As we set our sights on the 2025 season, we are excited to build on the successes and lessons of this past year to create an even more impactful Youth and Community Food Justice Program. While 2024 brought its challenges, it also provided invaluable insights that will guide our work moving forward.
What’s Ahead in 2025
We’re thrilled to continue our Youth Food Justice Internship Program, with a renewed focus on sustaining engagement beyond the internship period. By leveraging a successful communication platform introduced this year, we aim to maintain lasting connections with both past and present interns.
Beyond youth engagement, we’re expanding community participation in our garden and broader food justice initiatives. This past fall and winter allowed us to forge new partnerships and welcome fresh faces into our program, setting the stage for an exciting year ahead.
Here’s a glimpse of our 2025 plans:
Quarterly Workshops: Featuring garden-fresh ingredients, workshops will cover topics like natural dyeing and creating value-added products.
Community Workdays: Twice-monthly volunteer workdays will continue, encouraging families to spend quality time together while contributing to the garden.
Nutrition Programs: We will provide WIC, SNAP, FMNP redemption, and Good Food Bucks to support SNAP users.
Community Collaboration: In early January, we’ll convene a Food Justice Committee meeting to share ideas, gather insights, and finalize our plan. This meeting will recap the gardening season, review the latest crop plan, and ensure that our co-coordinators provide robust support and facilitation.
Food Production: We’re revamping our hot pepper production and cultivating a diverse selection of culinary and aromatic herbs for cooking and home remedies.
Events: Look out for a Spring Opening, End-of-Season Event, Día de los Muertos Celebration, and potentially a Youth Internship Networking Event.
If you’re interested in supporting our program or have any questions, please reach out to our Food Justice Co-Coordinators:
Together, let’s make 2025 a year of growth, collaboration, and justice for our community!
Comments