“Detroit’s Native Son” Yusef Shakur comes to GR Saturday to address gun violence

Apr17

Grand Rapids has experienced an increase in gun violence this year and last. In response, myself along with some other concerned community members, have arranged to have an author, community organizer and motivational speaker, Yusef Shakur, share his experience revitalizing Detroit’s Zone 8 community. He will be screening his newly released documentary, Detroit ’s Native Son: From Zone 8 Thug, to Prison, to Community Activist.

The event will include an Informational Fair, providing attendees with information about local businesses, non profits and opportunities to engage in community activism.

Saturday, April 27, 2013, 5:00-7:30 pm

Plymouth United Church of Christ (UCC)/ Wage Peace,
4010 Kalamazoo , 49508 (between 36th and 44th St .)

5pm Informational Fair, 5:30pm Documentary and Q & A, 7:30pm Book signing

For questions or more information, contact Chaka Holley at chakaholley@hotmail.com

OKT Earth Day Spring Tree Tour

Apr16

tiny tree finder

Monday April 22, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Garfield Park Pavilion, 334 Burton St. SE

Tree tour guide, Laura Casaletto will lead us through Garfield Park where we will munch leaves and nibble flowers together  for Earth Day. The menu includes spruce tips, the nectar inside tulip tree flowers, black locust flowers, Japanese knotweed shoots, redbud blossoms and perhaps entire linden trees!  We’ll certainly find something nice underfoot to add to your Mother’s Day breakfast in bed–and you’ll get a little booklet to help you recall what you learned.
This free tree tour is part of the food justice mission of OKT.
If it rains, we’ll meet under the pavilion anyway!

April Events

Apr11

Do you want to grow food? If you live in Eastown, Garfield Park, SECA Southtown or Baxter neighborhood you may qualify for free containers, organic starter food plants, compost and garden coaching. Email or call us if you are interested!

 Convenings on Food Justice

  • LaDonna Redmond

    LaDonna Redmond

    Lila Cabbil, president emeritus of the Rosa Parks
    Institute, will facilitate Are you a Missionary or Ally?
    Accountability and Anti-Racist Organizing for Food
    Access and Justice from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at
    LINC, 1167 Madison Ave SE. Light refreshments will be served. RSVP.

  • Saturday April 27, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
    Nationally renowned food justice activist, LaDonna Redmond, will present
    Historical Trauma and Food Justice. At Sherman Street Church, 1000 Sherman SE. Lunch will be provided. RSVP.

 Earth Day Spring Tree Tour

  • Monday, April 22, 6-7:30 p.m.

Meet at the Garfield Park Lodge, 334 Burton SE. Learn about trees growing in your neighborhood, with an emphasis on foraging edible fruit, nuts and blossoms.

You are invited to join the OKT Hunger Walk Team

Apr10

Join OKT Saturday, May 4, 2013 for the 36th Annual ACCESS of West Michigan Hunger Walk! Registration is at 8:00 a.m. and the walk starts at 8:30 a.m. We will begin at 207 E Fulton (First United Methodist Church) and wind through Heritage Hill, down Wealthy Street, through the East Hills Neighborhood and along Cherry Street before returning downtown.

The 5K Hunger Walk raises awareness and funds in response to local and worldwide need. Funds are distributed for pantry assistance, emergency meals, urban gardening and farmers market initiatives for low income people, assistance for seniors, and international development programs.

This event will bring over one thousand walkers and volunteers to the area. Anyone who wants to join the fight against hunger and poverty is welcome!

Find out how your congregation, business, family and friends can get involved! Contact Cassidy at cassidy@accessofwestmichigan.org or 284-4702 for more information.

EMail us directly  to let us know if you want to be part of the OKT team!

Baxter Community Center launches Gardener’s Guild film series

Apr10
Baxter Community Center, 935 Baxter St SE, launches its Gardener’s Guild series at 6 p.m. Tuesday April 16 with a free screening of award winning documentary, Soul Food Junkies. In this documentary, award-winning filmmaker Byron Hurt explores the health advantages and disadvantages of the soul food culinary tradition. Free popcorn! After the film, Grand Rapids African American Health Institute‘s executive director Shannon Wilson will lead a discussion. 
On May 14, Baxter’s  Gardener’s Guild , Our Kitchen Table will lead the discussion after a screening of the film, Whats On Your Plate?
For information, call (616) 456-8593.

Tree-mendous news from Friends of Grand Rapids Parks

Apr10

In March, the Friends of Grand Rapids Parks launched its Citizen Forester program. Since then, we’ve held two separate Tree Planting 101 classes and trained over 40 Citizen Planters. On May 9th, we’ll host our first Tree Maintenance and Pruning Workshop. In June, we’ll be hosting our first Tree ID class. We’re continuing to develop additional curricula, so keep your eyes open for a variety of approaching classes. 

