Help Frank Community Farm!

Dear strangers, friends, neighbors, and community:

Frank Community Farm is a local farm that provides vocational training and employment opportunities to adults with autism and other neurological conditions. The farm operates on a little over an acre of land. It provides fresh produce and farm fresh chicken eggs to the community. Frank Community Farm focuses heavily on providing food to community members through its delivery box program, which currently feeds over 60 members each week. During the past several months, this program has been vital to members of the community who are unable to go to the store due to health concerns. The farm has been able to feed residents living in its local neighborhood, as well as to provide fresh produce to Mutual Aid RVA and Food Justice RVA.


The farm is in need of funding to continue operating. The effects of COVID-19 have impacted the program quite a bit. The farm has taken a variety of measures during this outbreak in order to ensure the safety of its staff and interns, including: limiting volunteer access on the premises, pausing enrollments of new interns, and refraining from selling products at their farm stand. While these measures are necessary to ensure safety, they have had a detrimental effect on the farm’s income.

Prioritizing the safety of staff and interns has put a strain on operational funds. The farm typically uses revenue from sales to maintain farm operational expenses. Income from its teaching program is typically used to cover staffing costs. With the significant temporary downsizing of its teaching program due to COVID-19, Frank Community Farm is having to use sales revenue to cover both staffing costs and other operational expenses.  


 
The farm needs your help to continue operating through the rest of the season. Funding will help maintain salaries, and will also be used to purchase soil, additional hoop housing, and soil amendments for the upcoming fall and winter seasons. 
 
Frank Community Farm FEEDS the community. Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, the farm was in the midst of preparations to expand their food program for community members in need. The farm will need $25k to make it through the season and to meet all its goals of helping the community. 


This farm is special in so many ways. This is a small, local, organic farm run by a wonderful, queer, Black woman. The farm introduces neurodivergent individuals to agriculture, and it feeds the Richmond community. This farm is the future. This is equity, radical caring, mutual aid, and kindness. 



We are at a crucial time in history. We are fighting in so many ways for Black lives, for justice, for change. We need to continue to support and uplift the people and organizations that are already doing this work. 
 
Please help however you can—anything and everything counts.

You can find the full story of the farm at www.frankcommunity.org, and purchase a fall share box of your own through www.frankcommunity.org/csa. 

From our hearts to yours,

Frank Community Farm & The Richmond Climbers Coalition

**If you would like information about tax deductible contributions (Frank Community is a 501c3 organization), please contact us.**