Urban Tilth's Urban Agriculture Institute

From Seed to Service: Urban Ag students grow their own salad bar!

After Months of careful planning, planting, and organizing, the Richmond High Urban Agriculture Class/Club manifested its' first ever lunch time salad bar and lemonade stand. Working together with Richmond High Vice Principle Kibby Kleiman and the Richmond High Cafeteria, our food safe salad bar distributed salad bowls and lemonade to over 80 students and faculty during their Wednesday lunch period. All of the lettuce and lemons used at the stand were grown by the Urban Agriculture Class, at the garden located on campus at Richmond High School! Additionally the students made all of the salad dressings from scratch during class, just before lunch began. Dressings included a non-fat Ranch Dressing made from Greek yogurt, balsamic vinaigrette, and a honey mustard sauce made from organic mustard, honey, and apple cider vinegar. Chalk one up for the power of youth organizing! Stay tuned for more events like this, and remember to GROW YOUR OWN!   

Other Accomplishments this Winter:

• Welcoming the 1st Fruit in the Richmond Edible Forest: This winter we also saw the 1st fruit in the Richmond Edible Forest, a 40,000 square foot Edible Forest Garden design and planted by Richmond youth participants in the Urban Agriculture Institute. We also brought our chickens out to the Greenway Gardens and the Richmond High gardens so youth in our programs and in our neighborhoods could reconnect with the animals we depend on. We know it is essential that all people know where our food comes from.

• Creating Our Own Change: "Cooking is a Revolutionary Act" Aprons: Because we know that people need social support to change habits the Urban Agriculture Institute also continued to spread the word about the importance of healthy eating by designing and creating our first series of "Cooking is a Revolutionary Act" Aprons which the team showcased at this year's San Francisco Greenfest! 

• We are looking forward to a fabulous, funky fresh 2013! As we move through the winter the Urban Ag Institute is making plans to plant salad green gardens across Richmond and host harvest your lunch garden salad bars on weekdays to give students and adult office workers an alternative to fast food lunch. 

• Martin Luther King National Day of Service 2013: The Urban Ag Institute has been working for 3 months now preparing for our largest volunteer event of the year, Martin Luther King National Day of Service on the Richmond Greenway. This year we are expecting over 500 volunteers who will help us build our market stand, plant our spring gardens and native and pollinator beds, 80 more trees in the Edible Forest, rebuild the CURME Medicinal Garden, build new or repair old garden beds, make sign and community mural art and beautification projects. If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, lend us a hand and change your life - its our 6th year and every time we do this it is a deeply moving experience for everyone who comes out. MAKE IT A DAY ON! Gonna be a day not to be missed ♥ (For more information click on the MLK Day Richmond link below)

Thank you all for your continued support of this project. Together we are changing the food system in Richmond!

GROW YOUR OWN!

Links:

• AdamsCrest Farm Thrives Years After Middle School Closure
• Martin Luther King National Day of Service 2013 website
• Urban Tilth website