Aggregation

Breaking Ground on Food System Resilience: SCLT’s Cranston Food Hub Takes Shape

08/22/2025 admin Aggregation, Cranston, Urban Edge Farm, VeggieRx

After months of planning and preparation, Southside Community Land Trust has officially broken ground on the Cranston Food Hub at Urban Edge Farm, a transformational project that will strengthen Rhode Island’s local food system from the ground up. With construction set to begin this summer, this $1.7 million facility represents a crucial investment in the middle of our food supply chain, addressing critical infrastructure gaps that have long limited the growth potential of small-scale, historically underserved farmers in the Providence Metro Area.

The 4,000 square foot facility will serve as a comprehensive post-harvest handling, storage, processing, and distribution hub, dramatically expanding capacity for the 155 direct beneficiaries including SCLT farmers, partner organizations, and other regional producers. The hub will feature modern pack lines for washing and processing, three walk-in humidity-controlled coolers totaling 4,800 cubic feet, and a walk-in freezer – infrastructure that will allow farmers to handle significantly larger volumes while maintaining the highest food safety standards. Perhaps most importantly, the facility will connect to municipal water and sewer systems, replacing an aging well system and failed septic infrastructure that has posed ongoing challenges for farm operations.

This project comes at a critical time for Rhode Island’s agricultural community. With the state having the highest agricultural real estate values in the nation at $24,059 per acre – six times the national average – small farmers face enormous pressure to maximize productivity on limited land. Currently, 72% of Rhode Island farms occupy fewer than 50 acres, and 61% generate less than $10,000 in annual revenue. The Cranston Food Hub will help level the playing field by providing shared infrastructure that individual small farms could never afford on their own.

The impact extends far beyond farm economics. In the communities SCLT serves, up to 60% of families live below the federal poverty level, and food insecurity affects 29% of households statewide, rising to nearly 50% among Black and Latino families. The hub will significantly boost SCLT’s Produce Aggregation Program, which has seen remarkable growth from $3,500 in farmer revenues in 2017 to $190,000 in 2023. This facility will ensure that fresh, culturally familiar produce from local farms can reach thousands more Rhode Islanders, including through SCLT’s innovative VeggieRx program that partners with healthcare providers to prescribe fresh produce to food-insecure patients.

The collaborative nature of this project reflects its broad community impact. Partner organizations including Farm Fresh Rhode Island, Hope & Main, the Hmong United Association of Rhode Island, and numerous individual farms will utilize the facility, creating new market opportunities and strengthening connections throughout the local food network. More than 75% of farmers in SCLT’s network identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color, with 66% being women – demographics that have historically faced barriers to accessing adequate post-harvest infrastructure.

Looking ahead, this investment in climate-smart infrastructure positions Rhode Island’s food system for long-term resilience. The facility’s 20-year lifespan means it can evolve alongside changing agricultural needs while supporting SCLT’s expanding farmer training programs and land access initiatives. As extreme weather events and supply chain disruptions continue to threaten food security nationwide, projects like the Cranston Food Hub demonstrate how strategic investments in local infrastructure can create lasting solutions that benefit farmers, consumers, and communities alike.

With construction beginning soon and the facility expected to be operational by summer 2027, the Cranston Food Hub represents more than just a building. It’s a foundation for a more equitable, resilient, and thriving local food system that will serve Rhode Island for generations to come.

SCLT builds partnerships for free farmers market series

07/07/2025 admin Aggregation, Food Justice

When families hear about an SCLT free farmers market pop-up coming to their neighborhood, they know it’s an opportunity not to be missed. These one-time events bring fresh, locally grown produce directly to communities that often lack reliable access to nutritious food.

Through Southside Community Land Trust’s produce aggregation program, families across these communities are discovering that nutritious food doesn’t have to be a luxury. Thanks to the generous support of our season partners – Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, United Healthcare, Navigant Credit Union, BankRI, Garden Grille, and Wildflour – SCLT is breaking down the barriers that have long separated nutrition-insecure neighborhoods from fresh, healthy food.

