The Alliance was invited to an event at Wesleyan University on April 29th. This free day-long event was intended to connect young people working in CT’s food justice efforts to each other, to adults working in the field, and to career opportunities they may not realize they are preparing for. Hosted by the College for the Environment at Wesleyan, this event featured a panel discussion, workshops, and round-table discussions for everyone to share and learn more about the work happening in CT. Urban Ag, community gardening, and other efforts to localize the food system were all welcome topics for discussion, along with legislation being proposed (and its impacts), organizing under way (and who’s involved/who’s left out), and the future of the food movement in general. Transportation funds were offered as a part of our NRCS project, but Wesleyan staff wanted to do their part to ensure that young people could attend the day without worries.
Some of the workshops included discussions with the CT Food System Alliance about how people in the room experience the food system and what changes they wanted to see. Others opened up conversations with the worker-owners of Semilla Tortillaria, a cooperative food business in New Haven focused on solidarity, empowering the community, and reconnecting with traditional Native corn, processed using traditional practices (nixtamalization opens up the nutrients in corn, making them more bio-available for human digestive systems, making these tortillas more nutritious than what most residents of the States are accustomed to), and power building in community organizing. Each workshop room was packed, and participants talked about their experiences together for most of the day.
The panel discussion was mighty, connecting the issues in our food system and urban agriculture to other systems where inequity ruins lives. The education system, the prison system, and land access and ownership as a means of population control were all laid on the table. People talked about the challenges they see and face, the policies they advocate for (touching everything from education funding, to police in schools vs. counselors, to healthcare access, to wage theft, even to school meals), and the work they do to make this world a better one to live in. One major piece that emerged as one needing attention was the USDA definition of “farmer”, who that leaves out, and what their denial means in terms of their ability to access resources they need to succeed. Official statistics indicate that fewer than 2% of “farmers” in the state are Black or brown. However, looking around that room, the vast majority of people growing food, feeding their communities, and teaching the next generation how to be self-reliant were all people of color. Why are they not counted?
Now that we are wrapping up our final workshops for this year and are finalizing the interviews after each, attention turns to the summer. We are working on gathering youth input on what they want the summer event to look like, as well as what they want the Alliance to look like next year. Youth leadership, voice, and will are at the heart of what the Alliance stands for. Every chance we can create for them to determine the path alongside us is one we will jump on. Let’s hope for a good growing season!
I hope you are all well and remembering to drink your water! I am writing to ask people to make sure their DSS information is up to date and verified so they can maintain Husky and SNAP Eligibility. All children ages 12 and under are also eligible for healthcare coverage regardless of their immigration status. Please verify your information here.
February couldn’t leave without dropping a little “poor people’s fertilizer” on us and exited after dropping nearly 5 inches of snow across the state. Thankfully, that means just a little more nitrogen fixed for our soil! Hopefully March’s lion-like entrance will lead directly to a lamb-like exit with plenty of moisture and warmth for our gardens and farms. This newsletter we catch up with partner programs to see how they are winding down their winter “rest” and gearing up for the business of springtime.
Partner Program Updates
Common Ground High School
The high school spent February lifting up Black History month with explorations into culture and excellence (or the culture of excellence, if you will). Early in the month, they accepted new funding to expand their outdoor classroom and gardens to continue and elevate their work connecting students and neighbors to the natural world. Shortly thereafter, reporters from the New Haven Independent stopped in to interview students whose projects were funded through the Voice4Change initiative, bringing job training opportunities like google certifications and nursing classes at the local community college, as well as “peace corners” for students to ease their stress without leaving classrooms and missing out on instruction time. These projects utilize ARPA funding to get student led and elected projects up and running. Then they brought Leah Penniman of Soul Fire Farm to campus to talk with students about Black agriculture alongside other food system leaders from within the New Haven community. Finally, several events for Black History Month culminated in shared meals centering Black culinary traditions for students to encounter and enjoy with historical context, cooked by local chefs.
Ebony Horsewomen
The work after EHI’s inaugural Black Boots Award ceremony is only just beginning! Now, Patricia Kelly, EHI’s Executive Director, is spending time talking through the new Black Boots magazine, a publication intended to share the work, talents, and excellence of Black equestrians and related artisans and tradesfolk with the public. This magazine looks exquisite and is available now. Next issue of this quarterly magazine will be out in May.
Image description: a black banner is printed with golden horses walking left to right across the image. Between the horses sits a golden diamond with a white circle at the center. On the white circle is printed the Black Boots Award logo. Beneath the logo, written in gold, are the words “Black Boots Awards 2023, brought to you by Hartford Public Television” with the HPTV logo in a white rectangle to the right of the text. Gold dust is scattered across the background. /end description
GROW Windham
The GROW Windham teams have been working on their community engagement through street fairs and events. The Romantic Willimantic festival was a hit, as always, and special appearances by GW’s own Cupid made the day even more memorable. Now everyone is working on renovating their newly-expanded space so that youth needs can be centered, as they always aim to do at GW. Formerly relegated to just a couple of rooms in their building’s basement, GW offices now occupy most of the lower level! Every staff member gets an office, the kitchen is still well in use, and additional rooms are being considered for tutoring, job readiness trainings, and general safe gathering spaces for young people seeking nothing more than a place where they can *be* without having to spend money. This is what community looks like!
GVI
Youth events through GVI have been exploring new heights this month. The unruly weather was a hurdle the outdoor walk with Two Coyotes school wasn’t quite able to overcome (thanks, February!), but the nutrition event allowed for interesting conversations around the dietary paths people follow, their reasons and their results. Young people exploring such lifestyles as veganism got the chance to ask their questions in safe, supportive space and make their determinations without the burden of judgement. The majority of their attention now is on preparing for their PhotoVoice exhibits, both at the farm and in a public space intended to get the photos and the stories they tell into the spaces where decision-makers and school nutrition program staff will be able to see them and consider youth perspectives and experiences when they have to make decisions. More information on those photo walks to come as available!
Huneebee Project
An exciting year of growth and expansion is developing for HBP. Their application for Beekeepers in Residence is going to open soon, and their social media accounts are all abuzz with their attention on Black History Month. While they honor their Joy hive in Bridgeport and offer gratitude for last year’s donors who made that hive possible, they also lift their neighbors in New Haven for their storytelling, film making, and community-building power and prowess. Their big quest now is to engage with younger potential participants and build their skills to lead in a world where honeybees are honored. How do you reach younger community members to learn about their concerns and engage them with your program?
Image description: bees gather on top of a dark wooden panel, placed on top of a wooden pallet. These honeybees are described as “winter bees”, who live up to six months, unlike their summer siblings, who love only a six-week lifespan. This photo is captured, along with the description, from the Huneebee Project’s facebook page. /end description
Institute for Community Research
Work at ICR continues as always. The report for the Active City project is nearing completion, and a new project with the Hartford Culinary Collaborative is getting under way. This project aims to map and improve understanding of the food entrepreneur ecosystem in the city of Hartford. The Youth Action Hub, ICR’s youth project investigating the housing system and experiences of unstably housed youth, continues to meet and develop a network of housing and service providers across the state, much like the Alliance connects programs across CT.
Keney Park Sustainability Project
KPSP is still quiet for the winter. Watch here for developments as they ramp up for spring!
New Britain ROOTS
Several positions are open at ROOTS, indicating their growth and dedication to ensuring that every young person in New Britain has access to fresh food and knows where that food comes from. Please take a look at their postings and see if they have anything on tap that looks like a good fit for anyone you know! Check here for currently open positions with ROOTS.
Nonprofit Accountability Group
NAG, as always, is busy, busy, busy. Their recent work with COHI (the CT Oral Health Initiative) has gained traction as they seek to ensure that everyone in Hartford has access to reliable oral health and wellness care. In addition, their efforts to encourage neighbors to render testimony at the Legislative Office Building (the LOB is a part of the Capitol complex here in Hartford) have increased information sharing around bills involving capping rent prices and increasing access to school meals for all CT students. Other efforts NAG has been sharing and participating in have built access to facilitator training for neighbors, invasive species cleanups along the Pequabuck River, and sharing open positions to increase accessibility to new jobs at decent pay.
Nourish My Soul
The NMS teens have been working to collect and analyze information from their community to better understand how they can focus their efforts to meet existing needs. Their community assessment focuses on food access on the surface, but what they are quietly and effectively doing in improving community connections and perceptions of youth in their towns. Sneaky, how those benefits of connecting keep building up, isn’t it? Another way they have fostered these connections is through their Bagel Bunch shares. Bagels from local outlets are collected and redistributed within the community at no cost. Sharing food, stories, and experiences, this is how community is built!
