When talking to Elders in the Utica community, we often hear them say that the turning point in the direction of the community was in 2014 when our only grocery store closed. Since that time our community members have found it challenging to access the basic food staples locally. This is a primary reason that Sipp Culture was founded, to offer spaces to unpack our collective community history and learn from our past in service of imagining our future. In 2021 we took a major step in this direction.Â
This year we started growing our first vegetables on the Sipp Culture Community Farm, began training young farmers through our Small Farm Apprentice Program, and began sharing our locally grown produce with our senior community through the ElderShare program. The ElderShare program is a program for community members ages 60 & up that live in Utica, Mississippi.
Since its start, 50+ community members have signed up to receive 5 to 7 lbs of fresh produce every week, for eight to ten weeks.
DID YOU KNOW? Collard greens are a good source of vitamin K. Consuming enough vitamin K daily helps your body absorb calcium and strengthens the fundamental structure of your bones.
This Summer we included nutrition information and recipe cards along with ElderShares to help people make the most of farm fresh ingredients.