The concept is elegantly simple yet powerfully effective. Our season partners cover the cost of purchasing locally grown produce directly from small-scale farmers across Rhode Island. SCLT then aggregates this fresh bounty and brings it directly to the communities that need it most through pop-up markets in the lowest income, lowest access areas of Providence, Pawtucket, and Central Falls.

In 2024, this collaborative effort resulted in 14 free farmers market pop-ups hosted in partnership with community-based organizations throughout these core cities. The impact was immediate and substantial: thousands of pounds of fresh vegetables, herbs, and honey reached hundreds of nutrition-insecure individuals and families who might otherwise struggle to afford or access such quality produce.

These free farmers market pop-ups represent something far more significant than traditional food distribution. They’re special community events where neighbors connect, children learn about healthy eating, and families can select fresh ingredients with dignity. Each pop-up creates a momentary transformation of the neighborhood, bringing not just food but hope and community connection to areas that often lack access to fresh produce.

This model creates a win-win scenario that strengthens Rhode Island’s entire food ecosystem. Small-scale farmers receive fair compensation for their produce, while families in underserved communities gain access to the freshest local vegetables, herbs, and honey through these special events. The economic impact ripples through the community, supporting local agriculture while addressing food insecurity.

The success of SCLT’s produce aggregation program proves that with the right partnerships and community commitment, we can create meaningful interventions in food access. When businesses, financial institutions, and community organizations come together with a shared vision, they can transform not just individual lives but entire neighborhoods, one pop-up market at a time.

As we continue to expand these free farmers market pop-ups, the partnerships with our season sponsors remain crucial. Their investment goes beyond financial support—it’s a commitment to equity, health, and community resilience. Every pound of fresh produce distributed at these special events represents a step toward a more just and sustainable food system for all Rhode Islanders.

The success of this model shows there’s room for more partners to join this transformative work. Organizations and businesses interested in becoming season sponsors can help bring fresh, locally grown produce to even more communities throughout Rhode Island. To learn more about sponsorship opportunities and how your organization can make a difference in food access, contact Kakeena Castro, Aggregation Program Manager, at kakeena@southsideclt.org.

The free farmers market pop-ups hosted by SCLT prove that access to healthy food is not just a dream but an achievable reality when communities come together with purpose and partners commit to meaningful change.

SCLT in the Spotlight: Food Systems Featured in Regional News

04/10/2025 admin Aggregation, Food Justice, healthy food access, SCLT in the News, VeggieRx

Ben Torpey, Margaret DeVos, and Kakeena Castro stand in SCLT’s Farm-to-Market Center in South Providence. Credit: The Boston Globe

Recent weeks have brought significant attention to Southside Community Land Trust and the critical challenges facing our mission to ensure access to fresh, nutritious food for all Rhode Islanders. As media outlets including the Boston Globe, Providence Journal, and WPRI 12 have reported, federal funding cuts have created an unprecedented crisis for organizations like ours that connect local farmers with communities in need.

The impact of these cuts is staggering. As Margaret DeVos, our executive director, told the Boston Globe, “It’s outrageous. Never before have we not been able to get behind as a country to help the farms and the hungry.”

The reality we face is stark: federal funding freezes and contract cancellations have resulted in a devastating $600,000 reduction to our annual budget, threatening programs that served approximately 25,000 Rhode Islanders through food pantries and community meal sites last year while supporting nearly three dozen small family farm businesses.

The Boston Globe’s coverage highlighted the human dimension of this crisis. At Urban Edge Farm in Cranston, where SCLT serves as farm manager, the concerns are deeply personal. Garmai Mawolo, a Liberian immigrant from Providence who owns Looffa Farm, expressed her anxiety: “It’s too much. We don’t know what to do. I turn on the TV [news] and it makes my heart race. How will we pay our rent? How will we pay our bills?” These are the real voices behind the statistics – hardworking farmers whose livelihoods are threatened while the communities they feed face increasing food insecurity.

