Community Projects

Backyard farms

Backyard Farms turns overlooked backyard spaces into powerful engines for community nourishment. Community Farmers partners with local residents. They transform underutilized yards into highly productive micro-farms. These micro-farms grow fresh, nutrient-dense food for neighbors experiencing food insecurity. These gardens are designed using intensive growing methods. This approach maximizes production in small spaces. They produce vegetables, herbs, and pollinator-supporting plants. These plants strengthen both human and ecological health. Volunteers and community members manage each Backyard Farm. Residents gain practical skills in gardening and food production, while building stronger social networks.

The impact of these small farms is significant and scalable. A single Backyard Farm with 4–5 growing beds can produce enough fresh vegetables to supplement the diets of 4–6 community members throughout the growing season. As more sites are established, they create a decentralized network of neighborhood food hubs. These hubs bring healthy food directly into the communities that need it most. This approach reduces reliance on distant food systems. This distributed model allows Community farmers to expand food access quickly. It also empowers residents to become active participants in their local food system effectively. By investing in Community Farmers, funders contribute to a sustainable solution to hunger. This solution grows food, builds skills, and strengthens communities from the ground up.

Gardens of eden

Located on church lots, Garden of Edens are larger, community-centered garden designed to grow a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs while supporting pollinators and healthy soil. These sites serve as local food hubs where neighbors and volunteers come together to grow, harvest, and share fresh food, while learning sustainable gardening skills and building community connections.

Because of their size and diversity, a Garden of Eden can supplement the diets of 25-50 community members per growing season, depending on the size of the space and the crops grown. By combining these larger gardens with our Backyard Farms, Community Farmers creates a resilient, neighborhood-based food system that nourishes both people and the land.

Donate

The Harvester helps build a Backyard Farms kit, Garden of Eden project and a food stand for community members to take what they need—free of charge.

The Farmer helps build a Backyard Farms kit and Garden of Eden project for neighbors to engage in food sovereignty together.

The Gardener helps build Backyard Farms kits for neighbors in your community.

All donations will be used to further our goals towards self-sustainability and eradicating hunger in Virginia and beyond.