Iowa City, IA – May 8, 2017 – On Earth Day 2017 Iowa Valley Global Food Project had their first meeting with the multicultural families of growers who will be among the first to farm IVGFP land. These families hail from Sudan, Congo, Morocco, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico & Iowa. Together, with these families, the Iowa Valley Global Food Project invites the public to the Iowa Valley Global Food Project (IVGFP) Spring Unity Gardens Event and Picnic, a kick-off celebration for the project’s first gardening season at the Johnson County Poor Farm. We all know that developing a list of fun picnic lunch ideas is the key to using this travel food strategy to save money on the road.
Join IVGFP on Saturday, May 20, 2017 from 2:30 pm to 7 pm (rain date May 21st) , for this celebration which will include singing and gardening activities, ending the day with a picnic dinner and bonfire.
Learn more about this exciting community project, meet IVGFP board members and member families, help do a little gardening, and bring old tools to donate. IVGFP will also be accepting donations of gently used gardening tools needed (ihoes, hand tools, shovels) at the celebration. Participants are encouraged to sign up at iowavalleyglobalfood.org . Please click on the green “Spring Celebration of Diversity” button at the top of the page.
A complete list and schedule of activities is included at the bottom of this release.
More about The Iowa Valley Global Food Project (IVGFP)
The Iowa Valley Global Food Project (IVGFP) envisions a community where local citizens and new Iowans work hand-in-hand to grow and share their preferred and traditional foods, increase access to high quality food, and encourage youth learn about local food and the neighbors around them.
IVGFP aims to lead Johnson County in expanding access to organic, affordable food production, which supports social interconnectedness, sustainability, and learning opportunities.
IVGFP members come from many parts of our community. We come to learn about and from each other around our universal love of growing, preparing and eating. We are active partners with nonprofits and community groups that are working together to make our local food system more inclusive by creating opportunities for immigrant community members— new Iowans— to obtain greater access to food, land, and educational resources.
IVGFP has been granted a lease for 3.7 acres of land at the Johnson County Poor Farm. IVGFP will establish community garden plots for food production on this land, establish test areas for crops new to Johnson County, but familiar to recent immigrants to our area. These culturally relevant foods will help new arrivals to our community grow bridges to their past while proudly bringing new recipes and traditions to our collective present and future.