In response to this crisis, we’ve been heartened by the Rhode Island Foundation’s recent announcement, covered by multiple news outlets. As David N. Cicilline, Foundation president and CEO, powerfully stated, “Imagine empty shelves at local food pantries, the end of job training programs, small business assistance drying up, Head Start programs going dark, or children going hungry.” The Foundation’s commitment of $3 million to help nonprofits affected by federal funding cuts represents a crucial lifeline, though as many have noted, the magnitude of the funding gap cannot be filled by philanthropy alone.

WPRI’s Melissa Sardelli joins SCLT’s Ellen Asermely, Jair Ascencao, Margaret DeVos, and Rich Pederson, with Somerset Federal Credit Union’s Amy Derosa gather at City Farm

The recognition of our work extends beyond the current crisis. In a bright spot amid challenging news, WPRI 12 recently honored Southside Community Land Trust through their “12 Gives Back” program, delivering thanks and recognition on behalf of the TV station, their sponsor Somerset Federal Credit Union, and the community – an acknowledgment of our four decades of transforming urban spaces into productive agricultural sites and supporting food security throughout Rhode Island.

Looking forward, we remain committed to our core mission despite these unprecedented challenges. Since our founding in 1981, when South Providence residents and Hmong refugees worked with visionary Brown University graduates to create spaces to grow culturally familiar foods, we have expanded to manage over 60 community gardens and urban farms throughout Rhode Island. The current crisis reinforces rather than diminishes the urgency of our work – ensuring that all Rhode Islanders, regardless of income or background, have access to fresh, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food.

As we navigate these difficult times, we invite our community to join us in standing up for food justice and security. Whether through volunteering, donations, advocacy, or simply spreading awareness, your support is more crucial than ever as we fight to preserve programs that have become lifelines for thousands of Rhode Islanders. Together, we can ensure that the vision that has guided SCLT for over four decades continues to flourish even in the face of unprecedented challenges.

SCLT Voices Crucial Perspective at RI’s First Nutrition Security Forum

03/12/2025 admin Aggregation, City Farm, VeggieRx

Rich and Kakeena presenting at the first Statewide Forum on Nutrition Security

SCLT staff brought critical frontline experience to Rhode Island’s inaugural Nutrition Security Forum, held March 10, where City Farm Steward Rich Pederson and Food Program Coordinator Kakeena Castro participated in a panel discussion examining the real-world effectiveness of our state’s food access programs.

The panel, which focused on the end-to-end user experience in Rhode Island’s current food access landscape, provided a unique opportunity for SCLT to elevate the voices and experiences of those we serve daily. Castro and Pederson shared insights from years of direct work with communities, farmers, and food access partners.

During the forum, Castro detailed the comprehensive support SCLT provides: “Our Farmer Training and Produce Aggregation Programs support farmers in a number of ways. We help farmers from production to distribution. Farmers are applying for small grants and we help them with that. We help improve infrastructure at the farms. We help farmers attend workshops to learn more about pest management, soil health, cover cropping.”

Castro also highlighted SCLT’s 20-week distribution program, explaining, “During the season, we’re purchasing produce from farmers and we’re distributing it to families who are nutrition insecure, through one of our food access partners.” This model creates what Pederson aptly called “hyperlocal commerce,” strengthening community food systems while addressing immediate nutritional needs.

One of the most impactful aspects of SCLT’s work, as Castro emphasized, is breaking down barriers for immigrant farmers: “It’s been very impactful for the farmers, especially with the language and technology barriers, we really are able to sit side by side with them and help them navigate the food system so that they can benefit from the money in the local food system that larger producers have access to.”

