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Executive Summary

Purpose & Goals

Our efforts have been focusing on how to implement a culture of improved health and wellbeing
at Via Services1. Our goal is to expand and reinvent the purpose of the garden at Via West2 so that
it provides healthy produce for our clientele to consume. With this proposal, we also aim to
reduce costs by approximately $2,000 annually. Additionally, the new garden will make more use
of the property Via Services owns and will help reduce emissions resulting from produce
transportation.
The Problem
The main issue at the moment is that the nutrition of most of our clientele is not as healthy as it
should be. Parents and caretakers will drop off their participants and often ask of the food being
served, or perhaps request of counselors that their child be fed a healthy balance of all foods. As
it stands, most participants here prefer foods that are high in fat and sugar, and they tend to
neglect greens and other healthier alternatives. Additionally, the annual cost of purchasing and
shipping produce is proving to be quite expensive, and Via Services must find a way to reduce
unnecessary expenditures.
The Solution
An effective and incredibly beneficial solution would be to revamp the Via West garden. Having
one full acre of land on the camp site dedicated to the health and wellbeing of our clientele will
certainly have a positive effect on our participants. By growing our own vegetables, we can
introduce participants to healthier life choices. Caretakers will be impressed with how dedicated
Via is to ensuring that their participants eat well and teaching the importance of nutrition. As far
as costs go, by the second year of operations of this garden, any initial costs incurred in the first
year due to installation and land clearing will have been paid for by the savings the garden
brings. Via will have saved about $1,000 by the end of the second year. Each subsequent year
will bring in an additional $2,000 in savings. Another benefit to this garden will be the
elimination of emissions concerning produce shipments, as well as retaining the health of the soil
by preventing any monocropping.

Introduction to the Need

1
Via Services Mission Statement: Formerly the Crippled Children's Society, Via Services has been
serving the Bay Area and beyond since 1945. We are a private, independent non-profit dedicated to
helping individuals with disabilities and special needs achieve greater self-sufficiency and lead richer
lives. In doing so, we ultimately support the entire family. Our diverse programs offer something for
everyone.
2
Via West is the name of the camp site Via Services owns and operates.
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Physical Health and the Disabled

Physically and mentally disabled persons will always have to deal with health issues. Those with
physical disabilities have little choice in the way of exercise; often, a short 30-minute walk
around a park is all the energy they can expend. Outside of medication, one of the few ways
health can be improved is through diet.
For those with mental disabilities, while they may be able to
perform physical activities, they tend to have unbalanced
diets. Sweets, sodas, fried foods, all incredibly unhealthy, and
those with mental disabilities often can’t control themselves.
Furthermore, those that tend towards aggression and other
negative behaviors will generally get to eat what they want,
should caretakers try and get them to eat healthier.
Lastly, many disabled persons have dietary restrictions, some
of which limit the individual to only being able to get
nutrients through a tube or through liquid and pureed
substances. Most persons with said restrictions are also
extremely physically limited, being confined to wheelchairs
or having extreme physical disabilities.
Via Services’ Needs
A large portion of the clientele have little control over dietary
choices and portion control. Whether this is a result of
neurological damage or an unhealthy upbringing, the fact of the matter is that our participants are
in dire need of change in diet.
Caretakers are very concerned about how well their participants eat. In client notes, many of
them list specific foods that participants love, and which ones to avoid. In person, caretakers ask
counselors to keep a close eye on the types of foods being consumed, and counselors are always
encouraged to get participants to eat more vegetables.
In order to help amend our participant’s diets, Via Services needs a large presence that promotes
a healthy lifestyle. Via needs to promote this idea in ways that participants will react positively
to. Instead of simply forcing these ideas onto them, we need to encourage it and make healthy
choices “fun” for them.
Furthermore, while Via is not on the verge of going bankrupt, there are not necessarily many
funds to spare. If there are any unnecessary costs, they most certainly need to be cut. Via could
use a solution that will be able to pay itself off on reasonably short terms and will also help save
money in the long run.

