Community Food Initiatives
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| News and Events | Spring 2025
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Pictured from left to right, Back Row: Drew Ogg, Amy Fugikawa, Molly Gassaway, Joey Elisar; Middle Row: Sarah Grace, Rebekah Korenowsky Woods, Ivan Orquera, Maya Djalali-Gomez, Izzy Stitchick, Lillie and Kristen Wiedmann; Front Row: Zoe Chase
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Hello friend,
Happy Spring! There have been a lot of changes at CFI during the past few months. I’m thrilled to have joined CFI and excited to head into this season with such an amazing, dedicated team. Check out our staff and board page to see who’s who at Community Food Initiatives.
Spring is jam-packed with exciting events, workshops, and new opportunities to contribute and engage.
Scroll to find out more!
Kind regards,
Sarah Grace (she/her)
Executive Director
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| You’re invited to CFI’s Annual Meeting. Join the board and staff at the 2025 Community Food Initiatives Annual Meeting. We’ll gather at the United Methodist Church in The Plains on Saturday, May 10, 1-3pm. The event will feature a potluck and include cooking and gardening demonstrations.
Event Details:
CFI's Annual Meeting
Saturday May 10, 1-3pm
United Methodist Church in The Plains
3 N Plains Rd, The Plains, OH 45780
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Saturday, March 28th, was our Annual Potato Giveaway in Nelsonville! We welcomed more than 26 partner organizations and 160 individuals who picked up potatoes for planting and eating.
Need seed potatoes?
We still have a few left! Please contact Drew at drew@communityfoodinitiatives.org or 740.593.5971 to arrange a pickup.
Visit the Donation Station at the Athens Farmers market. We’re there every Saturday 9-12 and, starting on April 17, Wednesdays 9-12. We’ll also be at the Chesterhill Produce Auction, which opens for the season on April 28th. We appreciate the continued support of our efforts to provide equitable access to healthy local foods. Donations of produce or cash brought to our booth enable us to distribute locally sourced food to our community food access partners, and from there, it is shared with friends and neighbors in need.
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| Garden Giveaways Happening this Spring |
Plant Starts – CFI's Annual Plant Start Giveaways begin on Tuesday May 20 with several locations scheduled throughout the week. Follow us on social media or check our website for update information on where you can pick up plants.
Seeds – Free seed packets are available at Athens County Public Library locations starting April 1 until supplies last.
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Want to help out? Community members are invited to donate extra plant starts that can be dropped off at the Donation Station tent at the Athens Farmer's Market on Saturdays or Wednesdays.
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Upcoming Community Events |
Not sure where to start or want to explore topics related to growing your own food? Check out our upcoming workshops and events!
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Edible, Medicinal & Functional Plants with Rebecca Wood of Hopewood Holistic Health.
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Learn how to build planter boxes using upcycled pallet wood, potluck to follow!
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Low-Input, Small-Scale Gardening with Lindsay Klaunig of Trouvaille Farm.
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| (Ongoing) Friday Discovery Garden Happy Hours |
Join us every Friday throughout the spring for our weekly gathering in the Discovery Garden.
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Veggie Van Markets Return in May |
The Veggie Van, CFI’s mobile produce market, will be back for the 2025 season.
The Veggie Van is a mobile farm market stand that carries locally produced resources to rural communities in Southeastern Ohio throughout each growing season.
Check out the schedule below to find a Veggie Van stop near you!
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Tuesdays
3:30 – 5:30 PM
Canal Carry Out Lot, E Canal St
Opening May 13
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| Wednesdays
3:30 – 5:30 PM
Across from the Coolville Public Library
Opening May 14
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| Fridays
3:30 – 5:30 PM
Glouster Memorial Park
Opening May 16
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| School Garden Education and Sprouts Summer Camp Continues |
Our Sprouts program continues with first grade students at East, Morrison-Gordon, and Amesville elementary schools. Students have been busy adding compost to the garden beds, planting potatoes, sugar snap peas and radishes, hunting for worms, and discovering all the magic that springtime brings to their gardens. We are in the throes of planning for our annual Farm Field Trips in May and after its successful debut, our Sprouts Summer Garden Camp is coming back for its second year in June!
We continue to take students from other grades as young as preschool out to their gardens to explore, and are excited to be partnering with Trimble Elementary in their new school garden we helped build. What a joy it is to be part of empowering our youngest community members to Grow & Share the Harvest!
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We have a bunch of great opportunities for folks to engage and volunteer this spring and summer.
Thank you to our volunteers!
The work we do at CFI is only possible because of the generosity of many wonderful people who contribute their time.
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*Please note, if you’ve volunteered with us before, you might notice that we’ve switched our signup system to a new platform called GivePulse. We hope this will be a smoother signup process and allow more people to find out about our volunteer opportunities.
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| | Community Work Study Positions Available |
Are you or someone you know work-study eligible and wanting to make a difference this summer with a community organization? To find out more about our open opportunities, please contact Reb at reb@communityfoodinitiatives.org.
Not sure if you're eligible? Click here to read more about the program and find out how to see if you qualify.
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Please consider making a donation to support our mission to foster communities where everyone has equitable access to healthy, local food.
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Community Food Initiatives
94 Columbus Road
Athens, OH 45701
740.593.5971
communityfoodinitiatives.org
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94 Columbus Rd | Athens, OH 45701 US
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