Image description: nine large black plastic bags are tied shut and places on top of two large folding tables in a sunny yellow room. These bags are full of bagels, still good to eat, but would have been thrown away, all from local bakeries and bagel outlets. These bagels are destined to be distributed and shared as a part of NMS’s Bagel Bunch. /end description
Solar Youth
As summer plans are being formulated, Solar Youth is quiet. Watch for updates next month!
Summer of Solutions
The SoS crew is deep in planning for their summer internship program. In addition, they have revitalized their mutual aid efforts, dedicating their work to ensure that neighbors have access to the food, diapers, winter coats, and other necessities they require to survive a winter in Hartford. Their Pink Pantry, located at the garden on Zion St., is aiming to bulk up and serve needs where they are. Other mutual aid outlets are located at Martin St with a large donation drop-off location at Woodland Dr. To support SoS’s efforts, please email summerofsolutions860@gmail.com.
Alliance Updates
CSAPs workshops are on hold, awaiting progress from Conservation District Directors. They have been seeking presenters with similar passion about their topic to what Cynthia presented. She is a tough act to follow! As soon as they are successful in finding someone able to present on pest ID and management as a climate smart agricultural practice, we will get that workshop information out to everyone!
Interviews following the soil health workshop are wrapping up, with the last group scheduled to be interviewed next week. Once that final information collection is completed, activity plans will be assembled based on youth and staff input and shared out for thoughts before finalizing and publishing to all Alliance programs and our Conservation District partners. Thank you all for your thoughts and willingness to share them!
An exciting opportunity coming in April will be held at Wesleyan University in Middletown. Please see the Save the Date flyer below!
As mentioned in a partner update above, PhotoVoice is a meaningful and accessible method of collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and disseminating information on a topic of importance. In addition to expertise in Photovoice, ICR can offer workshops with staff at your program to develop “mental maps” or research models, highlighting the central, driving force that keeps your programs running, and outlining how the activities you take on support that central cause. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Kathy for workshops if they might be useful to you.
Image description: on the right side of the image, a dark background features white text saying “Save the Date”. On the left, a yellow field boasts “CT Food Justice Gathering April 29, 2023, Wesleyan University, 10am-3:30 pm. Workshops: how to start a farm in CT (Chicks Ahoy), CT Food System Values (CT Food System Alliance, BLOC Organizer Training (Katal Center) & more. . . Panel Discussion connecting statewide legislative campaigns on food justice and racial justice. /end description
Happy new calendar and lunar new year, everyone! May this 2023 and the year of the rabbit/cat treat everyone the way they deserve to be treated. This month’s newsletter sees the Alliance digging deep into Climate Smart Agricultural Practices in partnership with CT Conservation Districts, diving into rewilding practices, and delving into self- and community-care in regenerative ways. Youth in urban agriculture really know how to make the world a much better place!
Partner Program Updates
Common Ground High School
It is that time of year again, the time where Common Ground High School turns its attention to the Rock to Rock bike ride, the fundraising event for environmental organizations in New Haven. This year, CGHS is adopting the Climate Justice League as the name for their team, hoping to push their fundraising efforts to heroic proportions. To learn more about the Rock to Rock ride, please check here.
Ebony Horsewomen
The celebration was mighty and the attendees stunning. EHI’s Black Boots Award Ceremony was a resounding success! Connections were built with new partners and the good work of EHI affiliates was elevated for all to see. Afterwards, not a moment was wasted as work continued on the Mary Fields Museum and Conference Center with walls delivered and roof trusses put in place. Finally, EHI is opening applications for mental health counselors and other practitioners to learn about rendering culturally competent care in equine therapy through their Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy Training and Training Certification program, beginning March 21.
GROW Windham
Tired of waiting for growing season, the GROW Windham crew has installed and is setting up their hydroponics system in the office. Last year they grew lettuce crops in one of their partner schools, and this year they increased their capacity with additional systems. To continue to connect with their community, they are planning their table for the Romantic Willimantic celebratory Chocolate Festival on the 11th from 11:00-3:00. As always, some of the GROW crew will be costumed so you don’t want to miss it! One of the key pieces they are working on this season is to establish space for youth to safely and comfortably gather in Willimantic, so please share your ideas on what helps to make such spaces successful!
Image description: a two-tiered heart-shaped chocolate-frosted cake is topped with white ganache, strawberries, blueberries, white chocolate swirls, and red foil sprays. This photo courtesy of the Romantic Willimantic Annual Chocolate Festival facebook page, advertising their chocolate cake competition for the Romantic Willimantic Chocolate Festival. /end description
GVI
The good folks in Bridgeport have been planning incredible opportunities for young people. February stands to be a fabulous month for GVI and they are looking to share their good fortune with others! Their first upcoming event, a nature immersion day, will prioritize attendance for Bridgeport youth. To learn more about this event and sign up, please check here. Then, on February 22, they are hosting a Youth Cooking Demo, featuring conversations about how folks have navigated their specific dietary needs. To learn more about this event and sign up, please check here. Finally, GVI is hosting a workshop in partnership with Housatonic Community College about the intersections of food sovereignty and social justice on February 15. This workshop will doubtless be filled with important information and opportunities to learn about how Black Americans have led and continue to lead efforts to build both. To learn more about this event (including how to stream it!), please check here.
Huneebee Project
In order to expand their connections within the community, HBP is launching their first flower CSA this year. As HBP focuses on the health and wellness of their beehives, the need for fresh, pesticide-free flowers and pollen sources is a necessity. This approach, bringing fresh, organically-grown and local flowers to supporters often helps not only to address HBP’s financial needs, but also their bee’s needs and their communities need for beauty. Commercial cut flower operations are among the most environmentally degrading agriculture endeavors around, siphoning huge amounts of resources to heat greenhouses, support the extensive use of petrochemicals in the forms of pesticides, fungicides, and fertilizers, and to transport blooms from across the globe to markets. This approach ensured safe, healthy floral beauty for local supporters without forcing the cost onto neighbors and others in the form of pollution. To learn more and support this effort as it develops, please see here.
Image description: a large cardboard box is open at the front left corner of the photo. Inside the box rest hundreds of healthy-looking tulip bulbs. The box rests of green grass. Behind the box, a street-art-covered wall boasts bright colors, images of bees, bee hives, stylized flowers, and the Huneebee Project’s logo. /end description
Institute for Community Research
New projects are getting under way at ICR, focused on food entrepreneurialism, preserving Black generational wealth, and expanding connections between teens and mental health care providers. All of these new or proposed projects are colluding to elevate our thinking, conversations, and actions to undermine inequality in our society. Interns are offering their expertise as they learn new skills and build new professional connections among the research staff, partners, and the community we get to work alongside. We’re even nearing completion of a new website to help us share our work, goals, and accomplishments more easily. Keep watch here as new and exciting opportunities come through!
Keney Park Sustainability Project
Winter time is rest time at KPSP. The holiday market at the Sto brought makers and community together, spreading the power and beauty of creations by Black entrepreneurs around Hartford’s North End. As spring gets closer, KPSP will have more good stuff to share. For now, rest up, KPSP!
New Britain ROOTS
ROOTS has assembled and share a fantastic resource on their website; a food map of their city! This map allows visitors to identify resources they may need to access food, whether those be stores, farmers markets, food pantries, or farms. Using Google Maps, ROOTS input information about each resource to make the map easier for first-time visitors. This kind of resource sharing is inexpensive and important for people who may not know of the resources available to them. To see this map, please check here.
Nonprofit Accountability Group
NAG and their many partners have been deeply engaged in teaching CT legislators about the untapped resources and impossible barriers to justice in our state. Through their focus on the Environment committee and Appropriations, they have been keeping abreast of such proposed bills as HB 5532, An Act Appropriating Funds for Free Student Meals. Other, similar bills being followed by NAG include HB 5209, and HB 5551. These proposals have largely been referred to the education committee. To follow the CT General Assembly and see what bills are being proposed, when testimony can be rendered, and what committees they are being referred to, please check here.
Image description: the CT State Capitol Building is photographed from the back on a sunny day. The grass is bright green, the sun is shining bright on the far right of the image, and the clouds scuttle across a brilliant blue sky. /end description
Nourish My Soul
In their effort to ensure that everyone has access to fresh, nutritious food, NMS’s From the Ground Up program recently installed their hydroponics system sponsored by LEVO International. This system is intended to provide fresh vegetables to anyone who frequents the town library, without question. This type of project increases community connections, decreases barriers to food access, and gives participants skills they would otherwise not gain unless they attend specific college programs. All y ear long, food should be free!
