What We Do
Growing and sharing healthy food.
We believe everyone deserves access to good food. Food that is good for their bodies, their families, their community and the environment. We know that it takes a community to feed a community, which is why collaboration and partnerships are at the heart of our work.
Providing meaningful access to healthy food is at the heart of everything we do.
What does "meaningful access" mean?
Affordable
Fresh produce is always affordable for individuals of all income levels.
Available
Fresh produce is easy to find and easy to get to with convenient and consistent hours of operation.
Familiar
Fresh produce options reflect what community members are familiar with and wish to feed their families.
Useful
Consumers have access to the tools, information, and recipes needed to enjoy fresh produce.
If any of these components are missing, then access is limited.
Where We Work and Why
Thousands in Richmond face significant barriers to accessing healthy food. In Richmond these challenges disproportionately affect our Black and Brown communities, especially throughout Northside, South Side, and East End neighborhoods.
It is important to note that the inequitable access to healthy food in these communities didn’t happen by accident. This “food apartheid” can be traced back to systems of oppression and white supremacy such as segregation, redlining, and destructive urban development strategies.
That legacy, along with current injustices and inequities, continues to limit access to resources for Black and Brown communities in Richmond and beyond.
How We Work
These problems are bigger than any single organization. At Shalom Farms, doing our part takes shape in several ways:
- We welcome thousands of volunteers and visitors at our two farms to grow together while learning about ways to build a more just food system.
- We manage a network of distribution programs and partnerships focused on getting our produce and educational resources into communities with limited options.
- And we join together with partners from across our food system to develop and advocate for lasting change.
Our Programs
In kitchens, food pantries, and markets across the city, our food access programs are focused on finding lasting ways to ensure meaningful access to healthy food.
Our Farms
Across our two farms, thousands of people of all ages come together each year to grow, share, and learn. Our agricultural operation includes two large scale farms with 9 acres in production harvesting over 600,000 servings of produce annually.
Let’s Grow Together.
Interested in giving your time and talent? Volunteers of all ages and abilities work alongside Shalom Farms staff each year to empower our work across Richmond.