This project, funded by the USDA's Farmers Market Promotion Program, helped us increase the demand and enthusiasm for local food in our community, open six retail spaces for local food located in food desert areas, and coordinate activities to recruit and train young potential farmers. The sites of the new retail spaces include farms, schools and small stores in and around Searcy County. As part of this program La Lucha Space planned and coordinated two farm tours visiting diverse farms in Arkansas including  AR Killer Bee and Tomato Farm, Armstead Mountain Farm in Jerusalem, Falling Sky and Ratchford Farms in Marshall, Rattle's Garden in Vilonia, and Meadowcreek in Fox. We also organized two local food festivals in Conway collaborating with the Faulkner County Urban Farm Project and the Public Library: Backyard Gourmet, celebrated in Spring, and the Urban Farm Festival, celebrated in the fall. These events include live music, educational demonstrations, games and food prepared with ingredients grown on-site.

As part of this project we also collaborated with the Arkansas Local Food Network to develop an online interactive tool that lets you search for participants of the local food movement by category and location. The info includes data on farms, community gardens, restaurants and more. Explore the Fresh Directory