In 2018, just prior to breaking ground on The Angel Charity for Children Culinary Education Center, our grant-funded state of the art commercially certified teaching kitchen, an opportunity presented itself that had tremendous growth potential for TVF, our programming, and the community we serve. It was also very daunting…
TVF was invited to remodel an existing building on the University of Arizona Campus Agricultural Center and was also entrusted with the eight fenced acres of arable land surrounding it. Adjacent to the Rillito River Path and just east of Campbell Ave., this was a dream come true for our team and the youth we serve. We set out to transform both the building and the land around it into a nexus of healthy living and a resource for the Tucson community for years to come.
We knew straight off that we would need a) a team of visionaries, networkers, and go-getters to make this happen, and b) the funding to support it. (Many people assume that TVF is fully funded by the University of Arizona but that is not at all the case. In fact, TVF relies solely on grants, program fees, and individual donations to pay our staff and maintain the day-to-day operations of the Farm.)
Enter the Growing Together Campaign Committee, a dynamic team of TVF Advisory Board members, community members, and TVF staff, all with a shared vision to transform eight acres of turf grass and the research facility housed on it into The 4-H Healthy Living Center at Tucson Village Farm. Complete with a high ropes course, a new composting facility, indoor and outdoor classroom spaces, event space, art space, and the culinary education center, this healthy living campus would provide the ideal setting for training youth in small-scale farming, culinary literacy, healthy habits, and life and leadership skills.
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With the construction of the commercial teaching kitchen nearing completion in early 2020 (and Phase 1 of the comprehensive campaign behind us), we shifted our focus to…you guessed it…SHADE! Though 2020 found us teaching our camps virtually mid-pandemic, we crossed our fingers that we’d be back in action in 2021, boots on the ground and delivering 16 weeks of summer camps, and sure enough we were. And thanks to the Growing Together Campaign, all 522 campers had shade a plenty.
The Children’s Garden was next and on its heels a greenhouse, a welcome entrance, and..yup…more shade.
And we’re not finished yet! We have plans for an animal education center with livestock, an additional education classroom, increased crop production, signage, and a new and improved art space. And we would love you to be a part of it!
There are several ways to get involved:
- Contact us for a tour
- Make a tax-deductible (insert link to make a donation here): *Naming opportunities available
- Put us in touch with a contractor, chef, sign maker, artist, researcher, teacher, sewer, funder, designer, grower, performer, networker, educator, or anyone that you think would be a great partner for TVF.
- Come volunteer with us
- Check out our current fundraising goal her (with link to added page)
- See our (insert wish list link here)