City Farm

The 33rd Annual Rare & Unusual Plant Sale Returns May 17 & 18

03/12/2025 admin City Farm, Plant Sale

Mark your calendars for SCLT’s most important fundraiser of the year: the 33rd Annual Rare & Unusual Plant Sale returns to City Farm on May 17 and 18, 2025. This beloved community tradition comes at a critical moment as we face unprecedented challenges from federal funding freezes that threaten many of our core programs.

The event showcases an extraordinary collection of 20,000 city-grown, city-sown plants, each nurtured with care using organic and regenerative practices at our greenhouse in City Farm—Rhode Island’s longest operating urban production and demonstration farm. From vibrant vegetables and aromatic herbs to fruit, medicinals, edible flowers, native perennials, and truly unique varieties you won’t find elsewhere, the Plant Sale offers something for every garden and gardener.

Live music will fill the air throughout the weekend, featuring performances by Circle of the Drum, Chris Monti, Phil Edmonds, Mira Goldman, the ‘Mericans, Kenny Ells, Karen Isenberg, The Stinging Nettles (featuring Raffini, Ellen, Dan & Tammy), and other musical surprises. The festive atmosphere belies the serious purpose behind this year’s sale: your purchase directly funds programs now at risk due to federal funding cuts.

SCLT Members enjoy special benefits, including an exclusive preview hour at 9:00am on Saturday, May 17, a 10% discount on all plant purchases, and 50 gallons of organic compost—a $110 value—free with membership. This year, your membership and plant purchases are more crucial than ever, helping us continue our farmer training, youth programs, produce prescription initiatives, community gardens, and urban farm operations despite significant financial challenges.

When you shop at the Plant Sale, you’re not just starting your garden—you’re helping us weather a financial storm. Your purchases directly support our mission to build equity and resilience into Rhode Island’s food system, meeting the food access and economic needs of historically underserved communities in Providence, Pawtucket, and Central Falls. Last year alone, 25,000 people ate food grown on SCLT farms, 50 emerging adults found employment in our Youth Program, and 40 small-scale farmers—predominantly farmers of color—operated 28 small farm businesses on our land.

As federal funding cuts threaten to reduce our capacity to serve, your participation in the Plant Sale becomes an act of community solidarity. Every seedling purchased helps sustain the programs that our communities rely on for food security and economic opportunity. Join us at City Farm (168 West Clifford Street, Providence, RI) on May 17 and 18 from 10:00am to 2:00pm, and help us continue growing not just plants, but hope, opportunity, and resilience for Rhode Island’s food system.

Want to get more involved? Register to volunteer during the Plant Sale or learn more about becoming an SCLT Member.

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 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 Announces Exciting 2024 Workshop Series

06/20/2024 admin 404 Broad, City Farm, Community Garden, Cranston, Food Justice, Good Earth Farm

All workshops are free | Registration is required | All materials provided to registered attendees Click the links below, or check out our Upcoming Events page for more information on each workshop.

Southside Community Land Trust is gearing up for an enriching summer and fall with the announcement of our 2024 workshop series. The series, featuring seven diverse workshops, kicks off Saturday, June 22, and runs through November 15. These free events offer a unique blend of gardening, art, and food justice education, catering to both families and adults.

The series begins with a Container Gardening Workshop on June 22, perfect for urban dwellers and those with limited space. Participants will create their own container gardens to take home, learning essential skills from SCLT’s Director of Special Projects and Master Gardener, Tarshire Battle. As summer progresses, attendees can look forward to EcoArt workshops, including Cyanoprinting at City Farm on July 25 and Landscape with Tape at Good Earth Farm on August 23.

For those interested in food preservation, an Introduction to Canning workshop is scheduled for August 14. This hands-on session will guide participants through the process of making and canning tomato sauce. The workshop will be co-hosted by Tarshire Battle and Andraly Horn, an organic farmer at Open fArms Retreat.

As autumn approaches, SCLT continues to offer creative opportunities with Mixed Media and Papermaking workshops in September and October, respectively. The series concludes with a thought-provoking Food Justice Workshop on November 15, exploring the historical context and contemporary issues surrounding food justice in Rhode Island.