Castro, right, and Pederson after the panel discussion

The forum served several critical purposes: increasing awareness and understanding of current fruit and vegetable programs; comparing Rhode Island’s approaches to regional and national models; and highlighting program impacts on economic health, environmental sustainability, and participant wellbeing. With federal nutrition assistance programs facing unprecedented threats, this dialogue couldn’t have come at a more crucial time.

The connections forged at this inaugural forum will help strengthen the coalition of organizations working to ensure Rhode Islanders have reliable access to nutritious food. As policies and programs evolve, SCLT will continue advocating for solutions that address the root causes of food insecurity while building more resilient local food systems that serve our communities where they are.

SCLT farmer strengthens operations with Brighter Future Fund grant

02/12/2025 admin Aggregation, Apprenticeship, Cranston, Farmland Access

Kia Yang on a sunny day at her Good Earth Farm plot, pre-shed.

Kia Yang, a Hmong refugee farmer at SCLT’s Good Earth Farm in Hope, Rhode Island, was recently awarded a grant through the American Farmland Trust’s Brighter Future Fund to construct a tool and storage shed on her farm. The grant, which provides up to $5,000 to BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and women farmers nationwide, aims to strengthen farm resilience, enhance viability, and improve land access for traditionally underserved farming communities.

Yang’s farming journey spans continents and decades, beginning in Laos where her family operated a large farm producing rice, vegetables, and poultry. After moving to the United States in 1976, she quickly put down roots in Rhode Island’s agricultural community, starting with a community garden near her South Providence home. Four years ago, she expanded her operation to Good Earth Farm, where she now tends to a productive one-acre plot alongside other refugee farmers from Hmong and East African communities.

“I love it. I don’t want to stay home,” says Yang, who visits her farm daily to cultivate an impressive variety of crops including corn, bitterball, squash, peppers, scallions, celery, sweet potatoes, and cassava. Her produce reaches the community through multiple channels – the Broad Street Farmers Market, Sankofa World Market, and SCLT’s aggregation program, which distributes fresh vegetables to 14 hunger-relief agencies and operates produce prescription partnership program with the largest healthcare providers in Providence.

The new 10’x10′ shed will provide secure onsite storage for Yang’s farming equipment, fertilizer, drip tape, and other essential supplies. Currently, Yang stores her tools and supplies in multiple locations across Good Earth Farm’s 20-acre property, including a hoop house and greenhouse far from her field. This scattered storage situation requires significant time and energy that could be better spent on crucial farming tasks like planting, watering, weeding, and harvesting. The new shed’s proximity to her field will dramatically improve her daily operations.

The timing of this grant is particularly meaningful as Yang, who works with a part-time apprentice, recently renewed her lease for another five years at Good Earth Farm. The property has undergone significant infrastructure improvements since its acquisition by SCLT in July 2021, including major upgrades to its wastewater and irrigation pipeline systems. These improvements, combined with Yang’s new storage shed, will enhance both environmental sustainability and agricultural productivity at the farm.

Yang’s dedication to agricultural education is evident in her role as a mentor, having hosted apprentice Jairson Ascençao during the 2024 growing season, and again in the upcoming year. Her commitment to farming and community service, spanning over four decades in the United States, exemplifies how targeted support for individual farmers contributes to building a more resilient and equitable local food system in Rhode Island.

2024: Our Year in Review

01/10/2025 admin 404 Broad, Aggregation, Community Garden, Farmland Access, Food Justice, Southside Community Land Trust

SCLT staff and Board of Directors members gather at SCLT’s Youth Enterprise Farm in South Providence for a photo in December, 2024

Southside Community Land Trust marked 2024 as a year of significant expansion and deepening impact across Rhode Island’s food system. The organization’s Produce Aggregation and VeggieRx programs delivered more than 44,000 pounds of locally grown produce to 9,750 people, with 97% of recipients being low-income residents. Through its network of 40 small-scale farm operations, SCLT facilitated the distribution of fresh, culturally relevant produce to markets, restaurants, and institutions throughout the state.

