For the past three years, the Foodlink Community Farm has hosted a Fall Festival to celebrate the success of another growing season with its neighbors and fellow farmers on Lexington Avenue.
This year, the “growing season” took on a whole new meaning.
Foodlink and local dignitaries on Saturday celebrated the grand opening of its new Edible Education Center to complement a significant expansion of its community farm this past year. Prior to its 4th annual Fall Fest – a family-friendly event chock full of cider, donuts, pumpkins and more – Foodlink unveiled its new facility and detailed the $2 million investment in the property.
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“Foodlink has been farming on Lexington Avenue since 2010, and it has long been our goal to transform this property into a welcoming, vibrant space in a neighborhood challenged by a lack of investment for decades,” said Julia Tedesco, President & CEO of Foodlink. “We are especially eager to show off this space to thousands of children in the years ahead, so they can learn, grow and experience the power of food.”
The Foodlink Community Farm launched 15 years ago to serve a dual purpose: (1) Provide growing opportunities and expand access to healthy food for New Americans living in the Edgerton and Lyell-Otis neighborhoods in Rochester; and (2) to serve as a commercial growing space for a variety of Foodlink programs, such as its Curbside Market and Community Kitchen – and later, the Foodlink Community Café.
Today, the vibrant space has spent the past year undergoing a complete transformation, with more than 160 new raised beds (raising the total to 220+) that now serve approximately 100 local families, a 3,000-square-foot greenhouse for year-round growing, and a 2,800-square-foot Edible Education Center, which will host nutrition education workshops, school field trips, community events and benefits navigation resources. Tedesco took time to thank all of Foodlink’s supporters that help fund this project, as well as the design, engineering and construction firms that made it all possible: Hamilton Stern Construction, Erdman Anthony and SWBR.
This past summer, through a partnership with Rochester Ecology Partners, Foodlink was able to welcome 25 students to the farm for a 6-week camp called “Growing Good.” In the years ahead, Foodlink aims to partner with the Rochester City School District to host third-grade field trips to the farm to learn about farming, nutrition and more.
“The Foodlink Community Farm is the result of a powerful collaboration — driven by Foodlink’s vision and coordination, supported by the State and the City, and made possible by hundreds of volunteer hours. It reflects a shared belief that every neighborhood deserves spaces that bring people together,” said Rochester Mayor Malik D. Evans. “This farm is proof that when we invest in our communities, we grow more than gardens — we grow opportunity, connection, and pride.”
At Saturday’s event, local officials praised the investment in the northwest quadrant of Rochester. Assemblymember Sarah Clark, whose 136th district includes the Edgerton neighborhood, secured significant New York State funding to help bring the project to fruition.
“The renovation and expansion here at the Foodlink Community Farm is a game changer, one that I am proud to have delivered the needed resources to make happen,” Clark said. “This beautiful space, new greenhouse and Edible Education Center will improve what is already an incredible community resource for the Northwest Quadrant and Rochester as a whole. By increasing year-round growing and educational programming, this investment will deliver fresh produce to neighbors, support our Curbside Market and Community Kitchen, and train future growers. Fighting food insecurity is a cornerstone of building strong communities and the work that Foodlink does every day helps make Rochester a better place for all of its residents.”