Solar Youth
Solar Youth is working hard to find ways for young people to get to their programs. Many of the children SY serves live close to where their programs take place, but as we all know, wintertime makes transportation without a personal vehicle difficult, if not downright dangerous. While the SY team has shifted their work effectively to continue to be successful in the face of multiple significant challenges, this one, a challenge all urban youth programs face, is proving to be a big one. Any wisdom folks might be able to offer around addressing the transportation struggles would be most welcome!
Summer of Solutions
Much like KPSP, SoS is resting as best they can at this time of year. Their Coats and Cocoa event was a success, and their dreaming of the coming growing season is under way. Keep watch for updates from the Food Should Be Free crew!
Alliance Updates
As this winter peaks and begins its descent, the coldest part of the year greets us and encourages us to slow down. Oddly enough, while the Alliance garden may look like its sleeping, the roots are RIOTOUS. Our first Climate Smart Agricultural Practices (CSAPs) workshop on soil health was a success and interviews are under way to identify and formulate activity plans to make the content Alliance youth learned about more accessible to their peers and neighbors. To build upon what we learned in this workshop, Conservation District Directors are eager to visit Alliance partner program sites to identify methods of building and retaining soil health in your growing spaces this spring. Scheduling these visits will get under way as soon as possible. The second workshop, focused on pest management, will take place in February, so watch for that sign-up!
In addition, partner programs are collaborating to develop research models of the work they do. These models are useful in communicating the work of our programs, the roles programs play in addressing social issues, and they help staff to better understand and express the purpose of their work as well as what their work *isn’t* about. By the beginning of summer, enough models should have been made to allow for a comparison of the work happening in Alliance programs to identify where issues seem to affect many communities, and what steps to address those issues have been most successful.
Finally, those who have been connected to the Alliance for years now will remember Malana Rogers-Bursen. Malana was the Americorps VISTA from 2015-2016 at ICR, teaching young leaders facilitation skills and coordinating events and actions for that year. She has returned to the state from her time in Switzerland to begin working at Wesleyan in Middletown, as the community outreach manager for the College of the Environment. She is excited to re-connect with the Alliance, especially as the youth leadership built through partner programs is mighty! Opportunities to connect the Alliance with Wesleyan are being explored but, if you have any suggestions, please let us know. You can always email Kat at Kathy.engle-dulac@icrweb.org Thank you all for the good work you do!
Image description: an over-exposed image of a frozen evergreen bough before a snowy background. The left side of the image is bleached yellow from the overexposure. /end description
On January 26th, the Alliance enjoyed its first workshop in partnership with the CT Conservation District Offices, sponsored by the NRCS. This workshop focused on soil health, sharing the importance of the composition of soil in our food growing efforts. Thanks to the wisdom and expertise of Cynthia Rabinowicz, the Executive Director of the Northwest Conservation District (their website can be found here), staff and youth received a broad-and-deep introduction to how soil is made, what it is made of, and how to keep it healthy or get it back to health if it has been damaged. This type of information and the skills it improves helps to give Alliance-partner programs the tools they need in their efforts to grow healthy, tasty food for themselves, their families, and their neighbors. It also helps them to identify what they can and need to do to keep our soil from washing away during the torrential rain storms we have been experiencing this winter in place of the snows we are accustomed to getting. By the end of our workshop, some participants were asking questions about soil remediation in partnership with fungi, a new and exciting field in soil health efforts.
Soon, interviews with participants from last night’s workshop will help to outline plans for making workshops like this one more accessible for young change-makers beginning their work in urban agriculture. The activity plans these interview inform will be compiled and made available for the Conservation Districts to utilize in other settings, hopefully to increase their reach into our communities where their knowledge, combined with our dedication and determination, can improve soil quality, crop quality, and the quality of life for our communities.
Future workshop in this series include sessions on pest and disease identification and remediation, water management in agricultural settings, and pollinator plantings (focused on native plants, of course). Each workshop will train members of Alliance programs to share what they learn with their peers and community members, increasing the use of climate smart ag practices in our cities. The goal is to make our communities more resilient in the face of a changing climate, increasing our ability to take care of ourselves and each other come what may.
Keep an eye here to learn how you can improve your knowledge on these topics, as well as how you can help us to do the work we do. As we develop information to be shared and opportunities for you to work alongside us, this is where we will share it. Now is the time of garden dreaming, so we all wish you the best of seed cataloges and planning apps!
a cross section of earth showing different layers of ground staring with a rich dark layer at the top and becoming low in oganic materials at lower depths. Creator: sciencestockphotos.com | Credit: sciencestockphotos.com Copyright: sciencestockphotos.com
Now is the time of holidays, of celebration and close ties. We in the Alliance hope that your harvest celebrations consider the mighty work you have done this year, the good your presence, effort, and heart make in this world, and the joy your life creates. May 2023 bring your goals that much closer! In this newsletter, we touch upon the end-of-year notes each partner program has struck. If you would like to contribute to our next newsletter, please send your contributions to Kathy.engle-dulac@icrweb.org before the last week of the month.
Partner Program Updates
Common Ground High School
This year, CGHS has focused on celebrating strengths and connections. Each new student, camper, family, or staff member brings new perspectives, skills, experiences, and personality to their programs. From workshops led by farmers from other cities to crafts focused on using what has been discarded to make something new, building those connections was central to all of what the school, camps, and workforce development programs offered this year. While CGHS staff transition out of their positions, we all eagerly await the new staff members waiting to step into their shoes and bring new insights and opportunities to the work. We all wish Disha the very best as she embarks on her new adventures!
Ebony Horsewomen
The theme at EHI this year has centered Black excellence. From the upcoming Inaugural Black Boots Awards to the groundbreaking for the Stagecoach Mary Museum, the unifying theme at this novel and important therapeutic equestrian center has been the excellence of Black America. On January 8th, the Black Boots award night gala will take place at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Theater. Tickets can be purchased here for $65 per general admission. While listed as a “semi-formal” event, participants are encouraged to wear their best Stetson, as an award will be presented to the finest of the evening.
Image description: a flyer featuring a brown to black ombre background with stars sparkling in front. Images of Black equestrians float above the half-way mark of the page. A golden horse statue stands just below the images. The words “Black Boots Awards” is below the horse statue in white script. In white text below, the date January 8, 2023, CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Theater, 359 Washington St., Hartford, CT 06106 is written in white text. A gold ribbon on the right hand side of the page features, in white text, the words “tickets available now! $65 general admission, $85 VIP admission” /end description
GROW Windham
This potent team’s theme this year has been growth. The connections this program enjoys, fosters, and deepens between their work and the work of their neighbors is always inspirational. This year, they stepped further into the partnership building both to address food system needs and program needs. They are leading a coalition focused on directly addressing barriers to food access in the Eastern portion of the state while simultaneously leading efforts to formulate a curriculum to build program strength by streamlining staff onboarding, offering program structure suggestions, and highlighting skills and knowledge needed to successfully scaffold youth programming with the goal of making it easier for others to start building youth leadership. They even hired one of their former participants as a new staff member for their youth program (welcome back, Malakai)! From hydroponic systems to the hoop house to the thread City Garden, GROW Windham is finding ways to get young people into the drivers seat, growing leaders at each step of the way.
GVI
The work in Bridgeport this year has been incredible. Their theme would have to be “better together”, as they have sought, successfully, to incorporate more community, more connections, and more possibilities into their program this year than ever before. Their new hives of honey bees are thriving, ready to face their first winter in the slightly more southerly location than New Haven, where they originated. This addition came to GVI through partnership with the Honey Bee Project, another partner in the Alliance. The Urban Farmer training sessions (and graduating class) featured wisdom from the I Got Next farmer collective, connecting GVI to Hartford. Their harvest festival featured so much joy and sunshine from their community that it was a pity to miss it. Even the raised beds came together with thanks to an unusual funder, Tito’s vodka! The rebuild is stunning and the farm should continue to grow for years, thanks to the newly-minted agreement with the City of Bridgeport, leasing the land to the organization for another stretch of time. Hooray!
