardens in Chicago next year. We also expanded our footprint in Los Angeles, Detroit, and Baltimore, buying peppers from gardens in these cities for the first time in 2019 as well!We are continually amazed by the great work done at the grass roots level by each and every one of you in your garden. Every community garden is a unique gem that adds to the social, economic, and ecological of urban neighborhoods. From the beginning, we have tried to make showcasing you and your work a core part of our mission. We want people to hear your stories and learn about what you do. To that end, if you are a gardener who grew peppers this season, we would love to share a photo, a post, or a story that you feel represents you or communities in your garden. We want to let people know about who you are and what you do. Our hot sauce has an amazing back story. We want to make sure everyone understands that while they continue to enjoy our delicious flavors! It is our hope that this holiday season is your best one yet and we look forward to and another successful year in 2020.
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About Small Axe Peppers
Small Axe Peppers Hot Sauce, a certified B-Corp, makes their hot sauces with peppers purchased directly from community gardens and urban farms across the United States. Last year, Small Axe Peppers bought over 11,000 pounds of peppers from 52 community gardens in 35 states across America. That translated to more than $30,000 of direct investment back into urban areas and low-income communities. Since its founding in 2015, Small Axe Peppers has partnered with 122 gardens in 42 cities to purchase almost 30,000 pounds of peppers for more than $80,000.
These gardens are located from The Bronx and Baltimore all the way to Los Angeles and Oakland, from Detroit and Chicago down to Texas and Atlanta, as well as many cities in-between. The gardens are managed by refugees, immigrants, high school students, non-profits, faith groups and community organizations. These gardens are amazing places where people from all walks of life can come together through their shared love of gardening and turn formerly abandoned lots into productive oases of fresh fruits and vegetables. They distribute meals and food to people in need, provide jobs in their neighborhood, and most importantly generate empathy and hope in areas that need it most.
Jan 15, 2020
