Help End World Hunger One Family At A Time

                  501(C)(3) - Non Profit Organization  

 

MEET HANK BRUCE

860 Polaris Blvd. SE
Rio Rancho, NM 87124

Telephone/Fax - 505-891-1355
(Contact Hank or Tomi before faxing)
e-mail address: tfolk@hungergrowaway.com
or  hbruce@hungergrowaway.com

Hank Bruce is the former President of the Florida Chapter of the American Horticultural Therapy Association. Hank and his wife, Tomi Jill Folk are available for speaking engagements pertaining to Horticultural Therapy - Gardening as Therapy, Hunger Issues and Food security.

Hank is a writer, horticultural therapist and lecturer with an active interest in global hunger issues and environmental concerns. He has authored a dozen books ranging from a children's story, Where Do Snowmen Go When They Melt? to The Family Caregiver's Journal: Facing the Terminal Illness of a Loved One, a sensitive and informative guide for those going through this difficult time. He has also written Gardens for the Senses, Gardening as Therapy (retail $14.95), a "how to" gardening book for the new millennium. Click here to buy Hank's books online.

He has just completed Gardening Projects for Horticultural Therapy Programs (retail $18.95), a guide for horticultural therapists and activity directors using the CelluGRO® Green Thumb Garden. This important guide includes 30 meaningful and fun projects that can be used in a variety of horticultural therapy programs plus a multitude of secondary craft, gardening and community projects. This book was produced with the cooperation and support of Rennie DiLoreto ACF Environmental.

Hank has been active with hunger issues, serving in 1999 as Florida state program coordinator for the Society of St Andrew (a gleaning & food recovery organization). He and his wife, Tomi, have also been working closely with the global hunger research being done at ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization) in Ft Myers, Florida. The book, Global Gardening, by Hank Bruce & Tomi Jill Folk is an exploration of hunger issues, the foods that we eat and ways that everyone can be a part of the solution to hunger. Hank and Tomi have been working on an intensive micro-gardening program for hunger relief and nutrition improvement for low income families and senior citizens on fixed incomes. This Abundant Harvest Garden uses the CelluGRO® system to put gardens on rooftops, patios, anywhere there is a 4'x 4' space. This CelluGRO® garden can even be raised to convenient height for those using a wheelchair. The first in a series of Abundant Harvest Garden Guides was released in November, 2000. This explores ways that the CelluGRO® system, multi-purpose plants and the principle of continuous harvest can be used to provide fresh produce every week of the year in USDA zones 9, 10 & 11. Guides for arid lands, temperate zones and flood prone regions are in the works.

Hank spent over thirty years teaching, writing and formulating horticultural therapy programs. He's member of the Florida chapter of the American Horticultural Therapy Association. Members are trained professionals who use gardening as a therapeutic experience in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, schools, rehab centers, hospitals, even prisons. They work with recovering addicts and abuse victims, and those of us with limitations due to age, disease or accident. He is a horticultural therapist at Leu Gardens, the premier botanical garden in Orlando Florida. He also has programs in a number of senior care facilities. He is currently doing research on intergenerational HT programs linking children with seniors for the benefit of both and food security programs for veterans.

He helped create the Opportunity Garden which showcases horticultural therapy tools and techniques, and make it a part of the annual International Flower & Garden Festival at EPCOT. For this effort, and for his book Gardens for the Senses, Gardening as Therapy, Hank was presented one of the 1999 Alice W. Burlingame Humanitarian Service Awards by the American Horticultural Therapy Association. Hank is currently working on two books for release later this year, and is researching solutions to hunger on both a global and local level. Hank is a member of the Garden Writers Association of America and The American Society of Horticultural Scientists.

He follows an active speaking schedule, discussing such topics as gardening, global hunger, horticultural therapy, caregiving, writing, senior living history, and intergenerational programs for senior care facilities.