Image description: the background shows a sunny field of marigolds in bloom. A monarch butterfly rests at the right hand side of the image. The GVI logo sits at the bottom right of the image. In an orange block, white test reads “May the sun bring you new energy by day. May the grandmother moon softly restore you by night. May the rain wash away your worries, cleanse and heal. May the breeze blow now strength. May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days and evening of your life. Blessings to all.” Clan Mother Sharon Waupatukuay Piper Tribal head Leader of the Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe. /end description
Huneebee Project
As one might anticipate when talking about a honeybee-focused organization, HBP’s theme for this year would have to be “busy”. This tiny-but-mighty org has grown impressively this year, hiring two full-time positions (their executive director and a full time beekeeper), placed hives in many new locations, and expanded from New Haven into Bridgeport thanks to their partnership with GVI. Programs that built connections between youth and adult mentors, between youth and policy makers, and between youth and other youth have filled the calendar! New hives have been split and queens taken their places among the thousands of workers in each new hive, but getting new colonies established takes time. While more honey is not flowing yet, the health of the colonies is the first consideration. It take a new hive some time to establish and set enough honey to assure their survival, so HBP is biding their time, playing the long game. While the work barely lets up, patience is a requirement. We can’t wait to see what the next year brings for this impressive new partner!
Institute for Community Research
This year’s theme at ICR has definitely been “change”. We are in a new office space. We have a new executive director. We have new projects as long-running projects wind down. A lot of what people expect from ICR has changed, but our core principles have stayed the same. We focus on working with partners to identify what needs to be addressed, and then we address it together. We continue to focus on our anti-racism and anti-adultism values in each project, giving the tools we have to others, showing them how to use them, and then supporting them as they use them, but doing our best to get out of their way. Moving forward, we are aiming at improving our listening skills, engaging in difficult conversations, and finding ways that we can be of use to our partners.
Keney Park Sustainability Project
This year, KPSP did amazing work to “plant new seeds”. Even though some of their partners had ben working together with KPSP prior to the pandemic, this year they worked in new ways, with new benefits for the residents of Hartford. In collaboration with Riverfront Recapture, youth working with KPSP planted new trees to catch back up to the numbers they sought to plant prior to isolation orders kept the project on hold. Their work will help to prevent some of the impacts of summer heat and storm water runoff damage, both becoming greater risks as our climate changes. Youth worked at the KPSP mills to prepare over 3,000 square feet of lumber, decreasing land loss to tree fall in Keney Park and increasing access to local lumber for local building projects. The Urban Ecology Welness Program enjoyed its second year, offering yoga and mindfulness opportunities to Hartford residents in their historic parkland. Finally, the home gardeners program set up 350 gardeners to grow some of their own food, putting the power of nourishment back into their hands. So many seeds and so much growth!
Image description: a table is set up partially under an awning outside on a sunny day. The table is covered with boxes full of delicta, butternut, and carnival squash, curly kale and collard greens. Lauren Little stands behind the far side of the table, smiling. The Real Food Roadshow bus is in the far background. /end description
New Britain ROOTS
The New Britain ROOTS team has been hard at work, getting their hands into the earth and their minds into the game. Their theme this year has clearly been about returning power to the people. Launching community conversations with teens and elders to learn about how they experience the food system with the goal of using the data they collected to inform a statewide food policy plan was a strong move. Getting people together to talk about food, such a sensitive topic, with an eye toward shifting the power back into their hands was no east task, but they took it head-on and offered useful information. Partnering with End Hunger Connecticut! to pledge their support for the new School Meals for All campaign puts ROOTS in a strong position to address law makers and other powerful individuals about the needs, strengths, and opportunities for improvement in our food system. Bringing the food system to the Museum of American Art with a soil health workshop was the icing on the cake, even if it happened early in the year! In all, New Britain ROOTS spent this year being a study in the payoff from hard work.
Nonprofit Accountability Group
NAG has, since their inception, been a powerful force to unite and move the residents of Hartford closer to the goal of justice. While the words for their theme escape me, their mascot has obviously been the Energizer Bunny. Every time you drive past City Hall in Hartford, NAG is out there with a crowd of people demanding their human rights be respected. Their mutual aid work has fed, housed, and diapered many people, individuals, and babies this year when eviction moratoriums lapsed and people started being kicked out of their homes. Their deep community reach made them a strong entry point for political candidates seeking office, which brought more eyes to their efforts and power. Bringing young people to summer camp, paying them equitably for their time, and ensuring that their physical, social, emotional, and future needs were met, connecting teens to environmental causes and organizations, and building bridges between the various and intersectional causes we all prioritize has required an enormous amount of strength, focus, and integrity from NAG. They have risen to that challenge every time with grace.
Nourish My Soul
This year has been a homecoming year for NMS. First, they entered into an agreement with the East Granby Land Trust to tend to and maintain their new farm space, growing from raised boxes outside of the community center to a full-fledged farm! Then they opened their programing up to an entirely new crowd of home school students, preschoolers, and teens this fall, embracing the wisdom of the land and seasons, learning from the past, and engaging with the community through bagel breakfasts and jewelry making. Despite the fact that NMS has never strayed from the Granby area, this year, they sunk their roots into home and make themselves a part of the landscape they might not have realized they were missing. Welcome home, NMS!
Image Description: the sun shines on a field of greenery where the sprinkler sprays water into the air. A sign proclaims “Grant funding recipient” and shows the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving logo. The top third of the image is full of cloudless blue sky.
Solar Youth
The Solar Youth squad has been hard at work reminding their participants that good things come from diving deep. Their theme this year has focused on love, embracing community even when some in community made that hard to do. Despite some scary moments, their youth continued to engage in communicating with each other and their neighbors, identifying paths forward that will benefit New Haven when climate change makes much of what we take for granted mere memory. Summer camps featured joyous music, dancing, face painting, and laughter, with art kits heading into homes for young people across the City.
Summer of Solutions
SoS has focused their year on generosity. For an organization founded on the principle that food should be free, SoS has expanded their work to include not only food but also winter wear, school supplies, and infant formula at a time when the nation was experiencing a shortage of dramatic proportions. Now that they are in their winter hibernation, all we can do is watch to see what the Pink Pantry will feature next spring!
Alliance Updates
As the winter closes in, most farmers are dreaming of what their growing season will look like next year. We, on the other hand, have switched from agriculture back to the focus of youth leadership. Our Climate Smart Agricultural Practices workshops are slated to begin soon with a virtual session on soil health, aimed at teaching staff and young leaders the skills they need so that they can, in turn, teach those skills to their peers in Alliance programs. Weekly newsletters highlight learning opportunities. Based on Alliance program staff feedback, the next several updates will center workshops, classes, toolkits, and conferences focused on building youth confidence, learning about group dynamics, and identifying ways to collect information systematically with the goal of informing action. To sign up for these newsletters or research workshops, please reach out to Kathy.engle-dulac@icrweb.org .
Finally, we have been invited to share in the steps taken by New Britain ROOTS in supporting End Hunger Connecticut!’s Free School Meals for All campaign. To learn more about this new campaign, please check here. To indicate your support of this campaign, please sign up your org and share your decision with Kathy.engle-dulac@icrweb.org . If enough partner organizations wish to support this campaign, then it would only make sense to sign up as an Alliance! The focus aligns with our work, so our support would make good sense.
Image description: a sign proclaims “welcome child nutrition advocates! School meals for all CT Campaign kick-off. The End Hunger Connecticut! logo features prominently across the bottom of the sign. The sign stands in front of the entry to a convention room. /end description
As the trees show us how beautiful it can be to let go of what no longer serves, the Alliance steps into a few new dances. Our monthly meeting centered guest speakers this month as we discussed exciting possibilities. Workshops are being planned to familiarize participants with Climate Smart Agricultural Practices (CSAPs to those in the know), and although the gardens are tucked in with garlic and other over-wintering crops, the learning is stepping into high gear. Thanks for joining us on the ride!
Program Updates:
Common Ground High School
This is CGHS’s 25th anniversary year! They are celebrating with events for the community and sharing beautiful images from around the farm. Who would have thought in 1997 that the “little farm that could” would be a leader in the state, region, and nation in urban farm education? Congratulations, CGHS!
Image description: in the early days of CGHS (in the 1990s), a green building with white trim is nestled among trees with a large dirt patch in front. There are two adults talking at the foreground left of the image. In the background right of the image, tables are filled with seated young people. Between the photographer and building, a few people are scattered, walking around the dirt yard. /end description
Ebony Horsewomen
The crew from EHI just recently returned from a trip to Washington DC where they visited the African American History Museum and stopped at the Bill Picket Invitational Rodeo. The rodeo stop was about more than watching the showmanship and athleticism of the riders, horses, and bulls, but also so that Patricia Kelly, the founder and CEO of EHI, could accept her Crown Royal Rider Award. Trips like these are key to expanding the possibilities for youth in EHI and all of the Alliance programs. Getting familiar with the halls of power, learning about the process of making changes at a large scale, and beginning to know that the people in those suits are humans just like the rest of us! Congratulations, Ms. Pat and the rest of EHI’s folks!
