“To free ourselves we must feed ourselves”
In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, it is increasingly essential that we grow our own food and medicine towards self-reliance and community resilience. Soul Fire Farm offered materials, seedlings, soil, labor, and ongoing guidance to support folks in Albany and Troy to establish raised-bed gardens outside of their homes, drawing on community collaboration and mutual aid. We see this work as a continuation of that legacy of a long lineage of BIPOC growers who developed alternative food systems to sustain their own communities.
This season we provided 40 no-cost raised bed and starter plants to Capital District households. Our Soul Fire in the City program centers BIPOC folks impacted by food apartheid, survivors of mass incarceration, refugees and immigrants, people with disabilities or chronic illness, elders, and families with children.
We will provide more updates to next year’s program as soon as we can.
Although we will not be building more beds this year, you may still request one using this form.
Deciding to grow some of your own nutritious food is a statement to yourself that, “Yes, I matter and I am worth it.” Congratulations on reclaiming your ancestral right to belong to the land and have agency over your own health. Growing food has many tremendous benefits, including emotional healing, physical exercise, and nutrient-dense, life-giving harvest that you can share with your loved ones.
Learn how to grow your own food with our Lawn to Garden Growing Guide.
SOUL FIRE IN THE CTY SQUAD! Shout outs to Kiani for coordination and propagation efforts, Naima for organizing volunteers and gathering resources, Amani for instigation and inspiration, Larisa for garden planning wisdom and outreach, Leah for training and fundraising excellence, & the whole Soul Fire team and our volunteers!