In this age of disconnection, food has the power to bring us back together. The seeds we sow, the food we grow, and the meals we make together create the fabric of a flourishing local food web. One of our favorite units offered through our Youth Collective begins unsurprisingly, with a seed. We observe seeds…
How the Seed Was Planted In 2015 we had an ambitious idea: what would happen if we tried to combine our beloved Everglades currant tomato with a dwarf variety, Tanunda Red? This is a very wide cross of tomato types and traits! Everglades is a different species altogether (Solanum pimpinellifolium) and is the wild ancestor…
Several years ago, Melissa was connected to Jerome Feaster through a mutual friend, Bricky who manages the historical farm at Morningside Nature Center here in Gainesville, Florida. She’d heard about his family’s variety of heirloom mustard greens that had been saved for many years, since at least around the time of the Civil War, if…
Written by Melissa DeSa This is the time of year to gather up that winter veg that’s in season from local farms, and stuff it into a crock or jar with some salt and herbs. Cabbage, radishes, carrots, beets are all in season. Ginger and turmeric dug in the fall is still fresh and waiting…
Are you a woman farmer in Florida looking to expand your business by developing a food product? This free online program might be for you! The Farm2Food Accelerator empowers Florida’s women farmers (including ranchers, producers, growers, fisherwomen, beekeepers and other related agriculturalists) to become more resilient by providing practical tools and knowledge to increase income…
2020: A year of Relief, Recovery, and Resilience When food insecurity intensifies, local markets shift and shudder, online learning becomes the new way to connect, and home gardens spread like seeds in the wind – we all remember why local food community matters. The global food system staggered and revealed its weakness. But local producers,…
Spring Events! Spring is here and we’ll be at some great community events! Our website events page lists them all and we’ll be adding more. Come join us! Join us for the in-person TEDxUF labs FRIDAY April 09, 2021 / 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm @Heartwood Soundstage Read more about this super fun 3 day event Pop-Up…
As the Sandhill Cranes return to the prairie, they remind us that it is time to reflect on another year past and what our future holds. Their arrival seems even more poignant as we approach the end of what may be one of the most difficult years in memory. Like so many in our community,…
When COVID hit it became glaringly obvious the food system was broken. We knew to some degree it wasn’t working, but it took the gears screeching to a stop in our economy. Overnight, milk was being dumped, produce was being left to rot, animals being killed because there wasn’t room to keep them. It wasn’t…
From Chef Ashley Rella This is a great recipe to help use up two of those crops coming in right now. If you don’t have any growing at home, be sure to check out local producers from High Spring Orchard and Bakery, Frog Song Organics, and Siembra Farms, Softer persimmons like Haichau or Sajio can…