It has been an exciting week here at GTC! We’ve been hard at work cultivating our capacities and keeping our eyes are focused on the future of urban agriculture.
First in the news, we are thrilled to announce that we received two substantial grants from the Ben and Jerry’s Foundation and the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources! The total funds of $30,600 will allow GTC to continue to make significant, sustainable progress towards food security for Springfield. We have so much gratitude for the generous support of these organizations; their investments in community development are what keep local non-profit organizations like us running.
The Ben and Jerry’s Foundation’s Grassroots Organizing for Social Change Program is funding our food justice organizing work to build a more equitable and just food system. This particular grant encourages the community-development strategies we utilize for creating social change. And funds from MDAR’s Urban Agriculture Program will allow us to conduct soil nutrient assessment of two farm plots, purchase and construct protective structures for temperature-sensitive crops, establish a more visible neighborhood farm stand for GTC EATS!, and develop multi-lingual marketing materials. See this press release for more details on MDAR’s initiative! We can’t wait to get started.
Secondly, a few of our staff and youth members will be featured speakers at the Massachusetts Urban Farming Conference in Boston this Saturday, March 8! We are looking forward to learning from and networking with other farmers, youth, and leaders in community food justice efforts. We are thankful to City Growers, the Urban Farming Institute of Boston, and MDAR for allowing us to be a part of an event that is, quite literally, sure to be groundbreaking.
“Cultivating Lands, Nourishing Communities, Building Businesses”
The UFC is a forum to share information regarding what is currently happening in Boston and other local urban communities and to map out a vision for urban farming in Massachusetts. Boston and other local urban communities in Massachusetts have the potential to offer a fresh, local healthy food supply while promoting economic and environmental sustainability, as well as healthy communities, employment at livable wages, food security, youth engagement and more.
Visit the City Growers website to learn more!
Gardening the Community (GTC) 