Right to left: Youth Ambassador Semaj, Carla Bristol, Mayor Ken Welch, Youth Ambassadors Kiandrae & Landrick at the TBCGF | | |
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February is one of our busiest months, and one of our favorite events to participate in is the Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival. We are so proud of the work done to grow this festival for the community. We were also incredibly excited to debut one of our newest products, Farm Fresh Collard Green Pesto! It was such a hit we ran out before the day ended. Our Ambassadors engaged with hundreds of attendees and shared so much about the work they are doing in the community. Thank you to everyone who stopped by and supported us!
Speaking of work in the community, this past Saturday was our Black History Month Community Workday. Thanks to the Cathedral Church of St. Peter and the support of Lowe’s Home Improvement Tampa Bay Regional stores, we were able to kickstart our Sidewalk Community Gardens project (read more below). They provided the materials, soil, and plants, as well as 15 employees from several stores came out and volunteered to build everything. They also built several more benches for the farm, and we had our young volunteers start painting them.
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That same evening was also the ASALH Black History Month Celebration and Dinner. Our Youth Ambassadors switched from their Youth Farm shirts into collard shirts and dresses. The dinner showcased the Emmy award-winning film Invisible History: Middle Florida's Hidden Roots by Dr. Valerie Scoon, with a Q&A with the filmmaker right after. We learned so much about the haunting history of African Americans in Florida and our state capital, Tallahassee. We highly recommend it.
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A few of our Ambassadors had the opportunity to attend a show at Studio@620 this month too. Never Had a Friend is a one-man memoir performance written and performed by Dr. Micah Johnson and directed by Bob Devin Jones, and promotes knowledge, compassion, healing, justice, and peace. Dr. Johnson has been a Person of Influence guest speaker at the Youth Farm in the past and his story is incredibly powerful and relatable to young people.
We hope to have him back to speak with our newest cohort.
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We were also paid a visit by U.S. Congresswoman Kathy Castor with Mayor Ken Welch, Council Member Brandi Gabbard, and Director of St. Pete Parks & Recreation Mike Jefferis. The support of our Youth, not only from representatives of the City but also from the State, is greatly appreciated and so important.
Check out what else we have going on in the coming months below, and Come Grow With Us!
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Sidewalk Community Gardens | Our Sidewalk Community Garden project is an idea that we’ve been working towards thanks to a grant from the Cathedral Church of St. Peter. We work to shift focus towards decentralizing and removing barriers to food access. Although we’re at the farm daily and welcome community members to come by for any fresh produce we're growing; when we’re not there, what could we do to provide neighbors and passersby fresh food? Hence, growing food along a residential road made a lot of sense. Thanks to Lowe’s helping us execute this project, we got three raised boxes built and filled with herbs (which can be costly at grocery stores) like cilantro, mint, rosemary, and so much more along 12th Street South in front of the farm. One thing we’ll be doing this coming month is working with local artist Jabari Reed (aka iBOMS) to have them painted, highlighting safety on the road, nutrition, and youth! | | |
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Our Women's History Month Workday is happening on Saturday, March 25th, where we will honor women of the past and women of today who make a difference in our lives - especially around food. One such woman was Ms. Winnie Foster, a civil rights and racial justice advocate. She was a huge proponent of urban agriculture and empowering others to grow their own food. She passed recently at the age of 95 but her legacy lives on with every seed we plant and harvest we share. Join us as we honor her life through community and service.
The One Community Grocery Co-op Pop-Up Market will be back as well!
Join us for a community gathering of culture, music, food, and farm fun!
All our events are FREE and FAMILY-FRIENDLY
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3rd Annual Earth Day Celebration at the Farm!
Earth Day is falling on a Saturday this year, April 22nd, so we're doing it bigger than ever!
This is a FREE family-friendly event celebrating all things about the one planet we call home and highlighting how the little things we do for our environment can make a big difference.
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We'll be at the
Motherland Music Festival!
April 22nd | 4:00 - 8:00pm
"The 2nd Annual Motherland Music Festival is an EXPERIENCE in music, arts, crafts, and food that brings the “Village” together in order to celebrate the human value of Unified Diversity. Motherland Music Festival and Motherland Festival Events are specifically designed for those who believe that LOVE, UNTY, and ENLIGHTMENT are the key elements to a peaceful world."
Learn More or Buy Tickets
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Everything we work on at the farm is with the intention of supporting the Youth Ambassadors, neighbors, and communities within the South St. Pete CRA. Check out the coverage by Channel 10 on how we're scattering seeds of change at the Youth Farm!
Channel 10 Tampa Bay | Feb 28th, 2023
WATCH THE FULL STORY HERE
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"Despite St. Petersburg’s urbanization and lack of agricultural zoning, city officials are moving an initiative forward that allows the St. Petersburg Youth Farm to keep chickens and sell eggs."
St. Pete Catalyst | Feb 10th, 2023
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
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