FARM STAND in action! All natural celery, zuchinni, squash, herbs, kale and glorious cherry tomatoes! Photo Credit: Ariel Roland
Visit the Grow Dat Farm Stand for the next two Saturdays!
9am-12pm
Saturday June 15 & Saturday June 22
150 Zachary Taylor Drive
Purchase youth-grown sustainable produce on our farm in June
Farm Stand
The Grow Dat Youth Farm
150 Zachary Taylor Drive
9am-12noon
Saturdays, June 1, June 8, June 15, June 22
Youth Crew Members Storie and Cory harvest greens to be sold at Saturday markets across New Orleans
Our Harvest Volunteer Days (for individuals) this spring/summer are:
Come help us harvest and prepare our produce for distribution. Volunteers will prep both our donated Shared Harvest and the crops youth Crew Members will sell at Saturday Farmer’s Markets around the city.
For Groups:
For group volunteers we suggest a $7 donation per Volunteer to cover supplies and staff time for the volunteer event. Please contact Jabari Brown to discuss bringing your group to Grow Dat.
We have various needs and opportunities for many other volunteer tasks – please email Jabari Brown, Volunteer Coordinator and Youth Education Specialist at jabari1@growdatyouthfarm.org for more information.
Come work in our beautiful fields – we appreciate your support of our work to grow food for New Orleans!
Ariel Roland, Masters in Social Work at Tulane and serving as our Youth & Alumni Coordinator, crafts beautiful newsletters that youth share with their families and schools each month. We thought you might like a peek at them, too!
Our Eco Campus is one of five locations selected as ‘the best architecture in New Orleans’!
Have we said recently how much we love our beautiful and sustainable teaching kitchen, outdoor classroom, post-harvest handling area, grey water systems and composting toilets designed and built by Tulane City Center?
Check out the other winning structures in today’s article by John P. Klingman.
Carrying starter plants through the outdoor classroom
Our giant chalkboard announces the agricultural tasks on our plate. Photo by William Widmer
Our Harvest Volunteer Days (for individuals) this spring are:
February 5th through May 17th 2013.
Come help us harvest and prepare our produce for distribution. Volunteers will prep both our donated Shared Harvest and the crops youth Crew Members will sell at Saturday Farmer’s Markets around the city.
For Groups:
For group volunteers we suggest a $7 donation per Volunteer to cover supplies and staff time for the volunteer event. Please contact Jabari Brown to discuss bringing your group to Grow Dat.
We have various needs and opportunities for many other volunteer tasks – please email Jabari Brown, Volunteer Coordinator and Youth Education Specialist at jabari1@growdatyouthfarm.org for more information.
Jabari Brown, Volunteer Coordinator at Grow Dat.
The Cypress Field in full bloom. Early evening, June 2012.
Will you help us grow by supporting our year-end Growing the Green giving campaign?
Grow Dat is proud to host FEAST NOLA this Sunday, Nov. 18. Unfortunately this meal is already sold out, but check out their website to learn more about the organization and save the date for the next Feast.
Twice per year, the FEAST NOLA community unites around the Sunday dinner table to meet new people, discuss ideas about change, and vote on one of the top five proposals presented during dinner. During dinner, a group of artists, activists, and social entrepreneurs presents creative projects that will engage the local community. At the end of the dinner, everyone votes on his or her favorite proposal; and the night’s proceeds go to making the winning proposal a reality.
Dinner will be served up by Jarett Eymard and Rachel Carr Eymard of the NOLA food truck, Rue Chow. The May 20th winner, Jaime Broussard of the New Orleans Fruit Tree Project, will be returning to report on the impact of FEAST funding.
Hope the FEAST guests enjoy dinner on our farm!
Thanks so much to everyone who came out to our first Plant Sale and Party on November 3rd. Your attendance made the day a great success! We hosted over 500 visitors who bought plants, took tours of the farm, played games and enjoyed delicious drinks provided by our sponsors Old New Orleans Rum and Rouses and ate food from La Cocinita and Frencheeze.
What happened:
Our current interns–Melanie, Deshawn, Amber and Yasmin–did an excellent job at the event. Melanie and Deshawn led farm tours with such confidence and gusto many people asked if they were full time staff members.
We sold over $1,000 worth of beautiful greens, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce and herb seedlings. Amber and other Grow Dat staff members sold many, many plants that day…..
Yasmin staffed our Donation Station, where she and Grow Dat staff shared information with visitors about Grow Dat and let them know how they could get involved with our “Growing the Green” campaign. We earned an additional $1000 selling Grow the Green cards, drinks and t shirts!
