We've been busy at Cultivate this spring! At the end of April we practiced Healing in the Garden with The Women's Initiative, watched the Building Trades students complete raised beds at the CATEC farm plot, installed the Charlottesville Twelve sundial at Clark Elementary, hosted a BINGO fundraiser, and celebrated the volunteers, partners, & sponsors that support our work. That was all in one week.

Although the rain didn't get the memo that May had begun—we can't stop, won't stop— and pushed through to hold our annual Spring Seedling Project the first, wet Saturday of the month.

During the last two months, Cultivate also welcomed a new staff member, continued Harvest of the Month (one of our longest running initiatives), and engaged with neighbors at the Westhaven East Egg Hunt.

As another school year comes to an end, we, like so many others across the country, are reeling from the intentional, horrific gun violence that has rocked families and communities to their core. Cultivate condemns these mass shootings of Black and brown elders and young people respectively, and we are keeping all of the victims in our hearts.

The newly installed Charlottesville Twelve Sundial at Clark Elementary garden; Dr. Sherry Kraft admiring the patina; Sarah and Leon working to install the sundial; Jordy Yager, Charlottesville Twelve member Mr. Alex-Zan, and Barbara Yager at the ROOT! celebration where the sundial was unveiled 

Each Month a Different Local Harvest

For April’s Harvest of the Month, volunteers and Cultivate Charlottesville staff helped prepare 2200 taste test servings of strawberries for Charlottesville City School (CCS) students. After washing and bagging up the strawberries, they are brought to each of the schools to be packed into the school lunches for students to try.

This year we have worked with the CCS nutrition department to shift how we serve taste tests to students in order to comply with COVID safety protocols. When in the past, volunteers have gone into schools to pass out taste tests on the lunch line, this year we are individually packing the taste tests to go into student’s lunches. 

Volunteers and Cultivate staff prepare bags of local, fresh strawberries for March Harvest of the Month

Clark Elementary student Noah waters the raised beds at school; Noah's pea illustration is the focal point of the April Harvest of the Month poster & backpack flyer

Spring has sprung for the UAC Crew

We planted our first seedlings at CATEC after almost a year of building soil and managing weeds at the site. In less than a month, the field will be bursting with collards, kale, and cabbage. We’re still collaborating with the Piedmont Master Gardeners to ensure our produce and growing practices are top quality and appropriate for the region. We can’t wait to see you at market day!

This past month, we attended PHAR’s Easter Egg Hunt event at 6th street and hosted a Sister Circle Healing in the Garden event in partnership with the Women’s Initiative. After two years of limited contact with our neighbors, It feels so good to get back out and connect in the community. The coming months will be filled with more community events and opportunities to connect. Interested in getting your hands dirty with us? Email volunteer@cultivatecharlottesville.org to get notified about volunteer opportunities this spring and summer. 

Richard, Rebecca Deeds of UVA Morven Farm, and Anthony Smith of CATEC celebrate community partnerships; the raised beds—made of fallen cedar donated from UVA Morven Farm—are ready to grow; Building Trades students finishing the raised beds for the new UAC garden at CATEC

Staff from The Women's Initiative & Cultivate plant with Sister Circle attendees at the 6th Street farm plot

Public Housing Association of Residents (PHAR) has launched Residents for Respectful Research (R3). From the PHAR website, "Historically, low-wealth Black and Brown bodies have been used for research that has, at times, been detrimental to their health such as the Tuskegee experiments, or enriched others, like HeLa cells. Here in Charlottesville, the University of Virginia constantly conducts research on our residents." 

Watch this video on YouTube to learn more about the movement to honor,  respect, and compensate residents who live in the heart of our city for their lived experience and voice.

Community members and Cultivate staff members engage with UAC Program Director Amy Foll's animals and make crafts at the Westhaven Easter Egg Hunt

Together we can move Charlottesville from a foodie city to a food-E(quity) place for ALL residents!

For more information or to join Food Justice Network full team meetings, contact Aleen Carey at aleen@cultivatecharlottesville.org

PHAR Board Members Alice Washington, Judy Sandridge, and Audrey Oliver gathered to have a conversation about the importance of public transit in Charlottesville. Listen to full the conversation here . 

After two mass shootings in less than one week, where gunmen took the lives of Black grocery store shoppers and elementary school students & their teachers, we are reading these titles:

Op-ed: East Buffalo Needs Community-Driven Structural Investments, Not Fly-In, Fly-Out Charity, The Food Equity Scholars, Civil Eats

Buffalo Food Justice Advocates and Partners Call for End to White Supremacy and Anti-Blackness, Buffalo Food Equity Network

Grief and Cooking, Sam Sifton, New York Times

This year's ROOT! partner and volunteer celebration event was our first time in person since the pandemic began. We had a fantastic time congratulating Golden Trowel winners face to face. From Bandit the dog to former Cultivate Board members to friends & family, everyone enjoyed dinner from Al Carbón and Sticks while we honored those who support us with their time and treasure.

NBC29 and Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNE) have a collaboration to highlight local community organizations. Hear what Aleen had to say about the importance of working to change food insecurity even as the pandemic wanes.

Players, winners, and staff at Cultivate Charlottesville night at Random Row Dab for Good BINGO

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. 

Our Contact Information
*{{Organization Name}}*
*{{Organization Address}}*
*{{Organization Phone}}*
*{{Organization Website}}*

*{{Unsubscribe}}*