The organization’s comprehensive annual program review highlighted substantial achievements in youth engagement and workforce development, with 50 young people receiving employment and education in sustainable agriculture. Community gardens continued to thrive, supporting more than 1,600 gardeners across 23 locations. The year also saw the successful expansion of partnerships with healthcare providers, schools, and social service organizations, enabling SCLT to reach more than 25,000 Rhode Islanders through various programs.

“We can take great pride in the accomplishments of the past few years, but we also carry a deep concern for the future of our work,” said Margaret DeVos, Executive Director of SCLT. “The wells of pandemic crisis response resources – major drivers of much of our recent growth – are drying up. We find ourselves at a critical juncture that demands immediate attention and support.”

Supporting these initiatives, SCLT secured several significant grants in 2024, including funding from the Governor’s Workforce Board’s Real Skills for Youth program, the Rhode Island Foundation, and the Papitto Opportunity Connection, among others. These investments strengthened core programs in youth development, produce aggregation, farmer training, and community garden support. The organization also received crucial general operating support from foundations including the Island Foundation, enabling flexible response to community needs.

Looking ahead to 2025, SCLT’s program review process identified opportunities for growth while acknowledging the challenges posed by expiring pandemic-era funding programs. The organization remains focused on sustaining its momentum through new funding opportunities, including potential support through Senator Reed’s proposed EAT Local Foods Act, while maintaining its commitment to building a more equitable and sustainable local food system for Rhode Island.

SCLT Featured in Rhode Island Spotlight

01/10/2025 admin 404 Broad, Aggregation, Apprenticeship, Central Falls, City Farm, Community Garden, Cranston, Farmers Market, Farmland Access, Food Justice, Galego, Good Earth Farm, healthy food access, Pawtucket, SCLT in the News, Southside Community Land Trust, VeggieRx, Youth Program

This January, Rhode Island PBS will air a 10-minute video documentary on Southside Community Land Trust’s four-decade journey of transforming urban spaces into productive agricultural sites across Providence and supporting statewide food access efforts. The documentary, produced by Jim Hummel of Rhode Island Spotlight, chronicles SCLT’s expansion from its 1981 beginnings with two community gardens to its current network of 60 farms and gardens serving over 1,600 community gardeners and their families annually.

Featured in a writeup in The Providence Journal as well as upcoming PBS broadcasts, the piece explores SCLT’s comprehensive approach to food security through innovative programs like VeggieRx: healthcare partnerships providing veggie prescriptions for food insecure patients. The documentary includes interviews with longtime SCLT staff member Rich Pederson, who discusses City Farm’s role as a demonstration site growing 80 varieties of vegetables, and Charlotte Uwimphuhwe, who operates a successful farming enterprise at Urban Edge Farm in Cranston.

The Rhode Island Spotlight documentary will premiere on Rhode Island PBS on January 11th at 9:47 PM, with additional airings throughout the following week. For more information about SCLT’s work and impact, viewers can read the complete feature article in The Providence Journal or visit RhodeIslandSpotlight.org.

Catch the video on RIPBS:

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SCLT connects more people to more food in 2024

09/20/2024 admin Aggregation, Food Justice, VeggieRx

SCLT Youth Representative to the Board, Anini, gives out produce at the 2024 Trinity Square Together block party

SCLT’s Produce Aggregation and VeggieRx programs are making significant strides in the fight against Rhode Island’s growing food insecurity crisis. Over the seven-month 2024 growing season, these initiatives will deliver more than 44,000 pounds of locally grown produce to 9,750 people, with 97% of recipients being low-income residents. This effort represents a crucial intervention in a state where one in three residents – and half of all Black and Latine households – faces food insecurity. Across our programs, we expect to feed more than 25,000 Rhode Islanders before the year ends.

