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The Huey and Angelina Wilson Foundation have generously awarded $50,000 to Baton Roots to support the expansion of food production on The Baton Roots farm and satellite sites. This contribution will help Baton Roots address the disparity of health equity in North Baton Rouge. Baton Roots will continue to expand farm production to directly serve those most adversely affected by the COVID-19 crisis, namely zip codes with the highest need as identified by the Capital Area United Way 211 call center for food-access needs in relation to COVID-19 (70805, 70802, 70811, 70812, 70807). COVID has only highlighted the severity of the food gap in North Baton Rouge. With 40% of food insecure individuals being ineligible for federal programs such as SNAP and WIC, our neighbors are in desperate need of access to fresh, nutritious food. With Baton Roots maximizing its full 4 acres to increase production, 200,000 lbs of fresh fruits and vegetables are available to our most food-insecure neighbors. This includes our Harmony Garden at BREC Howell Park as well as three satellite sites at Scotlandville High, Capitol High, and Glen Oaks High. Baton Roots not only provides food to its community but serves as a community hub with plentiful volunteer and growth opportunities. Baton Roots relies on the help of our community - including Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome’s Geaux Get Healthy coalition and the Walls Project’s network of over 200 partners including the Wilson Foundation to provide access to nutritious, affordable food as well as education on food cultivation and preparation. Many thanks to the Wilson Foundation for continuing the fight against food insecurity in our community!

Baton Roots is proud to host Sow Good Saturdays each Saturday beginning November 7, 2020, through March 13, 2021, at the Community Farm at BREC Howell Park. We have seen an outpouring of community engagement and enjoyment with our Wellness Wednesday series in partnership with Mayor-President Sharon Weston-Broome’s Geaux Get Healthy initiative and are excited to expand this enthusiastic response to Sow Good Saturdays! Harvest hours are from 10 AM to 12 PM. Volunteers have the opportunity to pick fresh seasonal veggies, share healthy recipes, tend to the Harmony Gardens, and learn best practices from the experts. The relaxing, community-focused environment promotes health and wellness, educates volunteers on food preparation, and distributes food grown to the surrounding areas while teaching important skills and providing hands-on experience. As COVID-19 continues to pose a threat to our community, safe practices are of the utmost importance and the farm is no exception! Baton Roots carefully follows LSU Ag Center safety guidelines for harvesting during an outbreak to ensure food is collected safely. We were fortunate to receive a PPE grant in July from Capital Area United Way to ensure the safety of volunteers and farmhands as production at the farm ramps up. Volunteers and farm hands are required to wear masks or face coverings at the farm and are encouraged to practice social distancing and frequent hand washing to help prevent community spread. In this way, we are able to not only provide healthy food to our neighbors but also maintain a space for the Baton Rouge community to gather safely amidst the COVID-19 pandemic! The Baton Roots Community Garden is located at 5509 Winbourne Ave, Baton Rouge, LA 70805.

The week before Thanksgiving can become a time of tension, especially if the families preparing for the holiday are food insecure. Expertly timed with the growth of a new fall harvest, the expansion of Baton Roots on the grounds of Capital High on 23rd Street was primed for a food distribution event. Teaming with Geaux Get Healthy and Capital Area American Heart Association, Baton Roots helped distribute 750 lbs of produce at Capitol High on November 21, the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Helping with the distribution, Top Box of Louisiana supplemented boxes with other kinds of produce not grown at the farm. Those wanting to gather their own greens were allowed to pick directly from the farmland, allowing for bushels to be harvested and self-distributed within families. Baton Roots has been working exponentially since the announcement of COVID-19 to help bring food support to families and communities in need. This past year, Baton Roots has more than doubled its footprint, expanding to its full 4 acres at BREC Howell Park and satellite sites at schools including Capitol High, Glen Oaks High, and Scotlandville High School. To make this expansion possible, Baton Roots received support from organizations and grants like Geaux Get Healthy via HealthyBR, Wilson Foundation, Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, Cox Communications, Baton Rouge Area Foundation COVID-19 Fund via Jennifer and Sean Reilly, Healthy Blue, and Lynne Pisto.

