October was a BIG month! There was farm to school. Community Climate Collaborative (C3) honored Cultivate with an award. The UAC team harvested sweet SO MANY potatoes. CSG presented at a state conference. We welcomed three new people to our staff. Check out the program updates below for all of the details. 

Team members harvest SUPER-SIZED sweet potatoes from the plot on 6th Street

October is for Farm to School

Although Virginia's Farm to School Week (F2S) is recognized during the first full week of October, the national observance is designated for the whole month. Even though that time has come and gone, October was full of awesome engagements and events for Cultivate and the City Schoolyard Garden program! From chicken visits to taste tests to garden tours—it has been full of excitement and positive new experiences. 

In true farm-to-table fashion we held taste tests for all of the CCS Public Elementary schools. The tastings consisted of apples and cherry tomatoes (which was the October Harvest of the Month snack), which were sourced locally! Students were asked to compare and contrast the differences between Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and McIntosh apple and afterwards they shared their observations with one another. When asked, most students said that they preferred the sweeter varieties over the Granny Smith apples.

Yes, the children really enjoyed the taste tests. But the true highlights were the chicken visits! Hailing from the town-renowned chicken coop at Charlottesville High School, chickens traveled all across the city to visit all of the elementary schools. The students learned fun chicken facts and some of them even witnessed eggs being laid! When we asked the children if they liked the chicken visits they said that they had an "egg-cellent" time!

Clockwise from top left: photos 1, 2, and 3 from Harvest of the Month volunteer Raven of October's fresh fruit taste: cherry tomatoes; student artwork 

Email volunteer@cultivatecharlottesville.org to help with next month's Harvest of the Month on Thursday, December 1.

UAC in the Community

It’s been a productive growing season, both in staff capacity and food for Urban Agriculture Collective (UAC). UAC tipped the scales and produced into the tens of thousands of pounds of food grown right here in Charlottesville, with an excess of twelve hundred pounds of sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving meal donations alone. Our 3 area farm plots are getting ready to sleep for the winter, but we are already planning new and exciting growth for next season. 

This month we had the honor of hosting the Farm to School Conference in our gardens including our production garden at CATEC. We shared with educators, and support staff from across the state of Virginia about our projects, programming, and the impact they have on our community. We were able to highlight the deep relationships we have nurtured with the local school systems, and their benefits to the youth in our community. 

Joanna and Michael harvesting; UAC bounty; Richard and Nic at the UAC Community Celebration; Nic and one of the youngest UAC team members at the West Street farm plot

If you are interested in working with Urban Agriculture Collective as a volunteer, or would like to provide in-kind material support please contact amyrose@cultivatecharlottesville.org or volunteer@cultivatecharlottesville.org.

How are Food Equity and Climate Action Related?

Food Justice is Climate Justice. For the past several months, Food Justice Network has been teaming up with Community Climate Collaborative (C3) to bring more awareness to the impact of climate change on the Charlottesville community as it relates to food. As the City finalizes the Climate Action Plan, we recognized this would as a great opportunity to vocalize our support of C3 and highlight the intersection of food justice and climate justice. The goal of this letter is to amplify existing recommendations within the Climate Action Plan along with providing additional suggestions in areas that have yet to be addressed.

Key strategies we are advocating to see included in the Plan are:

• A robust Urban Agriculture Management Plan
• A clear system in place that addresses food waste from institutions
• Transportation routes with a concrete focus on low-wealth neighborhoods
• Green space paired with affordable housing planning that prioritizes anti-displacement of residents

Aleen, Quentia, and Jeanette engage with attendees at the C3 5th anniversary party and accept the Climate Justice Advocate Award from our partners

For more information or to join Food Justice Network full team meetings, email quentia@cultivatecharlottesville.org

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

These are some of the things we are reading, watching and listening to:

For Local Food Systems To Thrive, Farm Tax Breaks Must Be Harder To Get, Sarah Taber, New City 

The Next Chance to Improve School Meal Access Is Coming Up Soon, Lisa Held, Civil Eats 

3000-Year-Old Solutions to Modern Problems, Lyla June, TEDx Talk 

Sentara Cares: Helping Charlottesville become a Food Equitable Community 

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. 

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