Cases of COVID-19, momentum around the movement for Black lives, the heat—everything is on the rise. Temperatures are in the 90s as people continue to quarantine at varying levels, protests are organized to amplify Black voices, and we all wait anxiously to hear what comes next regarding the school year. 

As the summer unfolds, Food Justice Network is continuing to collaborate and innovate around support for community members affected by the coronavirus and accompanying quarantine. The 6th Street and school gardens have been home to the food justice interns, who are making the most of a modified schedule this year. All of our staff who are garden experts (and a few of us who are learning the tools of the trade) have been tending to each plot—doing our best to utilize the early morning and late evening hours. Staff members, in the same manner as teachers, are planning many different activities for the fall as they attend the School Board ZOOM calls to on top of developing plans.

It can feel as though we are in a holding pattern of sorts, as we wait for progress on all fronts, but we are committed to growing & sharing food while advocating for students, families and community members and a food system that addresses current and long term equity issues.

Flowers match the mural at the Buford garden; Peaches are ripe and ready to eat at CHS

 CITY SCHOOLYARD GARDEN                                            

GROWING AND SHARING by Miss Mackenzie 

It's a lot quieter in the garden these days without students. The students are the most exciting part of caring for a garden space. The things that they notice that I would've glanced over without even a thought amazes me. Their excitement of finding a bean on a vine or a pepper on a stalk when I said I didn’t think there were any growing quite yet is unparalleled.

Harvesting the Mexican sour gherkins (small circle shaped cucumbers that look like mini watermelons) that are abundant right now, makes me wish for a summer that wasn’t. A summer of Charlottesville elementary-aged youth exploring the garden and tasting the fruits of their hard work. When I pluck the gherkins off the vine, I think of how much they would’ve loved everything about this plant.  

Miss Mackenzie holding a Mexican sour gherkin; Mr. Davis and CHS students plant wildflowers

FLOWERS GONE WILD by Mr. Davis 

In the winter of 2019, we started getting some strange looks around the school farm at Charlottesville High School. My students and I are always looking for fun projects to experiment with new ideas, but this one took a while to come together and didn't exactly look very pretty at the beginning.

Between the building and the farm were several islands of grass sandwiched in between sidewalks. These patches of weedy grass did nothing to beautify the landscape and created more work for the landscaping crew to cut, which in turn leads to the use of more gas and oil in their equipment. Small gas-powered engines like the ones those string trimmers used to cut those patches of grass are loud, smelly, and create quite a large portion of the greenhouse gasses emitted in the US every year. So we figured that if we could find a way to reduce the fossil fuels required to maintain that space and at the same time beautify the space, we should just do it! Enter the wildflowers.

 URBAN AGRICULTURE COLLECTIVE                               

It isn’t only sunshine that will put a smile on your face, at least not at Cultivate Charlottesville’s Urban Agriculture Collective. We love the summertime, the flowers, the pollinators and all the delicious veggies. I for one can’t help but smile when I look up to see a beautiful sunflower eclipsing the sun. But even though we love the sunny days our gardens LOVE the rain! And boy did it rain! 

With the rain comes a whirlwind of growth and activity in the garden. And this is where we need your help! We have several different tasks to finish and we’d love to see you bright and early this coming Saturday. We will have our second volunteer day on the 25th at 7:00am. All skill levels are appreciated and welcome. Whether you want to get your hands dirty or learn about Urban Ag come on out and see us. 

Some of the tasks we have lined up for this Saturday: planting turnips and radishes in our raised beds, getting several beds prepped and ready for a second planting and potentially harvesting some pears. And, of course we have the endless task of weeding if we get around to it. 

Without volunteers and interns community gardens like our 6th St garden wouldn’t be possible. Not only do we appreciate your help maintaining the garden space but we also appreciate your support as community members. THANK YOU!

Lastly, for a quick garden update: our previous volunteer day was a smashing success. We got a lot done and had a good turnout. The Charlottesville Food Justice interns have done amazing work every Tuesday for several weeks, and we cannot thank them enough. You all are amazing! 

You can find our volunteer schedule on our website, and we look forward to seeing you soon! Stay cool out there. 

– Farmer Mike

Community members come to the first summer 2020 Volunteer Day at  the 6th Street garden;

Food iustice interns water the crops at the 6th Street garden 

 FOOD JUSTICE NETWORK                                                 

The month of July has been packed with advocating for long-term change as well as supporting our community where it is today. As the pandemic continues, the Food Justice Network team worked with nonprofit, City, and Health Department partners to continue wrap around services for our community reaching approximately 100 children and adults in our area as they safely recover from COVID-19. In partnership with Frontline Foods/ World Central Kitchen, Cville Community Cares, and Charlottesville DSA, more than 30,000 meals have nourished neighborhoods needing a silver lining for dinner support. The direct touch from Frontline Foods, has been a value added for many residents. At the end of July, the program will roll back due to phased re-opening of businesses.

In the corner for advocacy, Food Justice Network continues to support efforts nationally and locally. The City's comprehensive plan is underway, and with the support of BRW Architects Erwin Ramsey Fellow, Taha Suhrawardy, we're optimistic about making additional progress working at the intersection of community agriculture design and policy as well as co-op grocery stores and zoning. Access to land and opportunity to grow or sell produce is core to advancing a healthy and just food system locally AND nationally. While congress has worked to pass COVID-19 relief bills, this support has failed to cover key engines of the food system—farmworkers, farmers of color, and young farmers. This is why Food Justice Network is joining the national call by HEAL Food Alliance and the National Young Farmers Coalition to tell our Senators to target COVID-19 relief to young farmers, farmers of color, and farmworkers. Our food system will not be just, until we will it to be.

– Shantell 

 CULTIVATE IN THE NEWS                                                 

Visit our PRESS PAGE for more articles and interviews!

 EVENTS                                                                               

Click for Urban Agriculture Volunteer Schedule Summer/Fall 2020

 CULTIVATE SOCIAL JUSTICE BOOK CLUB                    

Here are a few of the titles we are reading:

The Color of Law | Richard Rothstein

Braiding Sweetgrass | Robin Wall Kimmerer

How Urban Agriculture Can Fight Racism in the Food System | Civil Eats | Karen Washington

From all of us at Cultivate Charlottesville—a hearty thank you to the many new supporters that have pitched in to keep our work going to build food equity during COVID-19 and beyond.

Clockwise from top left: Squash flower at the UAC 6th Street garden; Food justice interns pose after a workday; Farmer Mike dons a zinnia in his cap; Spike the CHS Cat takes a nap while the interns work 

Visit the MULTIMEDIA page on our website to see our new video from Ty Coopyer of Lifeview Marketing to  learn more about Cultivate Charlottesville. 

At Cultivate Charlottesville we believe that working together to grow gardens, share food and power, and advocate for just systems cultivates a healthy community for all.