The Fresh Press June '22: Fresh & Local Greenhouse Unveiling

Summer at St. Pete Youth Farm!

St. Pete Youth Farm Summer 2022 Youth Ambassadors at the Juneteenth Celebration last Monday, June 20th

We started Summer 2022 programming on June 13th with a mix of new and returning Youth Ambassadors. They all got a tour of the new systems we have in place, continue our composting efforts, and start prepping beds for the Summer as well as for when we transition to Fall crops. Our programming has continued with Mental Health Mondays with NewVisions Behavioral Health, art workshops with NOMAD Studios, learning and cooking with herbs with Ruth Glass, and Mindful Movement with Clayton Sizemore.

We’ve also been busy with corporate and youth groups coming out to volunteer and tour the farm. We had McKinsey and Company return with a solid group of 20 volunteers who helped compost and create more mini-gardens for the community. We also had the Shirley Proctor Puller Foundation youth join us for 4 days, with younger grade-school-aged youth for 2 days and older middle-school-aged youth for another 2 days.

Our Mini Garden Crate Project is just in its beginnings. We’ve distributed to families, individuals, as well as youth programs who want to start their own gardens. Our goal is to have 500 mini-gardens distributed in the South St. Pete CRA by the end of the year. Right now they consist of pigeon pea, cuban oregano, peppers, and okra seedlings.

Happy Summer! June was filled with so many new and exciting additions to everything great we’ve been doing.

In the beginning of the month we got our aquaponics fully installed and running. We received 40 tilapia that came from the Benedictine Sisters of Florida in St. Leo that we’re raising in a small aquarium until they’re big enough to be transferred to our two 250gal tanks next week. We can’t wait to reap the tilapia harvest come the end of the year in time for Kwanzaa!

This year we had a Juneteenth Celebration on the Farm and it was a day full of culture, community and so much more. We were fortunate to have the Dundu Dole African Drummers kick off the festivities and host storytelling about Juneteenth under the tree with President of ASALH Ms. Jaqueline Hubbard. Before the celebrations we unveiled the up and running Fresh & Local Greenhouse Project in partnership with the USF St. Petersburg Campus and made possible thanks to the $25k Ford Motor Company Fund grant, as well as a USF alumni donation and internal grants. We also shared the aquaponics system with everyone that day thanks to a generous $10k from a local donor to the farm.

We gave a tour to a group from the Boley Youth Employment Program and will have 2 of their youth will work with us for a week this July. We're excited to be reaching and teaching more youth in St. Pete!

We want to highlight that all our private tours and volunteer days are FREE to corporate, church, and youth groups who are interested in getting involved and learning more about what we do. Please contact us if you're interested!

Farm Updates!

40 tilapia being raised (blue and red tilapia)
Butter crunch, bistro mix, and romaine lettuces (as well as grove peppers) growing in the hydroponic grow bags
Planted okra, peppers, and eggplant in our raised in-ground beds
50+ mini gardens created and distributed to community members and youth programs
4+ tons of food waste diverted to compost in June
We became a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation and got our beautiful plaque!

Upcoming Engagement Opportunities

July is BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month

"BIPOC Mental Health Month highlights the unique mental health challenges and needs of historically disenfranchised or oppressed racial and ethnic groups in the United States."

We'd like to invite everyone, young and old, families and individuals for an evening on the farm for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) Mental Health Awareness Month! We are hosting a community gathering for mindful movement and meditation, conversation circles, gardening, food and more.

This is a family friendly event where we will make space to connect on mental wellness in BIPOC communities, something we prioritize in the work we do with our youth.

Facebook Event

St. Pete Run Fest Fun Run

St. Pete Youth Farm will be benefitting from the proceeds as the nonprofit partner of the Run Fest.

The run is on Monday, July 4th, 2022, starting at 7am near Spa Beach on the St Pete Pier. More details here.

Pie eating contest at 8am!

We'll be at the halfway point of the race next to our Youth Farm PSTA Bus near Vinoy Park.

Youth Farm in the News

As the St. Pete Youth Farm grows, so does its impact

June 25th | St. Pete Catalyst

It is a sweltering late June afternoon in South St. Petersburg, but Carla Bristol seems unfazed by the heat as she directs a group of volunteers with unbridled energy and passion.