2024 Volunteer of the Year

Beloved Community,

We’re thrilled to honor Francesca Williamson as our Volunteer of the Year! Francesca’s passion and tireless work have inspired our team and community. Her leadership in the compost program and commitment to sustainable practices have been invaluable. Francesca has given countless hours, never hesitating to dive in with a smile and lend a hand wherever needed. Her dedication reminds us of the power of individual contributions in making our vision for a resilient food system a reality. Here’s a note straight from Franchesca:

“It has been a joy to volunteer with Growing Hope this year. My family is from African American communities that migrated north from the rural south, so food and caring for the land are core parts of my culture and upbringing. As a child, I remember pulling weeds in my grandmother’s tomato rows and watching her preserve vegetables. My family regularly cooked and shared food with others — for church events, during community service programs, and when visiting elders and the ‘sick and shut-in’ (a catch-all term for people experiencing illness and living with disabilities). So, when I learned about Growing Hope, I was immediately drawn to the food justice mission and values. I started volunteering with the compositing team and learned a lot about bees, food waste-to-compost cycles, and local food system issues. As a newcomer to the area, joining the compost team has also been a way to connect with people, the community, and the land. Overall, I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the impactful work Growing Hope is doing. I look forward to staying involved because Growing Hope feels like home.”

Our deep connection to the intersecting communities we serve and collaborate with drives everything we do. Through programs like youth leadership, food access initiatives, and partnerships with local organizations, we co-create pathways to address the interconnected challenges of food insecurity, educational inequities, climate change, and land access. This work is not about replicating old models but reimagining what’s possible—embracing innovation rooted in optimism and our shared humanity. As we reflect on the past year and look toward the future, we remain steadfast in pursuing systemic change, working toward a regenerative, inclusive food system for Ypsilanti and beyond.

Thank you for being part of the collaborative spirit and care that define Growing Hope!

In Gratitude,

Julius Buzzard

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A Just Food System Is Not Given--It's Grown

By Julius Buzzard • June 3, 2025

Beloved Community, We are living through a moment of transformation, where food is not just nourishment, but resistance. Not just a value, but a strategy for survival. Right now, the federal government is proposing deep cuts to SNAP and agricultural programs—policies that will land hardest on those already carrying generational weight: low-income families, elders, youth, and Black and Brown growers who have built life out of scarcity. These are not fiscal decisions. They are declarations: hunger is acceptable. Control is preferred. Liberation through land and food is a threat. At Growing Hope, we reject that logic. We are building food sovereignty in Ypsilanti. We grow not for charity, but for power. We believe our people deserve more than handouts—they deserve the tools to feed themselves, their kin, and their neighbors with dignity. The stakes are real. SNAP cuts will force impossible choices: rent or groceries, insulin or dinner. Food pantries, already threadbare, will shoulder what systems abandon. And local growers, especially Black farmers, will feel these cuts in shrinking markets, broken promises, and lost infrastructure. One grower shared, “We were finally starting to believe we had a place in this system. Now they’re pulling the rug again.” This isn’t new. This is legacy. This is the pattern. And still, we grow. Because food sovereignty is not a trend—it is a birthright. It is the right to grow what sustains us, share what we harvest, and control our future without permission. So what now? We move. Speak up. Call your reps. Tell them: cuts to SNAP and ag supports are attacks on our future. Invest local. Every dollar at the farmers market is a vote for resilience. Organize. Join us in shifting land, infrastructure, and food power into community hands. Grow. Grow food for yourself, your family, and your community. We are unwavering. A just food system is not given—it’s grown. Let’s grow together. With grit and love, Julius P.S. Our teens are actively engaging in this work every day, laying the foundation for generational health and a truly just food system. Read from them firsthand here .