These events not only offer practical skills and creative outlets but also promote environmental sustainability and community engagement. Whether you’re a gardening enthusiast, an aspiring artist, or someone passionate about food justice, SCLT’s 2024 workshop series promises something for everyone.

Thank you, 401 Gives Donors!

04/03/2024 admin 404 Broad, Apprenticeship, City Farm, Youth Program

SCLT received $31,117 across two days of the United Way’s 401 Gives fundraiser this year. The funds will support our agricultural, arts, and cultural educational programs for children, plus our workforce development program for youth and emerging adults. Each year, SCLT employs approximately 50 youth, aged 14 to 24, from Providence, Pawtucket, and Central Falls. These Youth Staff and Food System Interns are exposed to career opportunities in agriculture and related sciences, experience hands-on training from culinary skills to environmental stewardship, and engage with a supportive professional development track.

United Way of RI reports that 597 nonprofit and community organizations across the state received $3.8 million, a new record for 401 Gives in 2024. Moreover, 20% more donors participated this year over last. Thank you for this much-needed support! If you meant to give but missed the event, your generosity is always welcome here.

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:

2023 market season resumes at Armory Park

06/08/2023 admin City Farm, Farmers Market, healthy food access

To the delight of shoppers and growers alike, farmers market season is underway in Rhode Island. Exciting new vendors, featured popups, and family-friendly fun comes to the Armory Park Market this year, one of the longest continually operating markets in the area.

Now open every Thursday from June 1 through October 26, 3pm to 7pm at 85 Parade Street in Providence, the market’s evening hours, ample parking, and vendor variety make it a convenient one-stop shop. New to the market this year are cheese, ice cream, and bread vendors. Special guests make appearances throughout the market season, from resource organizations to performers. Of course, perennial vendors like SCLT’s City Farm, are glad to return to this established market.

For more than 25 years, “Armory Market has been representative of the diversity of the neighborhood, from vendors to patrons. And it doesn’t get more hyper-local than this!” City Farm Steward and longtime market vendor Rich Pederson says. Standing at City Farm, less than a mile from Armory Park, Rich and a small team of SCLT staff, interns, and volunteers carefully handle bunches of apple mint, sage, green garlic, and lettuce they harvested from the grounds within the last two hours. SCLT’s Ellen Asermely, who has dual-duty as Youth Education Coordinator and City Farm assistant, adds that the overall experience draws her to this market. “It’s afternoons in a beautiful park, with food trucks and music and good vibes.”

Be sure to visit the Armory Park Market to get a taste of the new flavors!

Creative partnerships are helping to reduce hunger in RI

04/24/2022 admin City Farm, Food Justice, healthy food access, Urban Edge Farm

SCLT and other local organizations with overlapping missions have been collaborating in new and creative ways, especially since the start of the pandemic, to support our state’s one in four BIPOC families that still cannot meet their basic food needs.

Hope Street Farmers Market Reopens!

05/01/2020 admin City Farm, Farmers Market, Pawtucket

While Providence parks are closed, the market will be held in the outdoor courtyard at Hope Artiste Village (1005 Main St., Pawtucket) rather than at Lippitt Park.

Yes, it’s happening!

04/24/2020 admin City Farm, Community Garden, Plant Sale, Southside Community Land Trust

Right now, City Farm staff are in the greenhouse seeding thousands of your favorite vegetable, herb and fruit starts to be ready for the 2020 Plant Sale.

The 33rd Annual Rare & Unusual Plant Sale Returns May 17 & 18

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

SCLT Featured in Rhode Island Spotlight

SCLT Announces Exciting 2024 Workshop Series

Thank you, 401 Gives Donors!

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

2023 market season resumes at Armory Park

Creative partnerships are helping to reduce hunger in RI

SCLT and other local organizations with overlapping missions have been collaborating in new and creative ways, especially since the start of the pandemic, to support our state’s one in four BIPOC families that still cannot meet their basic food needs.

Hope Street Farmers Market Reopens!

Yes, it’s happening!

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