GROW Windham
In mid-October, GROW Windham youth led tours of their garden spaces for community members during the Open Garden Day/DÍa de JardÍn Abierto (apologies for the incorrect lettering).
GVI
As always, it is a *busy* time at GVI. As their youth fellowship cohort gets under way, they find themselves planning their Harvest Fest (a celebration of the bounty the Reservoir Community Farm ensures for Bridgeport residents) and have just served as the hosts for the New CT Farmer Alliance’s policy launch party. Combining the farm’s productivity with community means that GVI has to consider policies and their impacts on neighbor’s lives. The New CT Farmer Alliance’s policy platform centers racial equity and features five main pillars that call for changes at the local, state, and national level to make farming in CT more equitable. These pillars are:
Improve the economic viability of farming
Make farmland more accessible
Improve agricultural infrastructure
Confront climate change and build climate resilience
Increase access to affordable healthcare for farmers
Huneebee Project
After a successful gala, Huneebee Project is seeking to meet and exceed their fundraising goal for next year’s programming to ensure participants get a fair wage and the bees get the care they need. One of the ways they are doing this is through the sale of their honey and beeswax products on their website. With the goal of funding wages to teach and expand job skills specifically, Huneebee Project faces different hurdles than many Alliance partners. We have a great deal to learn!
Image description: a three-level bee hive box sits at the foreground of the image. The top and bottom levels are white or off-white and the middle level is baby blue with pink puffs of paint on the side facing the viewers. The bottom level features the phrase “justice 4 all” on the side facing the viewer, with a black image of the scales of justice on the other visible side. Another two-level hive box sits just behind the hive in focus. /end description
Institute for Community Research
It’s been a bumpy month at ICR, but progress continues. New opportunities to work with area health agencies, parent groups, and culinary collectives are unfolding to great anticipation. The Active City project is now being analyzed so that findings can be shared with as wide an audience as possible. Some early findings include a better understanding of how big an issue transportation is for young people seeking to participate in organized sports in the North End of Hartford. As more data is analyzed, it will be described as clearly as possible and shared here.
Keney Park Sustainability Project
KPSP doesn’t let the grass grow under their feet! Even as the gardens are closed up for the cold season, the staff and volunteers continue to expand access to fresh, local food for Hartford residents by installing new garden beds at local schools. In addition to the recent installations, they continue their work to connect with area youth and their families through their Trunk-or-Treat party. From 4-5:30 on Halloween night, families are invited to show off their costumes, enjoy the music, and watch a fun movie for the season.
(Image description: in a green, grassy field, several poles have been driven into the ground to mark out the area of a new school garden. Volunteers in t-shirts haul wheelbarrows full of compost to new bed sites. Behind the garden space, several trees are still in full green leaf. /end description)
New Britain ROOTS
The cold season is usually a time for dreaming of the next growing opportunities. ROOTS doesn’t bother with dreams; they get out there and make the opportunities happen. Recently, the ties between the youth program and the New Britain Senior Center allowed for a novel chance to hear from both youth and elders what they notice about today’s food system. These intergenerational conversations allowed youth to share their concerns about the food they can access while elders shared their concerns about food traditions and family history slipping away thanks to “new” diets and fast food. Each participant got the chance to bring home a bag of produce as a thank you for their time and perspectives. Hopefully more conversations like this will take place across the state so that we can work together to ensure that CT’s food systems meet the needs of the people we love.
Nonprofit Accountability Group
NAG’s eternal optimism and hard work leads to a revival of an old community care method: the Rent Party. Neighbors get together to share what they have with one another in hopes of raising enough money to keep folks who might be struggling in their homes. This week’s Rent Party features music, food, and raffles to help raise funds to keep Hartford residents in their homes now that the impact of the rent moratorium is so much more noticeable thanks to the number of people being evicted, even if they have paid their back rent! To learn more about NAG’s housing efforts, please stop by their website at naghartford.org and sign up for their weekly newsletters. And as always, “remember to drink water”!
Nourish My Soul
This year, it looks like NMS will be able to lead a high school level program again, along with their myriad other offerings. The From the Ground Up leaders gathered to imagine a future they want to work toward, one where the land is honored and the people can eat. Since entering into the arrangement with the East Granby Land Trust through which NMS has access to the farm, the high school leadership program hasn’t been able to gather thanks in large measure to social distancing and other pandemic considerations. Now that they are back together, who knows what will come from Granby!
(Image description: a bee is shown flying towards a light-yellow brassica blossom. Behind the bolted brassica, you can see the dried grasses and other hearty native vegetation ready for its cold season rest. /end description)
Solar Youth
In collaboration with several partner organizations, Solar Youth offered their fall festival to much community praise. Young New Haven residents got to play together, create together, and enjoy a good time in the sun. The collaborations built through events like these can offer new opportunities for young participants to learn about the work happening in their communities, connect with young folks from other nearby communities, and to break down barriers between joy and action.
Summer of Solutions Hartford
To make sure that everyone who needs one gets a winter coat, SoS is hosting their Coats and Cocoa event the day before Halloween. They encourage everyone to wear their costume and have partnered with organizations across the area to bring a free gourmet hot cocoa bar for participants in the event to enjoy. This event will feature a trunk-or-treat, food, and a movie at the food truck park in Hartford.
Alliance Updates
The fall event draws near! ReSet, the business incubator in Hartford, is offering us their space to gather and learn together in on Saturday, November 19 from 11-2. Guest speakers for the second half of the event include farmers, food business entrepreneurs, political figures, and other leaders to share their experiences pursuing their passion to ensure that food is a human right. Teens will determine the agenda for the day by vote and discussion upon their arrival.
In addition, the most recent weekly update features a question: what would you like to have featured as the theme for next month’s meeting? As always, there are options available, but the chance to include your own option is also present. This month’s meeting focused on alternative funding mechanisms, especially memberships, sponsorships, and merchandise sales. We discussed more than just how to use these methods for funding this work, but also WHY these methods help to move the program and organization into a new frame for addressing the issues our communities face. It was a very useful conversation. In case you missed it, please check out the notes here. Connecting is key to making the work you all do flow across the state, but the needs you are facing should be supported. You don’t have to do it all alone! Please share your thoughts on skills-building, concepts, and frameworks you want to explore in the next monthly meeting here.
Finally, our first report to NRCS was received by our program officer. We still have some outstanding receipts needed for transportation to the July event, and the conversation about supplying food for participants has been met with silence. The fall event will feature snacks upon arrival and lunch before everyone leaves. If possible, please bring plates, cups, flatware, and other eating/drinking ware so that we can make this event as close to zero-waste as possible!
Please be good to yourselves and each other. Thank you for the work you do!
(Image description: a field of flowers such as fall mums and coastal roses is seen through a heavy fog. An archway in the middle of the field is covered with white blooms. The viewer cannot see the backdrop of the field much beyond the flowers because the fog is so thick. /end description)
Academic programs are getting under way and the summer is a distant memory. Crops have given space for food preparation, systems comprehension, and network building as young folks in our programs seek to learn more about the food system in other hands-on ways. With changes in our monthly meetings AND a “career day” event on the horizon, this newsletter will hopefully bring some good tidings across your desks.
Program Updates
Common Ground High School
CGHS’s end-of-season fundraiser, FEAST!, is the primary focus of their outreach at this time. Tickets for the FEAST! From the Fields dinner are sold out, while there are still a few tickets remaining for the FEAST! For Families. Congrats on your success, CGHS!
Ebony Horsewomen
EHI is preparing for their Black Boots award ceremony on January 8th. In the meantime, they are celebrating the pouring of a foundation for their Mary Field’s “Stagecoach Mary” museum, a space for the community to learn about and celebrate African American accomplishments past and present. Thanks to partnerships with such companies as TILCON concrete and Manafort Brothers Construction, this museum is growing like a weed!
GROW Windham
New youth facilitators and coordinators at GROW are making program sessions run much deeper. Young folks in Windham have been taking every opportunity to lead both in their program and in the community, offering garden tours and heading sessions with their peers, raising the bar on expectations for their support staff. Their upcoming Open Garden day, scheduled for October 15, will be completely led and facilitated by young folks for the benefit of their community, all in partnership with the Willimantic Public Library. This partnership has been, if you’ll pardon the pun, very fruitful! The library hosts and maintains the seed library, a space where locals can share their seeds free of charge. Now, the garden will play host to the Little Free Library, a kiosk where residents can check out and exchange books with one another at the garden. Partnerships benefit everyone, especially the community!
