Our Initiatives

The Hlub Hmong Center (HHC) was founded in 2010 to ensure the survival, well-being, and prosperity of the Hmong people and their rich cultural heritage through education, research, advocacy, and entrepreneurialism.

HHC is a nonprofit, grassroots, community driven, and advocacy organization based in Merced, CA focused on change between public institutions and Hmong culture. HHC started as a volunteer- based, intergenerational coalition and has since brought attention to health disparities in the Hmong community by conducting focus groups, providing culturally competent workshops, conducting community outreach, and building community partnerships.

Currently, HHC’s three areas of focus are: 

1. Early Education 

2. Assessment and Intervention

3. Civic Engagement
   

The 18th Street People's Garden, founded in 2018, is a community garden in downtown Merced led and maintained by local people of all ages and abilities. Through the work of passionate volunteers, the People's Garden provides free produce to the community. 

The People's Garden is a place for enjoying and growing a sense of community.

Project Grow a Food Sustainability Partnership for Merced County that formed out of the People’s Garden in December 2018. This partnership created a community and home gardening program that many families used to improve their children's nutrition. Through Project Grow and the 18th Street People's Garden, initiatives such as the People's Promise and FaN Hubs were born.

Project Grow continues to work to help low-income families improve their children's nutrition.

Born by the 18th Street People's Garden and Project Grow in Merced, CA in February 2021, the People's Promise is that every day, every child in our neighborhood is fed nutritious food and great learning activities.

The Pop Up People's Pantry located at the 18th Street People's Garden was launched in April 2020 to reduce the burden on food security in our neighborhood and others nearby caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We partnered with UC Merced's Bobcat Eats program to organize donations of fruits, vegetables, and dry goods from the Farmer's Market, local flea markets, local stores, local yards and farms, and food programs (e.g., the Food Bank and United Methodist Church). We "popped-up" with two tables of food in 2020. A year later, the pantry has been open every Saturday (minus two days), served over 2,000 people (with 400 "regulars"), and fills six tables with fresh fruits and vegetables each weekend. 

The People's Fridge, founded in 2020, is a partnership between the 18th Street People’s Garden and the UC Merced Bobcat Eats Food Waste Awareness and Prevention Program that provides fresh produce to the community. 

The People's Fridge is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is located at 936 W 18th Street in Merced, CA.

The Family and Nutrition Hub (FaN Hub) in Merced County was created to assist Family Childcare Providers, from our community, to become a place where the children in their care, their families, and their neighbors can find healthy food and resources.

As part of our FaN Hub initiative, we partner with local child care providers throughout Merced County including in the cities of Merced, Atwater, and Winton.