Surrounded by the gardens and gathering spaces of the Community Farm, Foodlink officially dedicated the Rosa Wims Edible Education Center, ensuring that Rosa’s name and extraordinary legacy will continue to inspire generations to come.

Rosa dedicated her 100 years of life to caring for others. She was among Rochester’s first Black nurses and founded the Faith Community Health Awareness Center on Genesee Street, which was later renamed the Rosa Wims Family Wellness Center in her honor. For more than three decades, she also hosted an annual Thanksgiving meal in partnership with Foodlink that brought hundreds of people together around food, fellowship and community.

Her connection to Foodlink ran much deeper. Rosa was a mentor to Foodlink founder Tom Ferraro, a former Foodlink staff member and board member, and a longtime advocate, partner and friend. Throughout her life, she understood the deep connections between food, health, education, faith and community.

Rochester Mayor Malik Evans reflected on that impact during the dedication, recalling how Rosa understood that “food is medicine” and how her legendary Thanksgiving dinners provided more than a meal.

“So many people felt loved. They knew they could go to a place where someone would cook a meal for them and really provide love through food. But it was about more than the food. It was about saying: ‘We see you and you are accepted into our community’ – and that is the legacy she left.”

A place where Rosa’s legacy can grow

Today, the Edible Education Center is a vibrant space where children learn, neighbors connect and community members come together. Those qualities closely reflect how Rosa lived her own life: serving others, sharing knowledge and strengthening her community.

Pastor Travis Afflick of New Ebenezer SDA Church captured that connection during the ceremony.

“The naming of the Rosa Wims Edible Education Center is so appropriate. Rosa’s name will now be attached to a place where something will continue to grow. Seeds will grow, food will grow, knowledge will grow, the community will grow — and Rosa’s legacy will continue to grow.”

Former Rochester Mayor Bill Johnson also reflected on Rosa’s remarkable impact on the city and the many people whose lives she touched.

“Thank you to all at Foodlink who are honoring the memory of one of the greatest Rochesterians I have ever known. Foodlink could have picked anyone to name this center for, but I can’t think of a better person than Ms. Rosa W. Wims.”

Her commitment to service and to community health is reflected in this space every day.

Continuing what Rosa started

Rsa dedicated her life to helping others, and the impact of that service continues to grow. For her family, the dedication represents an opportunity for her values and example to live on through the people who gather, learn and connect at the Community Farm.

Her grandson, Chris McDonald, shared what it means to see his grandmother’s name become a permanent part of the Community Farm.

“It means a great deal to our family to know that Grandma’s service to this community is remembered and that her legacy will continue in a place that will keep helping people for years to come.”

He also reminded those gathered that Rosa demonstrated something simple but powerful throughout her life: helping people doesn’t have to be complicated. She gave her time, energy and heart because she genuinely cared about the people around her.

“Today as we honor Grandma’s memory, I hope we don’t just simply remember what she did. I hope that we continue the kind of work she believed in: seeing people; hearing people, and when you have the ability to help, you dig in and get it done – just like she did.”

The newly named Rosa Wims Edible Education Center now carries that challenge forward.

Every seed planted, every lesson learned, every meal shared and every relationship formed there can serve as another reminder of Rosa’s belief in caring for people and strengthening community.

Her name now belongs to a place built around growth.

And just as Pastor Afflick reminded us, Rosa’s legacy will continue to grow.