2025 Teen Leadership Afterschool Program Highlights

May 22, 2025

Thursday, May 22 marked the last day of the after school program for our Teen Leadership Program. We wanted to take a moment to share some of the highlights from the past eight months and recognize all of the hard work done by our young food justice leaders: Tuula Martinez, Eli Harris, Josie Smith, Jaylah Cotton, Sienna Troy, and Nick Corvera-Garay! Deepening Knowledge The fall and winter months on the farm make way for many workshops in our Teen Leadership Program! This year, the majority of our meetings were youth-facilitated, and each of our teens planned and facilitated their own workshop relating to Food Justice, Cooking, or Community Organizing. They shared family recipes in their cooking workshops, talked about the effects of colonization on our food systems, and discussed power mapping in community change work. In the fall, we visited UM Campus Farm and the Community Food Forest at Leslie Park to learn from other food growers in our area and their farming practices. We prepared for the growing season at the Growing Hope Urban Farm with workshops about plant families, companion planting, and crop planning! Community Engagement This school year, our Teen Leadership Program planned and presented at least one free community engagement event every month! They hosted monthly Food Sovereignty Film Screenings and discussions with some of their favorite films being Seed: The Untold Story and Gather . They prepared and sold handmade tea bags and honey at the Ypsi Farmers Market. Each of our teens made their own zine for the first Ypsi Zine Jamboree at the Freighthouse. They hosted a public workshop on corn nixtamalization, and processed corn they grew last summer into fresh tortillas. In collaboration with the Washtenaw County Youth Commissioners, they planned and hosted Fighting Food Insecurity: One Bowl of Ramen at a Time event at our Urban Farm with the support of FedUp , Food Gatherers , and The Farm at Trinity . The goal of this event was to educate folks about food insecurity in our community and provide an easy way to elevate a simple meal like ramen with fresh veggies and edible weeds! They did informative tabling events at YCS schools, the Ypsi Library, and other community events. Perhaps the biggest accomplishment was the launch of the Growing Hope Seed Library! Our Teen Leadership Program saved and packaged seeds from our farm, sorted thousands of seed donations, organized varieties alphabetically, and planned a launch party for our permanent Seed Library! The Seed Library is open to all and is located at the Growing Hope Urban Farm. They revived their own Instagram account– you can follow at @growinghope_teens to get a first hand look at all their work! Seeding, planting, and growing The Teen Leadership Program manages three of the growing areas on our Urban Farm: the Children’s Garden, the Sharing Garden, and The Oasis. The teens are responsible for crop planning, seed starting, and planting the beds in each of these areas totaling over 20 garden beds! The teens worked together to make crop plans by calculating seed starting dates, transplant dates, how many plants per square foot, and creating cold and hot crop rotation plans. They soil blocked, started seeds, and planted all of the cold crops for the 3 garden areas which you can see growing now at our Urban Farm! They will continue to follow their crop plans all summer long to know when to harvest cold crops and plant more hot crops. Harvested food will be given out for free in our Community Produce Cart and also used in cooking lessons in our Summer Teen Leadership Program! We are incredibly proud of this group of young people and grateful for their hard work, commitment to the community and the local food system, and the perspective and joy they bring to our organization! In June our current group of teens will be joined by six new teen crew members for a summer full of learning, growing, and leading!

A wooden shelter with a ramp and chalkboards in a park.

Come as you are. Leave with what you need. Return when you can.

By Julius Buzzard • May 6, 2025

Beloved community, This season, as we plant new seeds of possibility and dig deeper into our shared commitment to nourishment and justice, I’m overjoyed to share something truly special: our brand-new produce stand , a beautiful structure dreamed up and built by the youth of Brightmoor Makerspace . It stands as a declaration—not just of what is possible, but of what is already happening when we invest in our young people, listen to the land, and center care in our collective work. Positioned near the parking lot for easier access, the new stand features a solid platform and a ramp—making it easier for neighbors with mobility challenges, elders with walkers, or caregivers pushing strollers to roll right up and gather what they need. More than just a structure, it’s an invitation: Come as you are. Leave with what you need. Return when you can. We’ve expanded the space to offer more. More produce, more flowers, more herbs, more abundance shared in community. And we’re able to do that because this isn’t just our stand; it’s yours. Our longstanding model of solidarity over scarcity continues: growers and farmers from across the county bring their surplus here, ensuring that good food never goes to waste, and that dignity remains on the table for all who visit. The need this season is real. Inflation is high, and legislative shifts have cut the legs out from under programs that once helped meet people where they’re at. Trusted partners, agencies, and food providers are being forced to scale back or shut down. And yet— our produce cart remains open , every single day of the week. No ID checks. No income tests. No red tape. If you need food, it’s yours. Period. We’ll begin stocking the stand later this month. We usually fill it in the mornings, but please don’t hesitate to call ahead. This is the work of youth, farmers, and neighbors who understand that liberation tastes like tomatoes in July and basil on your fingers and peaches you didn’t have to ask permission to pick. Come through. Eat well. And keep building with us. In solidarity and soil, Julius P.S. Don’t miss Pizza on the Farm—Thursday, May 23! Join us for wood-fired pizza, farm tours, and storytelling under the sky. It’s a gathering of hearts, mouths, and movements. Let’s eat, learn, and build together. RSVP here .

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