(Image description: a flyer for a book give-away shows three copies of the book “Seedfolks” fanned out on the grass. In front of this image, the words “GROW Windham-Willimantic Public Library Book Give Away; Starting Wednesday, August 10th until Monday, August 29th. Support local initiatives. /end description)
GVI
The academic year program for GVI is starting soon, with applications and interviews done and selections for this year’s interns nearly complete. This cohort will again identify their own personal projects to engage with, finding their ways to improve the food system in the City of Bridgeport. As a part of their learning together, they will be heading out for a hiking trip with the Aspetuck Land Trust. This partnership is opening opportunities for GVI youth to learn more about and engage more deeply with the environment around their beloved city through recreation and stewardship, opportunities rarely afforded young folks in our city centers. This trip is scheduled for 11/5, so keep a good thought for gentle temperatures and limited snow/ice!
Huneebee Project
This summer was a remarkable one for HBP, and the fall is shaping up to be just as exciting, if dramatically different. While the bees get ready for the winter, the humans are getting ready for next spring and summer with their fundraising gala. This event provides more than just funding for the coming year’s efforts; it also offers expanded opportunities to connect with patrons and neighbors, learn about issues and concerns they are facing, and identify ways in which the HBP can step into the gap and help to meet those needs.
(Image Description: this flyer features the Huneebee Project logo at the top left of the page, then text reads: “You’re invited! Huneebee’s Annual Gala. Join us for storytelling and shared celebration to benefit Huneebee Project. Silent auction, honey-based cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and small bites, local craft beer and wine, mead tasting, screening of short film ft. Alexandra Guzman, photo exhibit, music. Sunday, October 1, 2022, 6-9 pm, NXTHVN, 169 Henry Street, New Haven, CT 06511. Tickets available at huneebeeproject.com/gala or scan the QR code. Hosted by: Kevin Paulin from Winning Ways, Inc. and The Falling Up Poscast. Sponsored by: Yale Child Study Center & Claire’s Corner Copia. /end description)
Institute for Community Research
After a long, cold winter of sorts, ICR is beginning to warm up again! New positions are posted for a couple of projects, while others are still being developed. Interns have begun in the office, bringing new life and ideas into our conversations about projects, needs, and goals both for individuals and the organization as a whole. As our work with Hartford’s Active City project winds down, we are learning new skills around digital mapmaking, a complex and incredibly useful tool in communicating information about places and the resources located there. Each new skill brought into the org strengthens each project as we share ideas across our desks.
Keney Park Sustainability Project
KPSP’s dedication to creating wellness opportunities for their neighbors continues to shine. The last pop-up of the season was a huge success, featuring fresh produce from the KPSP space, yoga, “walk with a doc”, and other health and wellness activities open for drop-in participation. And although the plants are getting ready to snooze, the activity at KPSP is showing no signs of slowing down. Yoga for the Harvest Moon took place on 9/10, led by Afro Yoga. Getting people outside and getting their feet on the ground is a key goal for KPSP, and their partnerships with local programs brings that goal closer to “accomplished” every day.
New Britain ROOTS
With the dive into a new school year, ROOTS is pouring their attention into the upcoming Garden Crawl. This annual event gets people from a wide spectrum of life experiences and current situations out to see all of the spaces and places where ROOTS grows the food that helps to feed New Britain. While on the tour, people get to learn about the hydroponics set-up, the many greenhouses, and the powerful curriculum ROOTS uses in their work with teens, pre-teens, and young children in the New Britain school system. This year’s Garden Crawl is scheduled to take place on 10/1.
Nonprofit Accountability Group
NAG continues its potent work, pulling people and groups together across a wide variety of issues to highlight how all of their issues are connected. This week, their intersectional organizing call took place, as it does every week, over zoom to allow for the greatest access to everyone. These zoom calls take place on Wednesdays, usually from 4-5 pm. In addition to seeking to build bridges and gather plans, NAG has been working with some mutual aid efforts like formula and diaper drives. Their community partner in this effort, the North End Little Pantries, was recently awarded funding to launch their community hydroponics grow station in Hartford’s North End community. It will be exciting to see how a community-facing hydroponics installation works!
Nourish My Soul
The Granby team continues to work with homeschooling families, young children, and teens to improve access to and knowledge about fresh, local foods grown at the new NMS farm. This week, the focus is on filling the few remaining spots in the Jr. Chefs and Growing Healthy Kids programs. There are also efforts continuing to explore new programming formats to keep homeschooling families from across the state engaged in the agricultural and nutrition classes at NMS over the colder months. Keep watch for new ideas and methods.
(Image description: a close picture of an okra plant, between the leaves, focused on a blossom mid-transformation into fruit. Photo credit to Nourish My Soul’s Instagram account. /end description)
Solar Youth
The Solar Youth crew was busy at GATHER New Haven. This festival created opportunities for New Haven neighbors to connect with one another and the land through the lens of health, wellness, and physical activity. In addition to this large public event, the afterschool program for younger students (ages 5-13) is opening up for four days a week. Solar Youth will be sending participants home with “activity/fun boxes” each week to encourage engagement across the length of the program. Learn more about their process and recruitment on Solar Youth’s social media channels.
Summer of Solutions Hartford
The SoS team has moved their focus from out in the garden to in the neighborhood. By focusing people’s attention on the needs of neighbors toward the end of the month (when benefits run out but needs continue), SoS has been raising money for a mutual aid rent fund. This fund will provide stop-gap funding to keep people in their homes during this time of increasing rents. While not a “food focused” effort, this fund serves to help people meet their own and each other’s basic needs, freeing up some funds from tight budgets to afford the food families need when SNAP runs low.
Alliance Updates
As many of you know, we are fighting hard to get more staff members to help manage the Alliance. While interns have been in and out, we need a stable, dedicated, YOUNG person to work on food system change and youth leadership efforts! While those efforts continue, we are working on finalizing the plans for the November event. The focus of that event is on the future, especially the careers participants can imagine themselves moving into as they finish and graduate high school. Given the importance of youth leadership, I ask that you pose these questions to the participants in your groups and let me know what they want. Please find those questions here. If there are other suggestions that come up in your groups, please send them along!
In addition, you may have noticed weekly emails these past few weeks. These messages contain information about grants, learning opportunities, and a quick question from the Alliance. They are sent every Friday, unless something gets in my way. If you would like to stop receiving these weekly messages, please do not hesitate to let me know or to unsubscribe from the emails at the link provided at the bottom of each message. These are intended to ease some of the search burden each of you faces so, if they fail to do that, then please feel free to opt out.
Finally, our first report for the NRCS funding is due soon. Anyone with outstanding invoices/receipts, particularly from transportation to the July event, please send them my way as soon as you can. Thank you all for all you do!
(Image description: a brown paper sheet has been written on with blue and green markers. Some of the text hand-written on this paper include “weird”, “I ❤ weird!”, “¡Me Encanta!”, “astounding”, “kind”, and “caring”. A green sharpie marker sits on the paper. /end description)
The end of this long, hot, dry summer is in sight. Summer programs have ended and academic year programs are gearing up. As young participants turn their attention to the systems they work to drive toward justice, staff are taking stock of what worked this summer, what could have gone better, and how to give their participants every opportunity to stun their communities with their wisdom, power, and prowess. As is usual in CT at this time of year, events are at the top of most agendas. Harvest festivals are coming! Professional development for staff and youth are unfolding in the next couple of months, too. All good things to get our youth and our communities into the best possible positions to face whatever may come.
Program Updates
Common Ground High School
While continuing their good work with mobile markets designed to bring fresh produce across New Haven, CGHS staff also welcomed back students for the 2022-2023 school year. Preparation is also under way for the annual FEAST event. This fundraising event couples fresh, locally-grown produce with fresh, locally-made talent in the form of chefs and caterers who whip Common Ground’s garden production into beautiful and delectable dishes. To spread the good as far as possible, they plan for a Feast from the fields on Sept 17th and a Feast for Fams on Sept 18th. All in the name of expanding access to fresh, locally produced foods for New Haven residents.
Ebony Horsewomen
Now that camps are done, the horses at EHI are easing into their regular schedules. Staff, however, are gearing up for the Black Boots Awards to celebrate Black horse-related businesses and individuals. One nominee, Fred Wright, is an alum of EHI and manages his own farrier company, one of the few in CT. Nominations for the Black Boots Awards closed on August 30th.
