Category: Rhode Island Resources

Urban AG Resource Center

Southside Community Land Trust  109 Somerset St. Providence, RI 02907  401-273-9419
Contact: Executive Director, Margaret DeVos
Email  Website  Facebook

Welcome to the Urban Agriculture Resource Center! We hope it will serve as a virtual “toolshed” of information and inspiration as you set out to grow your own food in the city.

• The Urban Agriculture Movement – Why Grow Your Own Food?

• Gardening with Kids

• Growing Food Topics

• Organizing Your Neighbors

• Starting a Community Garden(PDF)

• Student resources for students looking to do a project with SCLT

• Urban farming support (funding opportunities, trainings, etc.)

• Better Health and Gardens (incorporating plant-based foods in your diet for healthy eating)

e State of Rhode Island’s Open Space Preservation Act, the was purchased and preserved by the Rhode Island Division of Agriculture. SCLT is managing the property for the State and restoring 35 of its acres to active farmland.

Just 8 miles from our south Providence office, Urban Edge Farm is an ideal site for growing produce, educating new farmers and the public. Urban Edge Farm is a model farm demonstrating environmentally sound land stewardship and farming practices.

The farm hosts new farmers who collaboratively manage the farm’s operation and maintenance.  The farm also offers opportunities for volunteers to work alongside the farmers and hosts farm-related public events. The food grown by farmers at Urban Edge Farm feeds Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shareholders, Farmers’ Market customers, and diners at local restaurants, soup kitchens and food pantries.

Youth Gardening Resources

Southside Community Land Trust  109 Somerset St. Providence, RI 02907  401-273-9419
Contact: Executive Director, Margaret DeVos
Email  Website  Facebook

Here are some garden-based education materials that we have created or recommend for teachers and parents.

The Curious Garden, by Peter Brown. An engaging children’s book about a boy who cares for an urban garden. It can be used in conjunction with our Biodiversity in Urban Gardens (B.U.G.) curriculum.

If you are interested in getting youth in your school involved with garden education, we recommend finding a local community garden to get involved with.Or start a community garden of your own! The URI Outreach Center also offers several education programming for youth.

SCLT’s Youth Garden Club Manual is geared for helping community groups start and run successful youth garden programs. The 170-page manual compiles SCLT’s best practices for running an after-school gardening program that is both community-focused and youth-focused.

The manual includes sections on garden planning, design, suggested vegetable varieties for small-scale youth gardens, a planting calendar, and a 10-month seasonal curriculum.  The curriculum is designed for 6-12 year-olds, but can be easily adapted for younger (or older) students. Proceeds from this product goes towards SCLT’s Education program. $150, not including shipping.

Click to view a preview of the intro and a sample month lesson

Rhode Island Food System Snapshots

Rhode Island Food Policy Council 
Website

The Fact Sheets are intended to give Rhode Islanders a better sense of the current impact the food system has on individual communities, and a better understanding of the network of businesses, agencies, organizations and institutions that make up our local food system. A food system encompasses all of the processes involved in feeding people: it includes the production, harvesting, and processing of food; its distribution and marketing; its consumption (whether at home, in schools and institutions, or in restaurants); and ultimately, the recycling or disposal of food waste. The fact sheets present a dynamic “snapshot” of the local food system, and we hope they will stimulate discussion about growing the local food system and using data to track and measure progress. This is a first attempt to pull together data from a range of sources, however, so we invite corrections or additional information that will help us more accurately represent Rhode Island’s local food system.

Monthly Resource FAQs

Rhode Island Community Food Bank

Website

Monthly and up-to-date list of links to basic needs resources focused on a specific topic. The topics are selected based on timeliness or concerns expressed by member agencies. All resources are verified before being added to the list, so users can be assured they are accurate and relevant on the date published. If you would like to recommend a specific topic or contribute a useful resource, email or call 401-230-1701.  Contact: Kristina Fox.

Nobody’s Just Hungry Community Resource Training Kit

Rhode Island Community Food Bank

This kit was designed to train and support agency member staff & volunteers on how to make quality referrals for their guests. With minimal training on these resources, your program will have the basic ability to assist your clients in those critical moments when their needs are immediate and pressing. Community Resource Coordinator Kristina Fox will provide on-site training to member agencies to show you how it’s done!  Website  Email