More teens on the farm have been getting their hands dirty in the garden this summer, thanks to a generous grant from Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation. The Baton Roots Community Farm was awarded a $10,000 donation from the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation in support of the farm’s expansion. This is the second year in a row the nonprofit has received this grant. Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation serves to support community organizations working to provide nutrition education and healthy food programs to kids. The Sprouts grant will help Baton Roots continue its youth training programs, as well as the farm’s 5-acre expansion. Organizers hope the five acres of farm rows will yield 200,000 pounds of fresh food to the North Baton Rouge community. The farm project, an initiative under the Walls Project, launched during the 2019 MLK Fest in January at BREC Howell Park. The program is in partnership with Mayor Weston-Broome’s Healthy BR initiative. North Baton Rouge currently has one of the city's largest food deserts, and the farm aims to alleviate food access barriers by growing and distributing fresh produce to local families. The Baton Roots Community Farm serves to provide a restorative landscape to support healthy lifestyles, mental welfare, and environmental security. Baton Roots is a community effort made possible by:

NEA Meeting #4 11 November 2020 Before beginning the meeting, a brief update was given on the $100,000 planning grant between LSU Coastal Sustainability Studio, BREC, Baton Roots, and the City of Baton Rouge. The grant’s purpose is blending public art and food security as part of the larger “Reimagine Plank Road” community development plan with a focus on the farm, development as public art space, and reaching full capacity in relieving food insecurity in our city while addressing ways to better engage with park infrastructure, businesses, and establishments on Winbourne and in the surrounding neighborhood. Nicholas Serrano, Assistant Professor at LSU, discussed spearheading the lift on LSU’s side of the project in earnest come January. At Baton Roots housed at Howell Community Park by BREC (see 2016 BREC Master Plan of Howell Park), work will be done to renaturalize the hurricane creek and dry retention areas throughout the park through a series of student projects, employing landscape architects, architects, and civil engineering seniors to bring a wide breadth of talent to the project. This includes the great trees (such as live oaks) that naturally frame the 4 acres of Baton Roots. The NEA planning timeline has been updated. In the spring semester, we will have one, possibly two committee meetings scheduled to present in-progress student work to receive feedback in development as well as after project completion. The goal is to develop a file master plan based on input from the steering committee, BREC, and Walls Project among others. Because construction is about to start at the park, it will be difficult to utilize the farm as a safe public meeting space at full capacity for the duration of construction. As the farm and park are still becoming an urban oasis, work will go around that as much as possible. Work Group 1 will continue to focus on ideas for potential sites for public art, general opportunities on the 4 acres, exploring such ideas as LSU studios. Work Groups 2 and 3 continue to discuss how the farm can tie-in more effectively to connect the full 188 acres at Howell Park
, connecting the farm with the surrounding community (events, churches, schools, civic associations, and businesses along Winbourne Ave), connecting the farm to the Reimagine Plank Road, JP Morgan Imagine Initiative, and larger redevelopment

, and strengthen the farm to be a stronger partnership with the Food Insecurity EBR Coalition

