Taproot Collective

10/05/2026

DAFday is on Oct. 8th. Some of the most powerful growth happens beneath the surface. 🥕

🤔DAF = Donor-Advised Fund.
In plain English? It's a charitable giving vehicle that lets you set aside assets for philanthropy and recommend grants to organizations you care about.

If you have a Donor-Advised Fund, you already have charitable dollars set aside for causes you care about.

Think of it as a garden bed for your giving. 🌱

And on October 8, we're encouraging Rochester's DAF holders to put those charitable dollars to work at Taproot. Dig into your DAF and have your generosity take root in Rochester.

📲 Use the link in our bio to donate with your DAF or login to your DAF provider's website or giving portal.

10/02/2026

We are thrilled to be featured on Roc City Lifestyle to share the work we do!

Of the 44 teenagers who spent this summer working in gardens connected to Taproot Collective, maybe one will grow up to be a farmer. But that’s fine with

09/28/2026

🍂🌱 Fall Community Garden Materials Giveaway registration is OPEN!

Taproot & The City of Rochester are excited to partner once again - we’ve got what you need to put your garden to bed and get a head start on next season!

📲Register using the link in our bio:
https://tinyurl.com/26FallGiveaway

Each registered community garden will receive $200 in supplies:
🧄 Garlic for fall planting
🌷 More flower bulbs than ever - including daffodils, tulips & crocuses
🌾 Straw & fertilizer
🛠️ Garden tools
🌱 Seeds to start indoors over the winter or plant next spring

Come stock up, get growing, and keep your garden rooted through the seasons! 💚
📍 Rochester Public Market - Union Street entrance
🗓️ Friday, October 23
⏰ 5–7 PM

🎉 Pick Up Your Supplies & Enter to Win!

There’s an extra reason to make sure you pick up that evening: every community garden that collects its materials at the giveaway will be entered into our raffle!
And this isn’t just any garden raffle. One lucky garden will win a special variety pack of flower bulbs that won’t be available at the giveaway, PLUS an Elevated Raised Bed for your garden!

So come pick up your fall supplies, grab some garlic and bulbs, and give your garden a head start on spring. We’ll see you at the Public Market!

09/18/2026

🌱 What Grows in Rochester? This summer, we welcomed homeschooling families with children ages 5-13 to First Market Farm for a hands-on Learn and Serve experience.

Together, we explored what’s growing in Rochester, discovered fruits, vegetables, herbs, and pollinator plants, and lent a hand in the garden while we learned.

From radishes & lettuce to picking fruit, there was so much to discover at the farm! 🐝🌻🥕🍓

Thanks to everyone who came out in the drizzly rain, ready with curiosity, questions, and clothes they didn’t mind getting a little dirty.

We invite your group to join us at First Market Farm for a complimentary "Learn & Serve" event!! DM us for more info.🌿

09/16/2026

Small acts. Big impact! Brockport Day of Service volunteers were back at it, re-sanding our office path and helping build our new backyard shade garden.

🛠️This summer, our Community Food Team built a chalkboard and worked hard turning the backyard into an outdoor classroom - the shade garden will really make an impact on this added space.

🙌 International Volunteer Day is Dec. 5! Who’s someone in your community who always shows up? Tag them below. ⬇️

09/09/2026

🏦We’re incredibly grateful to Canandaigua National Bank for investing in Rochester's youth and helping make our summer of impact possible.

Taproot’s Community Food Team showed up ready to learn, work, serve, and lead. From urban farming and community gardens to environmental education, field trips, and civic engagement, our youth built real-world skills while making a tangible difference in neighborhoods across Rochester.

Your support gives Rochester youth the opportunity to build confidence, discover their strengths, and see themselves as leaders who can shape the future of their communities.

Thank you for believing in our youth - and in the future of Rochester!

09/07/2026

September Garden Workshop: Making the Harvest Last!

Join us at Foodlink Farm on 9/26 to explore safe and accessible methods for preserving fruits & vegetables, which also prevents waste. We’ll cover practical techniques that extend your garden's impact well beyond the growing season.

There will be a hands-on demonstration, and you’ll be able to bring home food!

Food Preservation Tips & Tricks
🗓️ Saturday, September 26th | 10 AM - Noon
📍Foodlink Farm Education Building, 585 Lexington Ave, Rochester, NY 14613

Taproot Collective offers hands-on urban agriculture workshops in Rochester, NY, designed for community gardeners, urban growers, volunteers, and residents committed to local food access. Our educational programs focus on long-term garden success in Rochester’s unique climate.

If you steward land, manage a garden site, coordinate volunteers, or want to increase food production in your neighborhood, these workshops are built for you!

🛍️Representing a Community Garden? You’ll head home with some garden supplies!

What's your favorite way to preserve your garden haul? Share in the comments!

09/05/2026

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF CHARITY: Every future starts with a seed.

🌱 Youth leaders
🌱 Community gardens
🌱 Stronger neighborhoods
🌱 A more resilient food system

This fall, help us grow what’s next.

🌱 What happens when you plant a seed? With the right care, it grows.

A garden. A meal. A skill. A new opportunity. A young person discovering they have the power to make a difference.

This International Day of Charity, we're thinking about the seeds we plant today - and the future they can grow into.

At Taproot Collective, your support helps young people grow as leaders, strengthens community gardens, and helps Rochester neighborhoods build a more connected, resilient food system.

Today, we're planting the first seed of our fall giving campaign.

Over the coming months, we'll be sharing the stories of what grows when a community invests in its people and places.

Taproot isn't something that happens to a community. It's something we build with a community.

And there is a place for you in that work:
🧤 Volunteer: Get your hands dirty or join our Board.
📣 Spread the word: Share our work, invite a friend to a workshop, or tell someone about a community garden in their neighborhood.
🤝 Partner: Have a garden, business, school, organization, or community group that wants to work together?
🌱 Give: Become a monthly sustaining donor and help provide the consistent support that keeps our programs growing.
[Links in Bio]

There isn't one right way to be part of Taproot.
You just have to start somewhere.

Because thriving neighborhoods don't happen overnight.

🌱They grow - one garden, one young leader, one neighbor, one investment at a time.

Stay with us. Let's see what we can grow together.

09/04/2026

🥳Somewhere in this photo is our 100th youth intern hired!

As our Community Food Team’s summer season comes to a close, we’re celebrating more than a milestone. We’re celebrating 100 young people who have had the opportunity to build skills, grow their confidence, and make a tangible impact in their city.

From field trips to urban gardens to civic engagement, our Community Food Team spent the summer building skills, confidence, and leadership.

They didn’t just learn about their communities - they stepped up to serve them, solve problems, and make a difference. These young leaders are growing into the people who will help shape Rochester’s future, and we couldn’t be prouder of each one.