Celebrating 2019

Celebrating Community

Warm and happy holiday greetings from all of us at Community Food Initiatives!

It’s amazing to think about all that has happened over the past year. We wanted to share a snapshot of 2019 in this newsletter, so below you’ll find lots of photos from some of our favorite moments.

The thing that becomes obvious in looking at these pictures is just how many people are involved in the work we do. We have a small core team, but when you consider the collaborations and community support that are an indispensable part of making all this work happen, our team quickly grows to a large, far-reaching network.

As 2019 wraps up we’re so proud of everything this community has accomplished through working toward a shared vision! It’s wonderful to be part of this work. We’re filled with joy and gratitude for you all.

Cheers to all that’s to come in 2020!

Sincerely,

The CFI team

Above: We loved our field trip with Kids on Campus to Blackberry Sage farm, were able to share plant starts with hundreds of families at our spring giveaway thanks to community donations, and had a blast helping with kids activities at the Paw Paw Festival.

Above: It was awesome to watch Community Gardens come together and flourish with the hard work of community members! These spaces exploded with life and abundance this year. Here are two photos from the Nelsonville Community Garden, which added a shed, two raised beds, a fourth fence wall, compost bins, and a kiosk in 2019.

Above: We enjoyed growing our knowledge together in our community workshops! Here are photos from our season extension workshop with Dan Kneier at the Nelsonville Community Garden and from our seed starting workshop hosted by Morning Dew Hop Farm.

Above: It was super exciting to help East-West Elementary become a Certified Monarch Waystation; we had an awesome seed potato giveaway and were able to distribute over 30,000 pounds of potatoes for folks to plant in their own gardens; and helping with Apple Crunch Day was a blast!

Above: We welcomed big changes to our Donation Station programming! We received funding to pilot a mobile pantry this spring (2020), enabling us to expand our distribution, and the outpouring of network and community-wide support was truly amazing this year. Pantry sponsorships and the donation of a truck allowed us to increase our food purchases while ensuring we had a way to haul produce; because of this community support, we're going to be able to purchase a second vehicle. This means that we'll be able to maintain our presence at the Athens Farmers Market and Chesterhill Produce Auction while piloting the mobile pantry.

Above: We love that we get to incorporate art into the work we do! Here's a pic from creating artwork for the Eastside Community Garden.

Also above: Attending OEFFA as a team provided excellent opportunity for connecting with a broader community and for professional development; and we are always, always excited to take our team out to help with harvesting donations from local growers and farmers.

Above: Our Garden Programs also welcomed big changes! We're feeling awesome about a successful start to our pilot of Sprouts School Garden Programming; seeing such joy and excitement on first-grade faces when they pull carrots out of their school garden is priceless. Before starting Sprouts lessons, many of them didn’t know where a carrot came from!

Also above: One of our favorite moments at the Chesterhill Produce Auction, and sort of a real-life version of the Sprouts logo! Together we are truly cultivating a resilient community and local food system.

SO MUCH joy and gratitude! Thank you, all!

Stay tuned in 2020: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

Manage your preferences | Opt out using TrueRemove™
Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.
View this email online.

94 Columbus Rd
Athens, OH | 45701 US

This email was sent to .
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.