JANUARY 2023

Right to left: Malik Yakini (D-Town Farm), Carla Bristol, Erica Hardison (OCGC), and Council Member John Muhammad

Together We Grow!

We hope everybody has been having a great start to 2023! We can't believe it's already February.


We ended 2022 with our big Kwanzaa at the Farm celebration for the First Night of Kwanzaa, bringing out a lively turnout of people that fully embodied the first principle of the holiday: Umoja (Community). Gathering for food, drumming, and conversations shared amongst an intergenerational group with the backdrop of the harvest set the tone for the rest of the Kwanzaa St. Pete celebrations around the city. Thank you all who came out! 


The New Year also means the beginning of our Spring Programming. After our Youth Ambassadors' Winter Break, they got right back into our Mental Health Mondays, Composting, Planting, Mindful Movement, Financial Literacy, and more.

We were fortunate to also welcome students other than ours the past month from the Therapeutics of Farm Work class at Eckerd College taught by Professor Nicole Teich. The group consisted of 20 students that came out to volunteer and work side-by-side with our Ambassadors 3 days every week in January. They added so much to the farm throughout their time with us.


So many others have made an impact this month too. Our 3rd Annual MLK Day of Service was our most well-attended to date (over a hundred volunteers) in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and to support our efforts at the farm. Volunteers helped build our final four beds (with 20 total beds done so far), plant in our newly painted herb boxes and set up our third vermiculture tub. We, of course, did lots of mulching, painting, and dancing too!


Check out what else we have going on this year, and Come Grow With Us!

One Community Grocery Co-op's First Pop-Up Market at the Youth Farm


Our Last Saturday Community Workday for January was an extra special event! We hosted the One Community Grocery Co-op Pop-Up Market. This allowed visitors to the farm to buy fresh, locally grown produce at their stand and learn more about the work the co-op is advancing to allow for a community-owned and cooperatively operated grocery store in South St. Pete. It was exciting to have them there as a partner since their goals align with ours in supporting access to nutrient-dense foods for the community. They had nearly 10 people become new members at the event as well. We want to thank President Erica Hardison and her board members for their work! Our guest speaker Malik Yakini, co-founder and Executive Director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, emphasized the importance of the work being done starting the OCGC as being of utmost importance for communities to be self-reliant, healthy, and prosperous economically. Come out to our event on February 25th, they will be back every last Saturday.


Learn more about the One Community Grocery Co-op

Upcoming Events

Happy Black History Month! Join us for our Black History Month Community Workday on

Saturday, February 25th. Culture and community are pillars of what we do at the farm, and providing space for the community to gather and have the opportunity to get involved and learn is important to us. The One Community Grocery Co-op Pop-Up Market will be back!!! Let's continue to grow together and highlight Black Excellence in South St. Pete.


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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Youth Farm will be at the Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival!


February 18th | 10am - 5pm

The Collard Green Festival aims to inspire healthier communities through urban agriculture, culinary experience, nutritional education, fitness, and family fun. Come out and say hi!


Learn More

Youth Farm in the News

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At St. Pete Youth Farm, MLK Day of Service makes a difference

"In St. Petersburg, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a celebration. A crowd of thousands lines First Avenue South for the parade that attracts marching bands from across Florida and the South and church and community groups from across St. Pete and Pinellas County."


83 Degrees Media | Jan 17th, 2023

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Preparing for Kwanzaa, and planting seeds for the future

"Farm coordinator Carla Bristol has been helping teens live the cultural holiday’s seven principles of self-determination, collective work, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith all year long. Back in July, Spectrum News stopped by the farm to see the beginnings of their main project, raising 40 tilapia."


Bay News 9 | Dec 23rd, 2022

WATCH THE FULL STORY HERE

Come Grow With Us!

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ST. PETE YOUTH FARM

727-565-3930

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