More about “Growing the Green”
Couldn’t make it to the party but want to support our work? During the holiday season you can help us grow the green by giving the gift of employment or food! When you contribute we will provide you with a card recognizing your contribution that you can share with the person on whose behalf you have donated. Stay tuned for more information about alternative gift giving this holiday season! (Info will be up on our website soon!)
Photography by Will Widmer
Even if you missed our Plant Sale and Party over the weekend (it was delightful – thanks to everyone who came out!) it’s not too late to buy some discounted seedlings for your winter garden!
We have the following edible plant starts ready to be planted in your winter garden:
Stop by the farm this Wednesday through Friday, Nov. 7-9, between 2:00 and 5:30pm. Ask for Sarah, Grow Dat Farm Assistant.
Photo Credit: William Widmer
Come out to the farm for our first big event and show your support for Grow Dat’s work and mission. We guarantee you’ll have a great time!
PLANT SALE
10 am – 2pm
Stock your winter garden with the best! Bring home your favorite edible and ornamental plants, cultivated by Grow Dat staff and youth interns. Fall vegetables, herbs and pollinator attracting ornamentals will be sold.
PARTY!
12 pm – 5pm
Eat, drink and celebrate our farm! Join us as we kickoff our annual Grow The Green online fundraiser. Food trucks, music, and farm fun will abound. Tour our brand new eco-campus and farm, participate in sack races and other fall harvest games, and learn about how you can support our work of growing young leaders and healthy food for New Orleans. La Cocinita and Frencheeze will be on site selling delicious food, and we will have beverages for sale provided by our sponsors, Old New Orleans Rum Distillery and Rouses.
All proceeds from the plant sale and party will go to further our mission to nurture a diverse group of young leaders through the meaningful work of growing food.
Our Fabulous Sponsors:
:
Last week we hosted our first big event, Pecha Kucha NOLA, on our farm’s almost-finished eco campus. The event was great and the space was beautiful! (see photo evidence below). The space is bright and welcoming during the day, and absolutely magical and warm at night.
Looking down into the outdoor classroom from the second floor. Youth Intern Amber and Co-Director Johanna practice their speeches before the crowds arrive.
On the deck looking West towards the outdoor classroom
The view from second floor, peeking into the outdoor classroom at night.
Our friends at Tulane City Center (TCC) have been hard at work preparing our staff offices for our move-in later this month. We can’t wait to take full advantage of TCC’s innovative, thoughtful and sustainable design.
Featuring enticing presentations by our very own Jabari Brown and Johanna Gilligan!
Thursday, Oct. 4
Doors at 7pm, Begins at 7:30
Learn about PechaKucha here.
Want to get your hands dirty and directly support sustainable local food systems in your city? We’d love to have you join us for any of the following volunteer days on our farm in City Park this fall.
The weather is cooling off (finger’s crossed!) so now is a great time to volunteer. We have lots of work to do to prepare for our FALL PLANT SHOW & PARTY (save the date – Nov. 3) and for the next crop of Grow Dat youth crew members who will begin their farming jobs with us in January 2013.
Saturdays in October, November and December 2012
October 13th, 20th and 27th
November 10th
December 1st and 15th
9am – 12 noon
Please notify Jabari Brown if you intend to join us for any of these dates: jabari1@growdatyouthfarm.org, cell: 601.260.0509. Wear long pants, boots or sturdy shoes, and be sure to bring a hat and a water bottle.
Thanks for your support! Hope to see you on the farm this fall.
We are happy to report that we weathered the recent storm with no lasting damage to our fields or campus! Thanks to our friends and funders for an outpouring of concern and support.
Our fields are already dry, but we do have several damaged trees that will need to be removed. The bayou near our campus rose 20 feet – and was accommodated perfectly by the large bioswale designed specifically for such overflow around the front of our site. Check out the photos taken this afternoon below.
Please join us for a Volunteer Day this Saturday, September 8, from 8am-12 noon to help us get our farm back in order!
We’ll clean up tree debris and clear the fields of any obstructions to planting or mowing. 2nd year interns begin their advanced training with us on the same day – we want to welcome them back to a beautiful, functioning space that’s ready for their hard work in the fields and beyond. With your help we can get back on our feet and ready for our youth programming this fall.
Volunteer Day
Saturday, September 8, 2012
8am-12noon
Report to 150 Zachary Taylor Drive, City Park (between Pan Am Stadium and the dog park)
*Wear long pants and boots (or very sturdy close-toed shoes)
