WHO WE ARE
Our mission is to cultivate a resilient local food community in North Central Florida.
We envision a community where young people, neighbors, and farmers grow food, share the bounty, and nurture a thriving local food web that sustains us all.
Our values
Adaptability
Belonging
Care for the natural world
Community
Connection
Joy
Guiding principles
These assumptions guide Working Food’s actions and decisions:
Food is something we all share that can bring people together across differences. How we grow, share, and access food has the potential to create a more just and connected community.
Everyone deserves a strong connection to land, culture, and community: the places that feed us, the traditions that ground us, and the people who support us.
Rebuilding connection and investing in each other helps our community heal from the harm inflicted on people pushed off their land or kept from land ownership.
Recovering traditional knowledge about how to grow, cook, and share food will rebuild our connections to our land and each other.
If we share and take care of each other, there is enough to go around. We work to build strong community networks, rooted in reciprocity, to work towards a future where there is enough for everyone.
Transformational justice means the people most impacted by food injustice have the leadership, resources, and decision-making power.
In a connected food system, even small actions like saving seeds or sharing a meal with a neighbor can cause ripple effects of lasting change.
We believe that small, community-rooted actions—like growing food, sharing seeds, or teaching youth—create a more just and resilient food system.
Our history
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Farms, markets, and gardens were growing, yet much of the food on our tables still came from out of state. Farmers struggled to find steady markets for their crops, commercially-sourced seeds faltered in our hot climate, and local youth had fewer opportunities to connect with the land or learn where their food came from. Despite pockets of activity, there was no clear system linking it all together. No way to connect the energy, knowledge, and efforts already at work.
That’s when an idea took root. What if we could help connect the dots, lift up the good work already happening, and grow a movement around local food? Our community was, and still remains, rich in passion, grit, local expertise, and a network of organizations rooted in collaboration. By working together, building on our strengths, and approaching food from many angles, we saw the potential to weave a stronger, more resilient local food system. From that vision, Working Food was born.
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Founders Melissa DeSa and Anna Prizzia soon started saving and sharing seeds, gradually growing a collection of over 100 varieties suited to our area. Over time, we added classes that helped people learn how to garden, cook, and grow food in their own backyards or farms. Today, we’re still helping farmers and home gardeners tend thriving gardens and farms, and ensuring locally grown food reaches our whole community.
That same year, our work with youth began with one small afterschool class. Over a decade later, we reach kids from preschool through high school with hands-on programs in gardening and cooking. Students grow their own food, learn healthy habits, and make meals that reflect their cultures. Older students can even earn money through paid internships, gaining leadership skills and work experience.
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From its inception until its transition to new leadership in 2027, the kitchen has created new opportunities for farmers to develop value-added products, supported business development for many local food entrepreneurs, and offered culinary classes focused on fresh, local ingredients. Working Food is currently working with kitchen users to find new spaces that reflect their goals, and is collaborating to expand community kitchen access so more food entrepreneurs can succeed.
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Over the coming years, the community transformed the lot into a flourishing organic farm filled with life and connective spirit: the Gainesville Giving Garden. With many helping hands, the Giving Garden grew to harvest and donate over 5,000 pounds of food per year. Not long after, Working Food joined forces with the Gainesville Giving Garden to grow and share even more fresh food with families.
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Dive deeper
Our impact
From gardens to local markets, our programs are planting seeds of change. Discover how gardening education, community partnerships, and local food access are creating a lasting impact in Gainesville and beyond.
Our team
Behind each garden planted, seed saved, and connection made to fresh local food is a dedicated team of staff, board members, interns, and volunteers. Meet the people who bring passion, skills, and heart to our work.