In the Food, Land, and Community (FLC) program as in all of Hope’s work, we listen to community and are guided by what we hear. We believe strongly in mentorship and long-term support for community leaders. We bring art, music, and cultural strategies into activities to honor many ways of sharing, learning, knowing, and doing. We build relationships, partnerships, and alliances to expand and sustain the impacts of the work. Our purpose is to support an ecosystem of community opportunity that leads to equitable changes on the individual, community, and systems levels.
Regular FLC programming includes:
- Year-round cooking classes and skillshares to share knowledge such as a recipe using produce grown in the gardens, gardening techniques, and food preservation skills. These are often led by community members!
- Weekly free produce stand during summer to share what we are growing with anyone who stops by.
- Weekly garden nights May through October to be in community, learn some gardening skills, and/or help in the gardens.
For details on how to get involved:
Sign up for FLC emails.
Follow Food, Land, and Community on Instagram.
Email the program at FLC@hope-community.org.
Background on Food, Land, and Community
The FLC program emerged from community-building conversations with Hope residents and neighbors in 2009. We heard from community members that they wanted to be in deeper relationship with their neighbors and the land we live on, have safe outdoor spaces to gather in, and have access to healthy, affordable, and culturally relevant food options in the neighborhood. Beginning with three gardeners, the program quickly grew to include eleven households sharing a 14-plot community garden in 2010.
Today, Hope owns and stewards a total of 7,500 square feet of regenerative urban agricultural space, engages hundreds of community members each year, and distributes over $8,000 worth of produce each summer. More than merely a food access program, FLC seeks to grow connections and capacity for land and community stewardship that supports health, leadership, and environmental sustainability.
Community Listening
We actively build and maintain a base of engaged residents to influence community and programming decisions in ways that reflect and align with community interests and priorities. Responding to major participation shifts beginning in 2020, FLC carried out a listening project in 2023 engaging over 150 community members throughout 8 listening sessions. While the learnings are already shaping programming, culminations and a public report back of the project are forthcoming.
Prior to the most recent listening project, a major community listening process about food and food justice was completed in 2015. You can read the report, which includes feedback from the 415 residents who were engaged in dialogues, here: “Feed The Roots“.