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Foodlink unveils $2M expansion at Lexington Avenue site
Foodlink’s expanded Lexington Avenue site provides growing opportunities and expands access to healthy food for those in the Edgerton and Lyell-Otis neighborhoods and serves as a commercial growing space for Foodlink programs. (Photo provided by Foodlink)
Foodlink’s expanded Lexington Avenue site provides growing opportunities and expands access to healthy food for those in the Edgerton and Lyell-Otis neighborhoods and serves as a commercial growing space for Foodlink programs. (Photo provided by Foodlink)
Foodlink unveils $2M expansion at Lexington Avenue site
Foodlink and local dignitaries recently celebrated the grand opening of its new Edible Education Center on Lexington Avenue to complement a multimillion-dollar expansion of its community farm this past year.
The organization unveiled its new facility and $2 million investment in the property, prior to its 4th annual Fall Festival.
“Foodlink has been farming on Lexington Avenue since 2010, and it has long been our goal to transform this property into a welcoming, vibrant space in a neighborhood challenged by a lack of investment for decades,” said Julia Tedesco, Foodlink president and CEO. “We are especially eager to show off this space to thousands of children in the years ahead, so they can learn, grow and experience the power of food.”
The Foodlink Community Farm launched 15 years ago to provide growing opportunities and expand access to healthy food for New Americans living in the Edgerton and Lyell-Otis neighborhoods in Rochester and to also serve as a commercial growing space for a variety of Foodlink programs, such as its Curbside Market and Community Kitchen – and later, the Foodlink Community Café.
The space has been transformed over the past year, with more than 160 new raised beds (raising the total to 220+) that now serve roughly 100 local families.
There is a 3,000-square-foot greenhouse for year-round growing and a 2,800-square-foot Edible Education Center, which will host nutrition education workshops, school field trips, community events and benefits navigation resources.
This past summer, through a partnership with Rochester Ecology Partners, Foodlink was able to welcome 25 students to the farm for a 6-week camp called “Growing Good.”
In the coming years, Foodlink aims to partner with the Rochester City School District to host third-grade field trips to the farm to learn about farming and nutrition.
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