Looking Back: 2024 at the Community Farm

Cold and windy January days were made for bottomless cups of coffee and reflecting on the past year – and there’s nothing like scanning through pictures of watermelons and tomatoes to remind you that their are warmer days ahead! 2024 marked the fourth season of growing and sharing fresh, local food at the Athens Community Farm. Over these years we’ve constructed and maintained a 28 bed u-pick garden, organized weekly produce + milk deliveries for our local food pantries, and engaged a core group of volunteers that not only love to dig in the dirt, but are fun and dedicated to supporting their community. We’re all proud of what we’ve built and can’t wait to continue to grow this project.

2024 Highlights

Who doesn’t love a numerical account of organizational success? We know the farm is more than its output, but hey, just check out some of things we all accomplished this year:

22 weeks of no-cost produce to food pantries

2,600 1/2 gallons of milk shared

$11,000 raised to support local farmers

215 days of active growing at the farm

45 varieties of vegetables, herbs + fruit

504 square feet of garden beds prepared

12 partner organizations engaged in Greene Co.

6 community work days + 2 seasonal fundraisers

Year 5: Continuing to Learn and Grow

Our fifth season brings a focus on strengthening the programs currently running at the farm, while exploring new ways to support the community. Oh yeah, and we’ll be growing lots of tasty, free food, of course. More to come on 2025 in the next few months, but here is a sneak peak into the current plans for the next season:

Capital Improvements: Expect a new door (yeah we know), reinforced beds, and more storage space thanks to a grant from The Athens Community Foundation.
Ongoing weekly distribution of free produce: Support from partners like Long Table Harvest and the Coxsackie Food Pantry – along with generous private donations from all of you! – means we can continue our 24/7 free u-pick garden + our weekly food pantry delivery program, Community Shares.
New partners and programs: Bees at the farm, anyone? Plus new volunteer opportunities throughout the season!

Can’t wait to get started this season? Join our first planning meeting on Wednesday, February 19 from 6-8 PM at Night School – pizza on us!