Grace Grows

05/29/2026

We've been using a really large listserv for a while now to invite people to join the Food System Coalition of North Central Florida. If you have not signed up here
https://forms.gle/v8QrAfrK6Dipa59W7
Please do, or else you won't receive invites in the future. We don't want to spam people, and this helps us be organized.

You can also sign up via the link in our Instagram bio.

Our goal is to improve food justice in the North Central Florida community by bringing together diverse stakeholders to collaborate on addressing both pressing and systemic food system issues. By bringing diverse stakeholders together, we break down silos, enhance collective capacity, and improve coordinated community responses.

We especially encourage folks from impacted groups to join!

05/24/2026

In the garden, when someone from the shelter wants to be involved, one of the first things we do is ask them if they’d like to reserve a raised bed for themselves. We keep paint, signs, and seeds, on site for this reason. Many folks like painting their own signs and add unique artistic elements to their beds, but others prefer we do it for them. When we paint their signs, we like to add little things that showcase their personality so they know we are listening and paying attention. Each name sign reflects something special about the gardener to whom it belongs before the plants are even grown. In crisis environments folks are often rushed through, and pauses for expressing empathy can be few and far in between. These systems can feel cold and if you’ve ever experienced them, it’s a specific kind of trauma, where people feel “managed” and alienated. However, in the garden we try to be intentional, fostering an environment where we can open our ears, eyes, and hearts again to one another again. Food and health are so important but it’s so much easier to get there, so much more humane, when people who are struggling feel seen.

05/16/2026

A topic of conversation that often arises in the garden is how safety net systems seem to operate with the mentality that people deserve the bare minimum needed to survive, but the collective consensus we always arrive at is that this perspective is rooted in the punitive unjust way in which poverty is framed in our society. People experiencing homelessness deserve nice things too, even beautiful things. Our gardeners know better. In asserting this, people begin to take back their power. While they deserve so much more than this, we hope that this little plot of abundance will continue to remind them that they are worthy, that there is a world beyond the grit of the slab-being on hold for jobs, for food stamps, for Medicaid, the dirty looks from strangers and security guards, and metal detectors. Their identity is not homeless.

05/12/2026

Food, health, and economic justice are intersectional. Thanks to Florida Voices for Health for your work!

"I found hope at this summit." Abigail Perret-Gentil of Grace Grows & UF Mobile Outreach Clinic reflects on her experience of our 2026 Florida Voices for Health Summit.
We're so grateful for every person who contributed to this event and helped to make it a space of hope, action, and community-building. It's an honor to alongside all of you!
Read the reflection in full here:
https://www.healthyfla.org/single-post/i-found-hope-at-this-summit-advocate-reflects-on-2026-florida-voices-for-health-summit

05/12/2026

Don’t forget our next greater body FSC meeting is tomorrow at Greater Bethel AME. We will be sharing preliminary findings from the World Cafe discussions last month, have a presentation on grant writing geared towards small organizations and understanding the changing landscape by Brenley Grant Professionals, and will discuss plans for creating a justice oriented State of the Food System report for our region.

05/10/2026

Could not have said it better than our friends at Family Promise.

04/30/2026

Grace Grows Food System Coalition Director, Latashia Brimm, talks about the larger systems work we do! The Amazing Give is today, and you can give here: https://www.theamazinggive.org/organizations/grace-grows

04/30/2026

We know food justice and food access work is still very much the wild, wild west in our community, but we are working to change that. We have been here since 2015, advancing the work by impacted people and supporting intersecting grass-roots work. Today, we are asking for your support for the Amazing Give! You can give here: https://www.theamazinggive.org/organizations/grace-grows

04/22/2026

We hope you will consider us for the Amazing Give April 30th. You can give early here. We are truly grassroots, doing direct service and systems work. https://www.theamazinggive.org/organizations/grace-grows

02/20/2026

Our friends at Working Food are hiring!

We’re looking for an Operations & Finance Manager to join our team at Working Food. This role will support the day-to-day administrative and financial operations of Working Food. They will ensure proper bookkeeping, strong internal systems, and smooth organizational functioning. This role is ideal for someone who is detail-oriented, systems-minded, and committed to supporting community-rooted work through strong operational infrastructure.

20 hours a week, with a rate of $23-$25 per hour. Flexible schedule. Up to 90% of work may be performed remotely following successful completion of training. Candidates must be based in Gainesville, Florida and able to visit the Working Food office once per week.

Head to WorkingFood.org/join-our-team for more info on the role and how to apply.