Category: Gardening Days

Buffalo Food Sovereignty Weeks in 2020

by Food for the Spirit, posted in Buffalo Food Stories Project, Events, Food Justice, Freedom Gardens, Gardening Days

In 2019, we hosted Buffalo Food Sovereignty Week and it was a wonderful way to galvanize around the good work Buffalo Food Equity Network members and partners are doing in the community. (Click here to read about last year’s events). So this year we are doing it again!

In October 2020, during harvest season, local organizations are collaborating once again on several events to improve the health and economy for communities of color in Buffalo. With an emphasis on Black and Indigenous community members and food systems leaders, the events will bring Buffalo communities together to learn with and from each other.

  • Gardening Days – On Saturday, October 10, Food for the Spirit will partner with Freedom Gardens, the Lincoln Memorial Church Garden and Food Pantry, Neuwater & Associates, and the CopperTown Block Club to host a Gardening Days event at two community garden sites stewarded by African American garden leaders in Buffalo.  The virtual event will include stories of the garden and information about these important initiatives.  All are welcome to join the virtual event, which will take place online on Saturday, October 10 at 10:00 AM.  To register, visit http://bit.ly/GardeningDays2020.
  • Freedom Gardens Harvest Celebration – On Tuesday, October 13, everyone is invited to join Freedom Gardens and Food for the Spirit for a celebratory event with Naima Penniman of Soul Fire Farm. This participatory and poetic event will feature inspiring solutions from Freedom Gardens, Soul Fire Farm, and solutions from other BIPOC-led organizations and movements, both past and present. All are welcome to join us on Tuesday, October 13 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. To register, visit https://bit.ly/3lxNLJh.
  • Building Foundations for Food Sovereignty: Collective Leadership & Storytelling – On Wednesday, October 21, the Nexus Community Leadership Learning Initiative will co-host a “virtual visit” with members of the Buffalo Food Equity Network to learn about shared decision-making and leadership processes that are advancing food sovereignty in Buffalo, NY.  All are welcome to join this virtual event, which will take place online on Wednesday, October 21 from 12:00 to 2:00 PM (EST).  To register, visit http://bit.ly/BfloFoodStories2020_Registration.

Everyone is invited to these free and engaging public events! Come out to learn what is going on to make healthy and sustainable diets available and affordable to everyone.

Buffalo Freedom Gardens

by Food for the Spirit, posted in Events, Food Justice, Freedom Gardens, Gardening Days, Racial Healing

This article was prepared by Gail Wells for The Challenger News, May 2020.

pictured: Gail Wells, of CopperTown Block Club, surveys raised bed containers for planting being readied for distribution to community households

An expansive coalition of community-based organizations, spearheaded by Seeding Resilience, have come together to address food apartheid in areas hardest hit by the COVD-19 virus with an initiative designed to inspire resilience and independence for Buffalo residents.

Freedom Gardens is a groundbreaking approach to strengthening community, building self-reliance, and increasing food security that is supported by Food for the Spirit / Buffalo Food Equity Network, Grassroots Gardens WNY, CopperTown Block Club, Access To A-Free-Ka, the Juneteenth Agricultural Pavilion Committee, and the Juneteenth Festival of Buffalo.

Through Freedom Gardens, 50 households in Buffalo will be supported in starting backyard or front-yard, raised-bed or container gardens at their own homes at no-cost. Freedom Gardens will equip all aspiring home gardeners with tools, resources, and knowledge that will enable them to grow organic food to help feed their families. Residents living in the following zip codes are eligible to apply for free supplies and material: 14215, 14213, 14211, 14209, 14208, 14207, 14204.

All interested should complete the online form at bit.ly/freedomgardens by Monday, May 11, 2020 by 5:00 PM.

The value of having a Freedom Garden is the emphasis it places on wellness, healthy eating and growing your own organic food. Freedom Gardeners will have access to an educational program designed by Soul Fire Farms, operated by Co-Director Leah Penniman, author of Farming While Black.

The educational program will provide the gardening and farming expertise of Black growers, including gardening and nutrition expertise, information about growing culturally relevant food and herbs, and resources for self-care and COVID safety protocols. Freedom Gardeners will receive heirloom organic non-GMO seeds and seedlings that will provide fresh vegetables and herbs throughout the growing season.

Freedom Gardens is supported by Citigroup and WNY COVID-19 Community Response Fund, local philanthropic organizations collaborating to address the most critical needs in our community.

For additional details visit: bit.ly/freedomgardens