Introducing FREE Farm Stands!
Serving more Richmond families in a time of need
As fall approached and the COVID-19 pandemic kept getting worse, Urban Tilth’s waitlist for food aid also continued to grow. After using a loan to buy 2 additional delivery vans, by June we already reached our maximum capacity for home delivery of our fresh fruits and vegetable boxes, but we still had extra food after we completed our veggie box packs each week. Wasting food is a high crime at Urban Tilth, especially when there is so much need, so we decided we had to get this food to more people who needed it!
In order to do this, we began setting up a pop-up Free Farm Stand along Fred Jackson Way and Chesley Ave in North Richmond every Tuesday at 2:30 pm in June 2020. After realizing that all of our produce was gone by 3:30 pm, we added another day, Thursdays at 2:30 pm at the same location.
As the gardens on the Greenway boomed and more produce was being produced at our closed school gardens we decided to launch a 3rd FREE Farm Stand along the Richmond Greenway in September 2020 in order to serve families in the Iron Triangle and Sante Fe neighborhoods.
So far we have been able to serve on average 120 additional Richmond families fresh, healthy locally and organically produced fruits and vegetables each week!
We are also reducing waste on our farms and gardens and our partner farmers’ farms – it’s a win-win situation for everyone!
It has truly been a pleasure to get to know all the families in North Richmond and along the Greenway who come for produce each week. We were even able to plan a small Halloween event for the kids of Unity Park, whom we met through the FREE farm stands so that they could celebrate in a safe socially distanced way in their own local park!
We look forward to continuing to serve our community with the healthy foods they need to help their bodies stay strong to resist the stress and fight off the virus.
Join us at our FREE Farm Stands!
North Richmond Farm Stand
Fred Jackson Way & Chesley Ave
*near the North Richmond Center for Health
*Tuesdays & Thursdays
2:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Or until all produce is gone!
-and-
Unity Plaza Farm Stand
Unity Park Plaza along the Richmond Greenway @ 16th Street
*near Chanslor Ave
*Wednesdays
2:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Or until all produce is gone!