Project Description
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Overview
The goal of this project is to provide the clients of Via Services with homegrown food that
significantly reduces the cost of having to purchase food from an outside party while
simultaneously promoting healthy lifestyle choices. This will be done with the expansion and
reimagination of the current Via West garden. As it stands now, the garden occupies one half-acre
of land, and is home to a variety of flowers. Flowers provide little benefit to the operations of Via
Services. Upon completion of this project, the garden will span one acre and will provide the
clients of Via Services with a variety of healthy foods. With the implementation of this project,
Via Services will see improvements in the three factors of the bottom line: people, planet and
profits.
People
Nutrition is a prevalent problem amongst the mentally disabled. Often our participants eat little
more than fatty foods and sugar snacks. Having a wide variety of healthy food directly from the
source will encourage our participants to eat more vegetables, gradually shifting their diets. The
caretakers of our clientele are also worried and careful about the dietary needs of their
participants. The new Via West garden will soothe these fears. With a garden of this magnitude
right on campus, caretakers will learn that Via takes good care of the nutrition of its participants.
Planet
Food transportation across the world costs approximately $3.8 billion in external costs every
year. Upwards of 1 billion tons of food needs to be transported annually. The UK spends about
$2.5 billion trying to control the resulting environmental damage. While relatively small, Via
Services can do its part by cutting the need to have produce transported to the campsite.
Furthermore, the variety of vegetables grown in this garden will prevent the soil from degrading
due to monocropping. This garden is designed with longevity in mind, and will provide benefit
to the environment and planet.
Profit
This project will prove to be wildly profitable for Via Services. Via spends approximately
$10,000 annually on purchase and shipment of produce. Implementation and preparation of this
garden, along with growing and maintaining produce, will cost approximately $11,000 for the
first year and approximately $8,000 for each year beyond that. By the second year, the garden
will have already paid itself off and saved money. For the foreseeable future, the garden will
reduce annual produce costs by about $2,000. It is a relatively easy cost to minimize, and so long
as Via Services remains in business, this garden expansion will be a profitable venture.

Cost Analysis
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Via Services Garden Cost Net Profit, Annual Net Profit,

Analysis Initial Costs Annual Costs Year 1 Year 2 and Onward
Cost Category
Land Preparation $ - $ -
Land Clearing $ (2,000.00) $ - $ (2,000.00) $ -
Irrigation Installation $ (1,000.00) $ - $ (1,000.00) $ -
Utilities $ - $ (8,000.00) $ (8,000.00) $ (8,000.00)
Produce Seed Purchases $ - $ (260.90) $ 9,906.60 $ 9,906.60
Total $ (3,000.00) $ (8,260.90) $ (1,093.40) $ 1,906.60

Notes
1. The cost valuation for land clearing come from the estimate that it takes approximately
$3,000 to clear one acre of land. We estimate that, in addition to the $1,500 it would take
to clear one half acre of land, an additional $500 would be needed to prepare the entire
land for planting vegetables.
2. Our cost valuation comes for produce purchases comes from the estimate that Via
Services would serve approximately 17,250 servings of salad annually. Furthermore, the
estimate assumes the vegetables grown in the garden will be tomatoes, lettuce, carrots,
cucumbers, onions, and broccoli. The profit estimation is derived from the annual costs
for Via Services to purchase these vegetables. Individual cost per vegetable is shown in
Figure 1.1.
3. Cost valuation for utilities will consist strictly of the water usage necessary to water one
half acre of land, considering the seasonality of different produce and how water usage I
affected.
4. Figure 1.2 depicts total costs over time of homegrown produce as opposed to purchasing
produce.
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Figure 1.1

Figure 1.2
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Assessment Strategy
As of right now, there is no record of how often our participants eat fruits and vegetables. As we
begin constructing and reforming our garden, we should start to ask counselors how many times
per session their participants eat a salad. A simple tally at the end of each session from
counselors would suffice. This process would continue after completion of the project, and our
projected outcome would show an increase in how often veggies are consumed. We would also
like to see more interactivity within the garden by the participants. Previously, the garden was
rarely used as a learning site for the participants. Some sessions saw no garden use. With our
new garden being so vibrant and large, we believe participants would be more inclined to spend
time during activities there. We would like to see an increase to around 2 or 3 garden activities
per session, teaching participants how to plant vegetables and more about nutrition.
According to our cost projections, the garden would cost an extra $1,000 in the first year. In the
second year, the garden would help save $1,000, and from year three onward, the garden would
reduce expenses by $2,000 annually. Our goal is to maintain said savings, and if savings exceed
our expectations, we can begin thinking about increasing the variety of vegetables grown or
perhaps expanding the garden even further, which will ultimately reduce costs even further.

Conclusion
This project will help usher in a culture of health into Via Services. The presence of an acre-large
garden will project a sense of care for nutrition onto the Via brand image, and we will help many
of our clientele with their nutritional problems. The garden will become a central part of Via’s
identity. This cost-efficient manner of health-conscious living is the key solution to building Via
Services as an organization that truly does care about its clientele.
Thank you to all who helped make this project possible. We all want Via Services to be a great
and loving organization, and this garden will be a reminder of that. Thank you all for your hard
work, and let this help Via Services achieve the impossible.
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Appendix: Works Cited

About Us | VIA Services. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.viaservices.org/about-us
Food Miles: The Environmental Impact of Food. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.pollutionissues.co.uk/food-miles-environmental-impact-food.html
Froehlich-Grobe, K., & Lollar, D. (2011, November). Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3198028/
Pollution due to land travel, air travel, and food transportation. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.religioustolerance.org/tomek33.htm