June 2025

Upcoming Events

Micro-Grants Available for Community Gardens & Backyard Farms in Pulaski County

Through its Pathways to Food Security & Equity program, the Central Arkansas Sphinx Foundation (CASF) is offering micro-grants ranging from $4,000 to $8,000 to support the development of community gardens and backyard farms in Pulaski County. These grants aim to empower socially disadvantaged individuals and grassroots efforts that are working to improve access to fresh, healthy food at the neighborhood level.

Whether you're expanding a backyard operation or building a new garden space for your community, this funding can help you grow your impact.

Learn more about this opportunity at an upcoming information session:

📍 Philander Smith University – Elders Auditorium, Nugent Center

📅 Tuesday, July 8, 2025

🕠 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM

Grant Opportunity: Pathway2FoodSecurity

Discover how to apply for CASF's Pathway to Food Security Micro-Grants in Pulaski County. Grants from $4,000-$8,000 support community gardens, and backyard agriculture.

Deadline: July 22, 2025.

Work in Food Safety or Sanitation? Don’t Miss This Training!

Join Extension on August 12–14 in Little Rock for a hands-on, expert-led workshop focused on Sanitation and Listeria Prevention. This three-day training is designed for food safety professionals, educators, and industry members looking to deepen their knowledge of sanitation regulations, best practices, allergen control, and strategies for preventing Listeria. The standard registration fee is $250, but students and UADA staff can attend for just $50. Lunch and snacks will be provided.

📅 Register now: Registration

🔍 More info here

📩 Questions? Contact Bill Potter at bdpotter@uark.edu or 479-575-2211.

Preserving Arkansas: Chow Chow Workshop – Register Now!

Join us on August 23rd from 11 AM to 4 PM at the Vines 4-H Center in Little Rock for the next hands-on installment of our Preserving Arkansas workshop series. We’ll be making classic Southern chow chow and walking through the essentials of safe, legal value-added food production in Arkansas. The workshop will be led in part by Chef Margie Raimondo, who will once again bring her expertise - and charm - to the kitchen as our culinary guide for the day.

Whether you’re a beginner or looking to grow your food business, this is a great opportunity to learn, connect, and preserve something delicious.

🔗 Reserve your spot here.

Save the Date: After the Harvest Conference – Early-Bird Registration Opens in July!

Join us on September 6 for After the Harvest, a one-day event dedicated to everything that happens after food leaves the field—washing, packing, cooling, storing, transporting, marketing, and more. This year’s event places a special spotlight on the farm stop model, with multiple sessions exploring how farm stops operate, how to launch one, and how they’re helping Arkansas growers and producers improve access to local markets.

We’re thrilled to welcome Argus Farm Stop, a pioneer of the farm stop model, as our keynote speaker, along with a representative from the developing national farm stop network, who will share tips, insights, and real-world strategies for building successful community-driven retail models.

This is your opportunity to connect with growers, aggregators, processors, market managers, and local food system champions from across the state to explore practical, post-harvest solutions tailored for Arkansas.

Early-bird registration opens in July for just $30! After July 31, the fee increases to $60. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for the registration link coming soon!

Local Foods

Argus Farm Stop:

Farm Stop Pioneers

Located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Argus Farm Stop is a year-round, everyday farmers market that has become a national model for connecting local producers with customers. Founded in 2014 by Kathy Sample and Bill Brinkerhoff, Argus was created to strengthen the local food economy by offering a retail space that operates on consignment; farmers keep 70–80% of each sale, and Argus handles the staffing and daily operations.

In addition to running multiple locations, Argus is now helping other communities launch their own farm stops through their Farm Stop School, a hands-on learning program that walks participants through the nuts and bolts of building and sustaining a successful operation. Their work has inspired dozens of new farm stops across the country and is helping grow a more resilient and farmer-focused food system.

We’re excited to feature Argus Farm Stop in our upcoming After the Harvest event and to learn more from their experience!

Learn more about Argus Farm Stop Here!

Still Curious About Farm Stops?

If you're currently running a farm stop or thinking about starting one, we’d love to hear from you! Fill out our quick Farm Stop Interest Form to help us better understand what support, resources, or connections would be most useful as we continue our research and outreach. Whether you’re just exploring the idea or already up and running, your input is valuable!

Farm Stop Interest Form

Completed Compost Bin at

UALR Community Garden!

In celebration of International Compost Awareness Week last month, our team partnered with volunteers at the UALR Campus Garden to install a brand-new compost bin. The garden crew recently wrapped up the project, and it looks fantastic!

We're excited to see how this compost system will help build healthy soil and support sustainable growing efforts in the garden and surrounding community.

Check out the finished product below!

Value-Added

A Berry Sweet Kickoff to the

Preserving Arkansas Series!

We had a jam-packed (literally!) afternoon at the first installment of our Preserving Arkansas workshop series, Berry Sweet Business, held earlier this month.

This hands-on session gave participants a practical introduction to preservation methods, tools, and Arkansas-specific regulations around selling value-added products.

The highlight? Making strawberry preserves from Barnhill Orchard's farm-fresh berries—and yes, everyone went home with a jar of their own creation!

A heartfelt thanks to our incredible team: Chef Margie Raimondo for sharing her culinary wisdom and serving as our honorary "Nonna," and the UADA preservation crew — Dr. Lida Rahimi Araghi, Quad Whitson, Terrie James, and Christie Wagley — for their expertise and support. And David and Amanda from our team as well - we all had a great time!

Check out what Chef Margie is doing at Urbana Farmstead and take a look at all the resources our incredible UADA preservation team has available here!

If you missed this workshop, mark your calendar for the next workshop:

🗓 August 23rd, 11 AM–4 PM

📍 The Vines 4-H Center, Little Rock

We’ll be making Southern chow chow and diving into the ins and outs of safe, legal value-added food production.

Reserve your spot below!

Registration