. Work Groups 2 and 3 will also catalog events and engagement opportunities. Kim Mosby from Work Group 3 mentioned that much of our past focus has been on how to use the park and what sort of spaces/facilities are needed. We’ve asked how has the park been used in the past, but what about the future? How can the farm become a better cornerstone of existing community events such as those at Church Point Ministries on Winbourne Avenue? Big pulls include fishing, free food (something as small as a snowball stand), and cooking facilities for teaching classes (Grand Cajun Cookoff using produce from the farm, fish from ponds, etc.). We will continue improving production quality and capacity, enhancing outreach and distribution, and enhancing existing programming. How can the farm work seamlessly on a year-round and seasonal basis to maximize partnerships with BREC and enhance larger Howell Park programming? The farm and Howell Park can touch on other sites and programs like Capitol High School, Exxon Corridor, and educational pipeline and businesses on Winbourne Avenue. There are many schools in the area, some with aquaponics, and 160,000 square feet of building with BRCC Acadian. The main missions are to teach people health and food literacy and sovereignty, distribute fresh produce to the community, and host meaningful events. According to Cheramie Gosnell with LSU dining, the executive chef loves community teaching and many chefs on staff would love to do outreach and help with catering events. Geno McLaughlin asserted that a new $5 million grant will be huge in connecting the farm to the larger community through pocket parks and food hubs. There are many Plank Road pocket parks in the works. We have to be aware of flooding the market. For example, a Food Hub between Co-City BR, SUBR, and NEA could be seen as oversaturation. How can we coordinate? We currently have Baton Roots Community Farm (4 acres at BREC Howell Park)
, Geaux Get Healthy with HealthyBR (7 zip codes in North BR/Mid City), and the Food Insecurity Coalition (EBR) with a larger focus on reducing food insecurity across the entire parish as well as data/research/policy work
. The development of a city-wide Food Security calendar with all food and farming related activities is in the discussion, citing the Louisiana Unified Coastal Community Calendar as an example. There are concerns about aggregating data and not burdening groups with calendar upload responsibilities. Email Manny.Patole@nyu.edu for more information. Involving schools, especially charter schools, in ongoing efforts at the farm could increase student involvement with the farm serving as a STEAM incubator and teaching space. This also presents the potential for afterschool programs, getting kids out to help with labor, increasing the labor force, and building on education, much like the Hustle and Grow concept. Undergrad and grad students use the farm frequently for entomology teachings. The farm provides a valuable learning space for students at underfunded schools. The EBR School Gardens committee works with 20 schools throughout EBR and would like to support school gardening at more sites, particularly in North Baton Rouge so site instructors would have less of a commute. Caleb Wells discussed the capacity to channel volunteers towards specific one-off events or consistent things through LSU Food Pantry, Volunteer LSU, Go Big Baton Rouge, and Service Breaks. Reach out to cwells11@lsu.edu​ for more information. Work Group 1 discussed listening to members of the community in regards to reactions to development and art already being developed in the area, specifically murals, and what sort of aesthetics are appreciated. That is, understanding art as it relates to your business and immediate vicinity versus art “in the community”. A Google driving tour contextualized the conversation: Winbourne is an artery in the community with an identity that people want to maintain. But artists can still take on fun activities/flavors that differ from the identity of Winbourne as “an escape” or something outside the ordinary. The art needs to be meaningful: not overly busy or too comic book-like, not graffiti-like but “clean”. Art should be complementary to the environment and fit in well. We will need to get some ideas for public art/interpretive programming at the Myrtlelawn Park site. We would like to have a statement community piece connected with themes from Howell. Work Group 2 discussed the resources in the group already and ways to bring people together. We need coordination between groups, perhaps using a community calendar, with similar goals to avoid redundancy. We are looking to engage with new partners (LSU Dining, Food Pantry, Service Orgs, etc.). There will be no MLK Day event this year due to COVID-19. There will be no meeting in December. Meetings will resume in January.

While it’s no secret that many of us are happy to see 2020 go, the year (finally) coming to a close brings about an exciting milestone for the trainees at the Futures Fund Coding Boot Camp: these dedicated students are halfway through their training to a bright future in the world of technology. After six years of successfully providing tech-based education to teens and young adults in the Baton Rouge area, the Futures Fund opened enrollment to adults for the first time this May while also shifting to a completely virtual program to address safety concerns due to the spread of COVID-19. While the COVID-19 health crisis continues to devastate our community, transitioning to virtual learning has had a silver lining, with courses now available to adults all over the state. Accessibility to the essential skills taught in the Futures Fund’s intergenerational training program is of the utmost importance as we continue to see a rising wave of unemployment across Louisiana. I'm eternally grateful for the Futures Fund Adult Coding Bootcamp; I feel like I'm finally learning the skills for a career that I can depend on for the rest of my life; the staff has been so supportive. While the program can be a bit intense, you never feel like you're set up to fail. That's because you now have a new family to catch help. Over a period of six months, Coding Boot Camp students receive training crucial for understanding code and applying technological skills that will help with employability. The three-tier Boot Camp curriculum includes instruction on basic-to-advance skills for website building as well as the coding languages HTML, CSS, and introductory JavaScript. Upon completion of training, trainees will have the skills necessary to pursue certification, begin new careers, or use newfound skills to advance in their current careers. Additionally, students will have access to tech apprenticeships with our partners at Apprenti with guaranteed employment upon completion. This semester was made possible for all participants to attend at no cost thanks to the generous support of grants and sponsorships from Capital Area United Way, Build Baton Rouge, Huey and Angelina Wilson Foundation, and Capital One. On December 29th, Coding Boot Camp trainees will showcase the skills they’ve gained over the last three months with a virtual capstone. Join us here to cheer on our coding students as they reach this important milestone on their tech journey!