(Image description: Cookie, a chestnut-hued painted horse, faces the camera, poking his nose over the top of a wooden fence. He wears a bright blue halter and his ears are pointed forward easily, showing that he is interested, but not afraid. Cookie’s nose is wrinkled slightly as if he smells something important on the breeze. /end description. Photo Credit to EHI)
GROW Windham
While welcoming in new staff members, the GROW Windham program has been busy marketing their produce (including their famous Frog Fire hot sauce at $12 a bottle. Believe me, it sells out quick and is worth the cost!) and preparing for their Sept 10th Bicentennial Festival, all while working on their crowdfunding efforts to continue employing youth through the academic year. If you are in a position to contribute, please consider supporting GROW Windham at https://windhamfood.square.site/grow-windham Keep the good growing!
GVI
Despite the close of another successful summer session at GVI, events at the farm show no sign of slowing down. On Saturday, 9/3, GVI hosted the launch event for Farm to Chef week at the Reservoir Community Farm. Using fresh produce grown right at the farm, local chefs like Chefs Pierre and Raquel with others created beautiful meals for their neighbors to enjoy. This event connects neighbors to one another, to the farm, and to the highly delicious and nutritious foods grown directly in Bridgeport (or nearby). Now young leaders are leaping into their personal projects aimed at making their city stronger, their community closer, and their food system more just.
(Image description: three smiling people look at the camera. Text in the bottom left corner reads “thank you to all who attended our farm to chef week event!”. The GVI logo sits at the bottom right corner of the image. /end description Photo Credit to GVI)
Huneebee Project
As the bees finalize their stores for the winter, the work at Huneebee Project shifts from honey harvesting to participant advancement within the program. After a season that saw new hives installed across New Haven and the project’s first in Bridgeport, yet another participant is moving into the junior bee instructor position. Congratulations to the project, the new junior bee instructor, and the bees!
Institute for Community Research
The Youth Action Hub continues their work on developing a safe and accessible virtual drop-in center for young people experiencing unstable housing. The Active City project, focused on communicating sports opportunities and programs to youth, guardians, and neighborhoods in Hartford is winding down and a map of programs will soon be available. Information from community conversations between older adults and teens in New Britain is being analyzed, both to improve the conversation guide and to identify shared needs and opportunities for the upcoming state food policy plan. The Community Research Alliance has begun their community conversations about mental health needs and services in Hartford and aims to learn more about what Hartford residents see, want, and need for their mental health and wellness. Please reach out if you would like to learn any more about any of these projects!
Keney Park Sustainability Project
Not only are the popup markets still running hard at KPSP, but the student volunteers from local colleges and universities continue to show up and learn. KPSP volunteers get to find out about what they can do to better connect with the earth through the care of growing spaces, mindfulness and wellness classes, and by learning more about the community in which these opportunities exist. By focusing not only on integrative agriculture but also physical, mental, and spiritual wellness in addition to future-focused career opportunities, KPSP moves this work from the earth and water into hearts on a daily basis.
New Britain ROOTS
Summer’s work is never done at ROOTS. This year, they partnered with local professional cleaning company Microcare LLC to share sanitizing hand wipes with customers at farmers markets so that New Britain shoppers could enjoy their produce shopping experience with less worry about viruses on their hands. Partnerships like this help everyone as they advertise the good work a for-profit local business is up to in a way that improves experiences for folks looking to take better care of themselves, while connecting it all through the warm smiles and good work of local young folks seeking to make food more accessible for their neighbors. The partnerships don’t end there, as the local Stop & Shop is selling “blooming for good” bouquets, a portion of the cost of which goes to ROOTS to support their programming. Sunshine, whether on the ground or in a vase on the kitchen table, makes the day a little bit brighter. Finally, one of the graduating members of ROOTS has been honored with the Erickson Scholarship through the American Savings Foundation. This type of scholarship provides a direct and long-lasting benefit for folks in our programs. Are there any scholarship programs in your community that looks for nominations of potential recipients from local nonprofits? It could be an important element of someone’s success!
Nonprofit Accountability Group
As always, NAG is running full-steam on a multitude of fronts. First, in partnership with the Sierra Club, they coordinated a tweet storm to ask The Hartford and Travelers insurance companies to stop insuring and investing in oil and gas projects in the Arctic, lifting messages from the Gwich’in steering committee. This committee represents multiple First Nations in the areas currently called Alaska and Canada, opposed to the efforts to drill in this region for oil and/or gas. This effort has been under way since the previous federal administration vowed to auction off leases in the area. The current administration has vowed to halt all leases, but the threat of drilling remains with each election. The Gwich’in committee aims to stop all leases permanently, and this effort by Sierra Club, supported by NAG, aims to do just that by removing the financial benefits to corporations. In addition, NAG’s Mutual Aid partnerships and Food Justice partnerships are spawning frequent meetings and actions across Hartford to keep people fed and their voices centered in conversations around food access and security.
(Image description: a flyer for the KCC September 10th “thinking and doing” day event, focused on “The First Rule of Climate Club” book discussion. This event takes place on 9/10 beginning at 4 pm at the Sterling Street community space. Image of cartoon trees in green, purple, and orange on the left side of the flyer, rolling hills and a dirt pathway. /end description Photo Credit to Kamora’s Cultural Corner)
Nourish My Soul
The summer camps at NMS were well attended and reviewed. Fall programs, from pre-school to high school-focused, are ready to launch early in September. All of this as NMS plans their inaugural Salsa Party for the Farm (to be held on 9/10) and continues the hard work of revitalizing the soil on their formerly-neglected parcel. The work is never done, but frequent visits by neighbors like raccoons help to show that it’s all coming together properly. If nothing is eating your garden, then it isn’t part of the ecosystem!
Solar Youth
This summer, the Solar Youth campers initiated pop-up food pantries at four locations in order to get fresh foods to their neighbors in New Haven. Their summer camp doubled in size and their exit surveys indicate that both participants and parents were very pleased with the experience. In partnership with the Boys& Girls Club of New Haven, this year’s summer camp focused on providing fun experiences for youth to re-engage with nature and each other. With four field trips including Beardsley Zoo and Lighthouse Point Park, Solar Youth participants got to focus on themselves, our planet, and the future for both.
Summer of Solutions Hartford
This summer’s drought hit the experimental container garden installations through SoS hard. In their quest to offer apartment-friendly growing spaces, the SoS crew utilized milk crates and semi-permeable membranes to create potato blocks. Thanks to the heat and lack of rain, along with the increased surface area this method creates for the growing medium, the potato harvest wasn’t as robust as anticipated. One sample crate only grew one perfectly round red potato. While this method has some challenges, working with folks in the know (like @milkcrategardens, the folks SoS looked to for guidance on this experiment) can lead to functional alternatives. Perhaps a lighter-colored liner with less permeability and an olla-style waterer might make this work more effectively next year?
(Image description: one small, round, dirt-covered red potato sits inside of an empty black plastic milk crate against a pink background. A stick crosses the milk crate from top to bottom. On the stick is written in black magic marker “potatoes 6/20/22”, indicating that the potato slip was planted in late June this summer. /end description Photo Credit to Summer of Solutions Hartford)
Alliance updates
The process of unpacking feedback after the July 17th event continues. Changes are being made at ICR, especially through efforts to hire at least one new staff member. As these changes take place (and, unfortunately, they will be slow due to the need for funding to ensure a living wage and benefits), we will be piloting new means of sharing information for the monthly meetings (which will still take place!) and these newsletters. Keep an eye out for a form asking staff to report on what participants want to see, have been seeing, and demand for their future.
In addition, the fall event agenda is taking shape, but would benefit from more youth input. Keep an eye out for communications intended to explore program and community issues you are dealing with as well as the agenda for the November Event (featuring voting for questions to pose during the event and requests for names/contact information on professionals or simple suggestions on fields your program participants want to learn more about).
Finally, the upcoming professional development opportunities are on the near horizon. Conservation District directors are developing soil health workshops for staff and young leaders in your programs to be offered in October. The Alliance is paying hourly for staff and young leaders as well as for mileage to get to these trainings, so the announcements about dates, times, and locations will get to you ASAP in order to allow you the most time possible to plan.
It’s summertime and the gardens are growing. Youth urban ag programs around the state are knee-deep into their busiest season. So how can the Alliance support them? By throwing a party, of course! For the first time in years, thanks to global public health concerns, we are having our summer event this month. Programs from all around the state will gather to share what they do best, learn from one another, get introduced to Climate Smart Agricultural Practices, and build a model of the food system through their eyes. Then, of course, the day focuses on fun, beauty, and laughter. Thank goodness for summertime in this region of the continent!
Program Updates
Common Ground High School
Summer camps and farm stands are in high gear in New Haven. While the veggies are the primary focus on campus, flowers, herbs, and even duck eggs make their appearance at the farm stand and can be purchased on Wednesdays. Even with all of the farm and market work this time of year bring, CGHS is already planning their harvest celebration for September. Follow their activities on their busy social media page here.