Vitamin D is important vitamin that is responsible for the absorption of calcium and phosphate. Remarkably, Vitamin D is produced in human skin with the stimulation of sunlight. Feel like you’ve been having trouble synthesizing your Vitamin D quota? We’ve got the cure. On April 26th and 27th, Friends of Grand Rapids Parks will be hosting a monster Arbor Day Planting in Riverside Park. Come out and help us plant over 150 trees (Sunlight is preferred and welcome, but not required. Trees get planted rain or shine).

Build a Better Block, a group of active, local, urban-minded volunteers are taking over State St from Jefferson to Cherry and turning it into a vibrant city block on May 18th and 19th. This project seeks to demonstrate new urban design ideas and promote discourse around roads, planning, zoning, businesses, and community-building. As part of this project Friends of Grand Rapids Parks will host the outdoor portion of their Tree Maintenance Pruning Class on the morning of both dates. This is an opportunity for newly trained volunteers to use their skills to directly improve City trees.

At it’s launch in August 2012, the Grand Rapids Tree Map contained thousands of trees contributed by earlier inventory efforts. As of April, the Tree Map has topped 18,000 trees. The tree map is a wonderful tool to understand the value and contribution of trees to our community. We’re happy that citizens have made good use of this tool in advocating for trees, tracking records, and communicating the value of the urban forest to their neighbors. Map on!

We’ve still got trees and cash available for a variety of community-based tree projects. We’re happy to work with community leaders and develop neat programs around trees in your neighborhood. So, if you have an idea for a tree project, event, outreach, or education effort, basically anything tree-related we encourage you to apply for a mini-grant!

This Spring and Summer, we’ll be working on putting together “Community Tree Maintenance Days”. In other words, we want to help neighborhoods, business districts, or community organizations manage their recently planted trees. If you’ve got a bunch of small trees that need a bit of pruning, weeding, and general care we can help by providing the tools and training to get it done! Contact us if your neighborhood is in need of early tree care.

Finally, we’re always interested in helping you grow trees in your neighborhood. If you’ve got planting ideas, you’re concerned about trees, or you want help advocating for the trees in your community, let us know. We’re happy to provide you with guidance and information. We’re your community resource.For information, contact Lee Mueller, Program Coordinator, Friends of Grand Rapids Parks at lee.mueller@friendsofgrparks.org or 616 389 4687

Well House on board as Southeast Area Farmer’ Market vendor

Apr8
The Well House greenhouse is growing a wide variety of food plants

The Well House greenhouse is growing a wide variety of food plants

Well House, a group of homes on Grand Rapids’ southeast side that provide safe, affordable housing for people who have been homeless, is expanding its gardening program at 600 Cass Ave. SE and will sell produce at the 2013 Southeast Area Farmers’ Market. According to Jeff Smith and Camilla Voelkers, Well House’s urban farmers and food justice educators, the garden program continues the legacy of its founder, Miriam Clemens, to engage in self-sufficient practices such as growing food, saving seeds and canning. “These activities support Well House residents, the adjacent neighborhood and, to some degree, the community at large,” Smith says. (He is also an OKT collaborative partner.)

“Were working on creating a … closed loop garden where wastes are composted and put back into the garden,” Voelkers adds. “We’re planting fruit trees and berry bushes, too.”

The community that frequents the Southeast Area Farmers’ Market will benefit from a wide variety of Well House produce: greens, heirloom tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, squash, cucumbers, carrots, beets, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, herbs and two varieties of mushrooms—shiitake and oyster.

Profits from market sales will go back into the Well House garden program and its other projects. “Selling at this market in parts of the city where there is the least amount of access to fresh produce is a food justice matter,” Smith says. “(and it will) spread the word about what we’re doing here at Well House. Smith and Voelkers invite community members to join them for Well House garden activities. For information, call them at 616-245-3910.

OKT Community Convening March 30, April 20 & 27

Mar26

Let’s discuss, reflect on and learn together about the topic “What Does Access to Food Look Like in Grand Rapids.” We will dialogue about local food access, food justice principles and food politics.

 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Saturday March 30 Food Politics 

 

Facilitated by Cynthia Price*, Greater Grand Rapids Food Systems Council. Meeting at Madison Square Church, 1441 Madison Ave. SE, Grand Rapids.

Price is the chair and co-founder of the Greater Grand Rapids Food Systems Council, a food policy council which has been around since 2001. Her day job is as a newspaper editor, reporter and photographer for two papers, one in Muskegon and one in Grand Rapids.

Lila Cabbill, president emeritus of the Rosa Parks Institute, will facilitate the April 20 convening. La Donna Redmond, nationally renown food justice activist, will facilitate the April 27 convening. 

Look for more information on the OKT website soon!

Hip hop artist Quelle Chris sends GR a personal message

Mar22

Hip hop artist Quelle Chris gave OKT special permission to share his new release, “We Eat It” a song that addresses the poor food choices that are making people sick in America’s urban neighborhoods. For more good hip hop, stop out to LadyfestGR 2013 tonight. Jean Grae and Invincible take the stage at the Pyramid Scheme , 68 Commerce SW, at 10 p.m. Tickets are $10.

You can follow Quelle on Twitter at  https://twitter.com/QuelleChris