WOW – we can’t believe it’s been 5 years! This summer the RFC team celebrated it’s 5th birthday along with
our extended family – our volunteers, gardeners, neighbors, and friends. We partied NOLA style with a big shrimp boil and all the fixings (corn, mushrooms, onions, garlic), fresh from the farm watermelon, red beans and rice and of course a giant cake!
Over the past 5 years we’ve built an organization that:
- works locally, regionally and nationally to develop new green jobs in farming and related areas;
- grows accessible, fresh, sustainably-raised food in communities where it is most wanted and needed;
- transforms empty, blighted, abandoned, and/or overgrown lots into edible green spaces;
- reduces, reuses and recycles our resources to have true “recirculating” farms;
- provides training in eco-efficient farm and garden techniques so people can raise food for themselves and their communities;
- brings together diverse people who work, play, and eat together
We’ve seen farms grow on rooftops and abandoned lots, in warehouses, shipping containers, schools and more. Our own farm in New Orleans grew from a collaborative community project that now brings fresh food, recreation, outdoor exercise, and health-supportive cooking to a long under-served neighborhood.
We’ve created new laws nationwide to support farmers and bring fresh local food into schools. Along with so many supporters, we’ve raised recirculating farming (various forms of hydroponics, aquaculture and aquaponics) to a recognized and notable part of U.S. agriculture. Even the National Organics Program is discussing organic standards for certifying these types of farms!
What we are most celebrating is the sense of community that has grown over these past 5 years and an increase in innovative recirculating farms nationwide!
Thank you for supporting us for the past 5 years and we look forward to many more!