(Image description: a blue frog with a golden ear sticks its head out of the water at Common Ground High School’s pond on campus. According to the post this image comes from, some frogs are born with less yellow pigment in their skin, making them appear blue. Photo credit: Aurora. /end description)
Ebony Horsewomen, Inc.
EHI’s summer day camp is wrapping up its second week. Youth have been learning about horses, taking care of their needs, working in the garden, and enjoying the occasional horseback ride, carriage ride, and quick lesson on saddle work in the ring. This camp runs through the second week of August, so the days are long for now at EHI.
Grow Hartford and Lauren Little Edutainment
The Urban Farming Program is getting ready to wrap up for the summer. The most recent session featured a visit from Hartford’s mayor, Luke Bronin. The goal is to help Mr. Bronin understand the power of urban farming and the will of Hartford residents to do what needs doing to help their city flourish. Working at the Hartford Free Center, Grow Hartford and Lauren Little Edutainment have focused on teaching young residents about their power to grow their own food, to save seeds and develop landrace crops, and to formulate herbal items to take care of themselves and their overall wellness. Thanks to donations from UCONN, the program this year has been able to expand their growing space through built beds and grow bags, but is still seeking soil and compost to make those spaces as strong as they can be. If you can donate soil or compost or know of someone who can, please reach out to Shanelle at shanelle@hartfordfood.org
GROW Windham
As the summer program gears up, Mackenzie, the youth director, is working hard to pass on the knowledge and history she has gained from GROW Windham to the new youth director. This overlap between their time in this position will allow for more than a smooth transition as Mackenzie moves on to graduate school, but also lets the youth who’ve gotten used to being led by one of their own (Mackenzie worked her way through the GROW Windham curriculum over the course of her “high school” years) get accustomed to a new face. We welcome this new youth director and this new bumper-crop of summer program youth for Willimantic: 20 young people! Very exciting things happening in “the Shire” this year!
(Image description: on the far side of a gravel driveway, a lush garden awaits. The large hoop house in the far-left corner is dwarfed by greenery. The colorful sign on the right side of the garden entrance introduces visitors to the garden’s layout. Raised beds outside of the fence grow vegetables for community members to take freely. /end description)
GVI
With youth back at the farm for summer program, GVI is busy bringing in quality opportunities to connect to the land, each other, and oneself. This Saturday, they welcome Peace of Royalty to the farm to offer community yoga classes; a chance for the busy life of a city to fall away while participants gently move their bodies in this cultivated green space. Mindfulness, awareness, and care for the self are key pieces of GVI’s work this summer, as is speaking the names of friends in spaces of power and opportunity. Our recent site visit at GVI with state conservationist Tom Morgart highlighted the wisdom of this focus; Rich, one of the partners in Bridgeport’s Park City Harvest, was present for the introductions and the connections between conservation opportunities and both GVI and Park City Harvest flourished. Wisdom in action looks an awful lot like justice, if we let it.
Huneebee Project
The Rosette St installation is coming along beautifully. The split hive is thriving! The split colony was brought to GVI, where it is setting capped queen cells and getting ready to establish itself as a permanent fixture in the community farm. With everything going on at this site (which is only one of many across the city), it’s astounding that Huneebee Project staff and participants were able to sit in on a City-hosted meeting with Representative Rosa DeLauro and USDA Undersecretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small to discuss recent changes in federal funding for food access. While aspects of these changes are good and necessary, other elements of the food system in need of attention were not discussed, which led to deep conversations about how meetings like this are structured and why. All of this as the program wrapped up its last meeting with another New Haven program, Emerge. As is true for all Alliance programs, Huneebee is busy, busy, busy!
Institute for Community Research
Working in partnership with Active City Hartford, ICR researchers are investigating athletic opportunities for teens in Hartford. The goal of this project is to develop easier access for Hartford families to activities that encourage physical motion for youth. While many such programs exist, many families don’t know about them or cannot find them when they need them. ICR is working with area churches, clubs, and organizations to build an easy-access map of activities for youth to enroll in. In addition, new opportunities to share research as a method of community organizing are unfolding. Staff are developing presentations and activities for students in local universities to learn how to use PhotoVoice effectively to organize for social change.
Keney Park Sustainability Project
In their continuing effort to bring their neighbors to the jewel of Hartford, KPSP is focusing their support on the Urban Ecology Wellness Center; offering popups weekly on Friday afternoons. These popups increase access for neighbors to free produce and mindfulness exercises in the setting of one of American’s most beautiful parks. North-east neighborhood residents of Hartford are encouraged to stop in on Fridays between 4-7 pm.
(Image description: a flyer featuring white text on a background image of packaged produce such as green beans, paste tomatoes, and raspberries. The white text reads: Urban Ecology Wellness Center presents UEWC Pop-up; join us for an afternoon of engaging wellness and ecology learning and activities! In a green text box on the right side of the page, text reads: when: Friday, July 8th. Time: 4pm-7pm. Where: Keney Park, Woodland Entrance, corner of 549 Woodland Street and Greenfield Street, Hartford, CT 06112. In partnership with: various funders’ logos are displayed at the bottom of the flyer. /end description)
New Britain ROOTS
As their summer program progresses, ROOTS realizes that some of their accessible raised beds, built to be useful for individuals with back/hip problems or wheelchair users, were still awaiting a home. If you or someone you know in New Britain could use an accessible raised bed, please reach out to ROOTS at this link.
Nonprofit Accountability Group
NAG has been deeply engaged in making this summer meaningful. To make summer camp an experience Hartford youth can access, NAG is offering spaces in their summer youth program (applications due by July 13th, so hurry!). This free experience will offer opportunities for youth to learn about STEM, hiking, camping, and outdoor exploration. If you or anyone you know qualifies and is interested, please fill out the application linked here. Each participant receives a $100 stipend for each outing.
Nourish My Soul
The new farm is coming together. NMS’s summer camp, featuring cooking and nutrition education, farming, and storytelling for youth is as successful as it had been before the pandemic. With the new acreage under NMS’s care, new activities are possible. The crew is waiting for the alignment of three factors: a bright moon, ripened sumac berries, and blossomed primrose to host a beautiful community event: sumac lemonade in the field of glowing primrose. Under moonlight, this opportunistic flower glows with a brilliance all its own. Sumac berries, which ripen at about the same time as primrose bloom, make a cold infusion that tastes like lemonade, without any lemons! This event is sure to become a community favorite.
Solar Youth
While recruiting for summer camp, some Solar Youth participants were caught outside the building they had just left while shots rang out. Participants are safe now, but the impact of that moment won’t leave them. In partnership with Everytown Research and Policy, Solar Youth seeks to inform New Haven and everyone of the impact of “boredom”, of easy access to firearms, and of our own power to keep ourselves and our communities as safe as possible. Reach out to one another. Make sure that your loved ones know that they are loved. Make sure that you remember how important you are. And, if you are able, donate to a youth program today to provide a safe landing, skills, and a potential future for a young person. We are all we’ve got.
Summer of Solutions Hartford
While the garden at Zion St continues to flourish and the Pink Pantry continues to offer free food for neighbors, the SoS crew reminds everyone that any space can be used to grow food. With their milkcrate gardens, reusable shopping grow bags, and potato buckets, SoS challenges anyone to present them with a space where growing food and medicine can’t happen.
(Image description: a yellow plastic bucket hold soil covered with straw from which a single potato stem grows proudly. Behind the bucket, a mirror leans against the side of the house. This mirror helps to redirect sunlight into the bucket to improve the plant’s growth. /end description)
Alliance updates
The summer event is fast approaching! This July 19th from 10-4 at the Wickham Pavilion in Wickham Park, Manchester, CT, the CT Youth Food Program Alliance is hosting its first summer event since the world came to a halt due to public health concerns. This year, the focus is on fun! While the agenda (connected here) features a heavy morning, the afternoon is entirely dedicated to games, unstructured time, and visiting the beautiful ornamental gardens around the park. During the morning hours, Alliance program youth will introduce their programs to those gathered, talk about what they do well, and where they come from. Afterwards, we will all dig into the ways we can reduce our contributions to climate change and make our gardens stronger in the face of the changes this climate will bring. Finally, just after lunch, we will all compete to contribute what we can to a diagram of the food system through youth experiences by creating a causal loop diagram. This figure will help to show how each of the factors in the food system we work on impacts the others, how directing our efforts can drive powerful change, and how each step can be one in the right direction. Lunch will be provided. Please see the flyer here and RSVP (and let me know what accommodations your participants require) here by July 11th!
CT Youth Food Program Alliance 