Local Food Hero: Community Action Agency of St. Louis County (CAASTLC)

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Seeds of Hope Farm

Farm staff, Jake Smith (pictured) and Cody Copp (not pictured), walk through Seeds of Hope Farm in Spanish Lake with Food and Farm Coordinator Melissa Vatterott and Summer 2015 interns Claire Mai and Divya Babbula. Among other things, Jake and Cody discussed with our Summer 2015 Food and Farm team the conservation agriculture and non-chemical pest and weed management practices used on the farm.

Their Food Story: CAASTLCis a nonprofit social service agency with a mission to end poverty and prevent the conditions of poverty for present and future generations of St. Louisans. CAASTLC’s Seeds of Hope Farm project addresses food insecurity by operating an income-tiered co-op to improve physical and economic access to fresh produce in food deserts, featuring monthly cooking classes and dinners with Operation Food Search. CAASTLC also offers resources and learning opportunities for community and backyard gardeners.

A Person Behind the Project: Randy Tempel is a community garden coordinator and community farmer with CAASTLC.  In this role, he helps gardeners to succeed by sharing knowledge and resources.  He engages the community of Bel-Ridge in growing food for the Seeds of Hope Farm Co-op and works closely with colleague Gabriel Hahn developing their programming in Spanish Lake.  Together, they are working to build access and demand in food deserts through a Community Food Project grant.

Seeds of Hope Community Garden Farm at Bel-Ridge

 

Organization Websites: www.seedsofhopefarm.org, www.facebook.com/seedsofhopefarm, www.twitter.com/seedsofhopefarm,www.caastlc.org