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Tricycle Gardens’ Four Season Farm Stand moving to 31st Street Baptist Church

The weekly Farmers Market at the Tricycle Gardens HQ on Jefferson Avenue will be moving to 31st Street Baptist Church starting this week, in conjunctions with what should be some fairly interesting news on Thursday.

At a special event this Thursday at 31st Street Baptist Church, the church, Tricycle Gardens, Bon Secours and VSU will announce the details of collaboration to improve the overall health of and to better bring healthy produce to Richmond’s East End. The announcement is expected to emphasize a new focus on the 31st Street Urban Farm, and a weekly farmers market with double value SNAP dollars.

Speakers this Thursday will include Dorothy McAuliffe, First Lady of Virginia; Audrey Rowe, Administrator for Food & Nutrition Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture; Dr. Jewel Hairston, Dean of Agriculture, VSU; Peter J. Bernard, CEO, Bon Secours; Sally Schwitters, Director, Tricycle Gardens; and Dr. Morris Henderson, Senior Pastor, 31st Street Baptist Church.

The Tricycle Gardens Four Seasons Farm Stand has been open on Jefferson Avenue from 4-6 PM on Thursdays since October. I’ll post an update when I get more specific info about this week’s hours.

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Farmers Market Announcement Event
Thursday, January 15
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM

31st Street Baptist Church
823 North 31st Street
Richmond, VA 23223

26 comments

crd 01/13/2015 at 8:03 PM

Yes John please do post when you know their hours, announcement is great but hours to sell produce would help, too!

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Rita Justice Austera 01/13/2015 at 8:16 PM

Very cool. Much easier for me to get to on foot..no bus ride yay 🙂

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Katherine J 01/13/2015 at 11:51 PM

What can I do to get the word out about double SNAP value dollars in my neighborhood?

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K 01/14/2015 at 10:31 AM

They can’t find any other place than a church? This should be a non-sectarian endeavor, not one that exposes some people to a hostile religious institution.

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John M 01/14/2015 at 10:48 AM

@K – Has 31st Street Baptist Church been hostile to you?

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K 01/14/2015 at 1:35 PM

John M: Christian symbolism is not welcoming to all people. Non-sectarian groups should use facilities of any religion (any form of christianity, or judaism, or islam, or anything else) only as a last resort, out of deference to employees, volunteers, patrons, clients, or anyone else who would rather not enter structures bearing unwelcoming (if not downright hostile) religious imagery.

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Clay Street 01/14/2015 at 7:27 PM

Wow, K. Guess you never voted at the 31st St. Baptist Church when it was a polling location. Like it or not, churches are neighborhood hubs. With large parking lots. The vegetables themselves are non-sectarian. Jeez.

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Rita Justice Austera 01/14/2015 at 8:03 PM

Just think of it as a venue for the farmers market. I’ve spoken to members while waiting for the free trolley (stops out front) and all have been very nice.

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Liz 01/14/2015 at 8:32 PM

@ K – so don’t go. It’s a free country.

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Clay Street 01/14/2015 at 9:07 PM

Would be curious if similar feelings would be expressed about a mosque or a synagogue??

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Liz 01/14/2015 at 10:02 PM

Let’s wait and see. My guess is that K is following the trend of bashing Christians just because they are Christians.

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Kathleen 01/15/2015 at 9:07 AM

What the…. It’s vegetables. In a parking lot. I seriously doubt people are going to force their religious beliefs on anyone over the selling of vegetables.

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K 01/15/2015 at 12:24 PM

Yes, my sentiments extend to all religions. An Orthodox Jew might well feel uncomfortable participating in a program conducted out of a mosque, a Southern Baptist might rather not go to something at a Catholic church, a gay person might feel unwelcome at several of the local religious institutions.

The point is, if you want to serve everybody, it’s best to try to have events in locations that are generally regarded as welcoming to everybody. That’s a simple rule for encouraging diverse participation in events.

There. Now feel free to resume bashing me. (QED)

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John M 01/15/2015 at 12:31 PM

One of the reasons I like focussing on very local, neighborhood-level news is that we have an opportunity to get past all of the abstract things that we do not like or are uncomfortable about and get to interact with and know our neighbors.

I get where you are coming from, K, but I would offer that you should give it a chance and see if this specific interaction with specific people at 31st Street is a positive or negative one for you. My take on this is that they just want to get healthy food into the hands of people who are currently most unable to get,

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