The success of our Aggregation and VeggieRx programs stems from a robust collaboration between SCLT staff, small scale farmers of color, and more than a dozen partners building community-driven solutions to pressing social issues. Partners include institutional buyers like the state’s Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program and Sodexo, servicing Providence Public Schools; childcare and senior centers like Beautiful Beginnings and St. Martin de Porres; social services organizations such as Amos House, Project Weber/Renew, and Youth Pride Inc.; and three of RI’s largest healthcare networks: Lifespan, Integra and Clínica Esperanza.

As a modest pilot in 2017, SCLT’s Produce Aggregation program worked with five small-scale farmers to sell $3,500 worth of their fresh produce to three local food enterprises. By 2023, we enrolled 28 farmers in the program and revenues paid to farmers skyrocketed to $190,000, not only supporting local agriculture and local producers, but also enhancing food access for vulnerable communities.

A significant boost to the program came through funding from the USDA’s Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) program. This initiative supports the flow of locally grown crops into the emergency food system, providing the funding to compensate farmers at fair market rates for their produce. The LFPA program, emerging in response to the pandemic, aims to procure and distribute local and regional foods that are healthy, nutritious, and unique to their geographic areas. But LFPA funding runs out in the early part of the 2025 growing season.

As food insecurity continues to be a pressing issue, the eyes of many are on how to sustain this crucial funding. With ongoing efforts at both federal and state levels, there’s hope that the next Farm Bill may include provisions to continue supporting these vital programs.

Looking ahead, the future holds some promise for these initiatives. The introduction of the Expanding Access To (EAT) Local Foods Act by RI Senator Reed in 2024, with widespread support, could provide dedicated funding for purchasing food from small and local farmers for free distribution through community partners by codifying the successful LFPA model. Additionally, the State of RI Department of Health’s request for a waiver to add healthy food prescriptions and medically tailored meals as new covered benefits under Medicaid could further expand the reach of programs like VeggieRx.

RI’s small & urban farmers paying outsized taxes for decades

03/16/2024 admin 404 Broad, Aggregation, City Farm, Food Justice, Good Earth Farm, healthy food access, Southside Community Land Trust, urban agriculture, Urban Edge Farm

The Small & Urban Farms Success bill was introduced to the RI House and Senate earlier this year by 10 State Representatives and was heard by the RI House and Senate this spring. Championed by a coalition of the Rhode Island Food Policy Council, SCLT, and a network of farmers, including Open Farms Retreat‘s Andraly Horn and Sienna Viette, this legislation has the power to level the playing field by creating tax relief programs for small and urban farms that are similar to the programs that have been available for more than 30 years to larger, rural farms in our state.

RI’s current tax programs don’t meet the food or economic needs of our communities, and they don’t match our coalition’s commitment to equity. These programs need an update so that more Rhode Islanders can eat fresh, healthy, and affordable food grown right here in our tiny state, where the cost of agricultural land keeps going up, and the size of farms keeps going down.

Hear from several small and urban farmers on what this change would mean for the future of their farm businesses and the resiliency of our local food system:

SCLT’s Food Program Coordinator Kakeena Castro fills the van with local produce shares before making a delivery.

With USDA funds, SCLT-network farmers feed thousands in need

12/06/2023 admin Aggregation, Southside Community Land Trust

SCLT is known for our programming to bring equity to local food production and access. Within this work, the collection, or aggregation, and distribution of fresh produce has been turbocharged since 2022, when SCLT and other food sector partners entered into an initial $475,000 contract with the state.

Breaking Ground on Food System Resilience: SCLT’s Cranston Food Hub Takes Shape

SCLT builds partnerships for free farmers market series

SCLT in the Spotlight: Food Systems Featured in Regional News

SCLT Voices Crucial Perspective at RI’s First Nutrition Security Forum

SCLT farmer strengthens operations with Brighter Future Fund grant

2024: Our Year in Review

SCLT Featured in Rhode Island Spotlight

SCLT connects more people to more food in 2024

RI’s small & urban farmers paying outsized taxes for decades

With USDA funds, SCLT-network farmers feed thousands in need

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With USDA funds, SCLT-network farmers feed thousands in need