More residents in Baton Rouge will soon have better access to healthy food thanks to a community partnership with the East Baton Rouge Public Housing Authority that will add raised garden beds to 6 location beginning with a pilot in the Ardenwood Village neighborhood, an area being revitalized as part of BR Choice. Baton Roots Community Farm will soon enter Phase 1 of the project, which has been made possible through a partnership with EBRPHA and Partners Southeast. In the coming weeks, the farm team will prepare, build, and sow seeds for garden beds at 6 public housing sites. Each site will have anywhere from four to twelve 4” by 10” raised garden beds. Baton Roots will build and prep the beds with soil and seedlings, and maintain each Harmony Garden site for six months along with residents and staff. Partners Southeast provided land and water access, as well as land preparation for garden beds. Mitchell Provensal, the Baton Roots program coordinator, said the new beds will eliminate the transportation barrier that often keeps residents from accessing healthy food from major grocery stores. “The goal of Baton Roots is to connect people to fresh and healthy food. Having the garden beds at these housing sites is a great way to [provide healthy food] where they’re at, in a safe and comforting environment,” Provensal said. While the Baton Roots consistently hosts gardening and nutritional health workshops at its Howell Park location, transportation is still a barrier for residents. Bringing the Harmony Gardens farming experience to as many residents as possible is a shared goal between the two partners. But the effort won’t stop once the new garden beds are finished. For the next 6 months after the installation, Baton Roots will host a series of community events to encourage residents to work alongside them, learning how to care for and maintain their new community garden. Starting the planting in the winter, plenty of greens--like collard green, mustard greens, and lettuce-- will grow in these beds since they’re plants that commonly withstand the cold. As the seasons progress, new crops will be rotated for residents to enjoy. In Phase 1 of the Project, the first six sites will be located at Ardenwood, North St., North 17th St., Alvin Dark, East Mason, and Rosenwald. Baton Roots will install the beds at these sites by the end of fall. Phase 2 of the project involves installing garden beds at six additional sites in the spring of 2021. Stay updated on project updates and other Walls Project news by following our blog, or our Facebook and Instagram accounts. More News From The Walls Project >> HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW? An interview with J. Daniels >> Baton Roots Tractor Mural From Outer Space >> 45 Futures Fund Tech Academy Trainees Sponsored by LOFSA

Growing up in Beaumont, Texas, J. Daniels’ father always had gardens. Daniels remembers his father harvesting fruit-- grapefruit, apples, tomatoes-- from their backyard. His father would then dry out the seeds, and replant them in styrofoam cups to repeat the growing cycle. His father inspired Daniels, the current CEO of Baton Rouge Housing Authority, to have an appreciation for gardening. And Daniels shows his appreciation by caring for his own set of garden beds. The Walls Project Team stopped by his home. Before he starts his day, Daniels gets up at 6:30 a.m. to water all his gardening beds. For him, gardening is therapy. “What I love most about gardening is that it’s cathartic. It’s my form of therapy," Daniels said. The art of gardening gives him a moment of clarity to start off his day. Time and planning are the key ingredients to growing a garden, according to Daniels. He encourages new gardeners to research the types of plants that are the best for you to grow. Daniels believes it’s important to share what you have with the community. As an example, his neighborhood has hosted vegetable exchanges, spreading the literal fruits of their labor to one another. But why is gardening important? To Daniels, gardening represents the truest metaphor to life itself. “[Gardening] is about nurturing something. It’s about caring for something and putting in the hard work. And looking at the measurable outcomes,” Daniels added. For those wanting to start their own garden, he offers this piece of wisdom: “Grow what you like, grow what you love, grow what you can cook. Grow what comes easy to you, and then keep working at it,” Daniels said. “You have seasons. You just have to recognize that things come easier and easier with practice.”

