Growing Resilience seeks funding to pilot “mini-programs” under our Grow Together, Cook Together, Eat Together pillars—a strategic approach to refine our community food sovereignty initiatives before full-scale implementation. From July 2024 to June 2025, we will test scaled-down versions of staff-developed ideas to identify the most impactful models for Northside’s needs. Building on the success of our sustaining Eat Together Community Dinners, we’re now expanding our model to deepen food sovereignty in Northside through our Grow Together and Cook Together pillars. This initiative is designed to address the over 35-year-long issue of food apartheid in the area by providing affordable, fresh food options. Our community, with approximately 3,900 residents, faces significant challenges, with census tracts 114 and 101 exhibiting poverty rates of 49.9% and 43.7% respectively, and Food Hardship Index scores of 0.98 and 0.96 out of 1.0.
Grow Together: Our gardening initiatives will be developed in close collaboration with Willowdale Urban Farm and Rise Up Community Farm, leveraging their expertise and infrastructure while adding new dimensions to their work. Together, we will:
Co-create intergenerational gardening workshops on their land, focusing on practical skills from seed-saving to cooking with harvests
Develop multilingual visual guides that build on existing educational materials
Pilot a “neighborhood growing circle” where 3-5 residents will train alongside farm staff
Cook Together: For our cooking programs, we’re partnering with existing community kitchens:
The Foodio at DREAMS Center (where we currently host dinners) will become a hub for collective meal prep sessions
We’re exploring use of the MLK Community Kitchen to expand access to culinary training
Participants will co-create a community zine/cookbook documenting recipes, gardening tips, and partnership stories
Piloting 2-3 initiatives per pillar will refine our food sovereignty models, informed by real-time feedback. We’ll build capacity by transitioning legacy programs and developing workforce skills. During this program we estimate 150+ residents will gain gardening, cooking, and meal-sharing skills, directly combating food apartheid and fostering community ownership. These initiatives directly align with the Endowment’s pillars: enhancing health & social equity by improving food access and nutrition, fostering community development through skill-sharing and connection, and strengthening community safety by building trust and belonging. To optimize impact and guide future program development, we will evaluate using pre/post surveys and participant feedback.
This isn’t just a pilot; it’s a blueprint for how food sovereignty can drive systemic change. Every planted seed, shared recipe, and collaborative dinner moves us closer to NHCE’s vision: a thriving New Hanover County where every individual has the opportunity to live a healthy, prosperous, and fulfilling life.