A dream of expanding the Baton Roots Community Farm is becoming a blooming reality thanks to a $10,000 donation from Cox Communication. The donation is the second donation to The Walls Project and will go towards the farm’s 5-acre expansion project. In May, the internet service company had awarded $15,000 in grant funding to The Walls Project for student technology to help East Baton Rouge Parish students obtain computers as schools shifted to virtual learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As many businesses closed during the stay at the home mandate, Baton Roots served as an invaluable resource to the North Baton Rouge neighborhoods, through invaluable training to our young farmers and fresh produce for the community. Baton Roots officially kickstarted in 2019, during the January MLK Fest, with its intergenerational Harmony Garden. Currently, the farm offers multiple programs, including “Hustle & Grow”, and “Garden In a Box,” which focus on backyard gardening to encourage healthy eating and food security. Baton Roots is a community effort made possible by:

BATON ROUGE, LA – The Futures Fund is creating opportunities for teen students to connect and learn technology training, a skill that has proved invaluable during COVID-19. To continue to bridge access for high school students in Louisiana GEAR UP schools, the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance has positioned itself to support 45 trainee spots in the Futures Fund Tech Academy: Coding for the Web courses. These courses are offered in three scaffolded levels, training youth the basic-to-advance skills in web design and coding languages, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. LOSFA, who administers state scholarship and grant programs, like TOPS, TOPS Tech, and the GO Grant, aims to promote, prepare for, and provide equity of college access to Louisiana students. Staff at LOSFA also actively work to help students not only access higher education but provide supporting and enrichment resources through its Louisiana GEAR UP program, such as The Futures Fund. Staff at The Futures Fund Tech Academy will provide digital experiential learning to Louisiana GEAR UP students. Programming will include youth engagement, college readiness, essential skills training, soft skills training, and workforce development. For more information on The Futures Fund Tech Academy, click here. Futures Fund is a community effort made possible by:

For most adults, evenings are a time to wind down and relax for the day. But for driven adults in the Futures Fund Coding Boot Camp (CBC), they are learning tech training to not only make them more employable but to advance in the industries they are in. For the fall semester, 50 adults applied to start the training in late October. The first cohort of the CBC pilot will continue their training straight through until finishing Level 3 in late April. Upon completion of the program, trainees may take CIW HTML/CSS and Javascript IBC certifications. After completion of the Futures Fund training, our Futures Fund program coordinator will work with graduates to continue their career pathway to an associates/undergrad degree, continue stacking certifications towards gainful employment with our advanced training partners, and/or enter into a tech apprenticeship with partners at Apprenti that results in guaranteed employment. For the first time, due to the virtual nature of the delivery, Trainees are able to come from all over the state to gain the now crucial skills in understanding code. Many Trainees are seeking to safely up-skill so they are able to continue rising in their careers, some are looking to change jobs completely, and some are looking to broaden their value altogether. For those wanting to participate in the next cohort in January, applications are open! "I had a great learning experience with attentive instructors who really knew the material and made me feel confident about being able to learn how to code," said new trainee, Laura Bowling.

Baton Rouge, La. -- October 13, 2020 -- Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome announced Wednesday the groundbreaking of a half-acre school garden at Capitol High School. The garden is a result of the collaboration of Geaux Get Healthy, a program out of the Mayor’s Healthy City Initiative, and the Baton Roots community farm. This collaboration will implement community farms at Capitol High School, Glen Oaks High School, and Scotlandville High School. “Geaux Get Healthy’s collaboration with community stakeholders allows us to address food access in Baton Rouge. Through our school garden programs, we are empowering our youth with the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to cultivate nutritious foods,” said Mayor Broome. “Our work here is allowing us to improve access to healthy foods, and create a stronger foundation for our community here in Baton Rouge.” Through a partnership with Baton Roots Community Farm and Geaux Get Healthy, the Hustle and Grow program will work with schools to teach local students how to grow fresh food. The Hustle and Grow program provides youth the opportunity to develop necessary leadership, business, and agriculture skills in an effort to empower the next generation of leaders. The program aims to empower youth and improve food access by introducing farming directly into the community rather than having to rely solely on sourcing grocery stores in food deserts throughout Baton Rouge. In addition to horticulture lessons, students engaged in the Hustle and Grow program will learn healthy eating habits and how to cook the produce grown on the farm. “Baton Roots focus is as much on food access as it is on farming. With all the high schools we’re working with, we hope to continue to empower residents to take food and health directly into their hands,” said Mitchell Provensal, Program Coordinator of Baton Roots. All of the food grown through this partnership will be distributed to the communities surrounding the three partner schools.