Mission:

Lakewood Earth and Food Community is dedicated to the development of a more sustainable, healthful and economically viable community through environmentally responsible actions producing broad access to the purchasing, growing and trading of fresh, local foods, knowledge and culture.

History:

In 2006, over fifteen Lakewood families participated in a sustainable agriculture experiment dubbed the Lakewood Observer Food Security Network. Seeking to cultivate reciprocal relationships with local farmers, the group participated in a CSA program offered by Covered Bridge Gardens of Ashtabula. Each week, farmers Mick and Kay Prochko delivered CSA shares directly to bela dubby coffeehouse in Lakewood. Some members of the group also purchased produce shares through the New Agrarian Center's City Fresh program. The experiment was successful on both fronts.

In the following year, an open conversation about bulk buying, which began online through the Lakewood Observer Observation Deck, eventually led to the formation of the Lakewood Earth and Food Community. During the initial meetings, this diverse crowd of Lakewoodites worked to focus their collective interests into four initiatives that would provide a foundation for group action: Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), Community Gardening, Earth Building and Bulk Buying.

LEAF Community's inaugural year was successful beyond expectation. Throughout 2007, a network of dedicated volunteers and institutional actors, from local residents to Lakewood Public Library employees, worked together to make possible both LEAF Nights, the 'Plover Patch' community garden in Lakewood's Historic Bird Town and a number of other innovative projects.

Some of LEAF's accomplishments during its inaugural year include:

• LEAF Nights weekly community festival: Fresh, Local Foods, Knowledge and Culture

• Community Supported Agriculture: City Fresh and Covered Bridge Gardens

• Collective community gardening in Lakewood's Historic Bird Town: aka the Plover Patch

• Opportunities in Bulk Buying: Grains, Nuts, Dried Fruits, Bee Pollen, Beans, etc.

• LEAF Barter Table: Whether from you share bag or back yard, trade that excess or orphaned produce and home-made goods at the barter table during LEAF Night

• LEAF Community Fall Harvest Festival 2007: Closing the season with a Halloween/harvest themed bang, children's games, apple bobbing, baking contests, canning demonstrations, freshly prepared food, live music, art and much, much more

LEAF Nights, perhaps LEAF's most significant accomplishment during the 2007 season, evolved into a weekly community festival. Each week, these festivals both included the group's four foundational initiatives while supporting and transcending them by bringing library resources, demonstrators, local artists and musicians into the fold. In line with LEAF Community's mission, LEAF Nights have acted as a platform for connecting local residents with fresh, local foods, knowledge and culture. We look forward to expanding the breadth and depth of our service to this mission in years to come.

Through cultivating and sustaining a platform for ecologically responsible action, LEAF Community aspires to realize a more sustainable, healthful and economically viable civic future in the city of Lakewood and beyond. In doing do, we hope to unite with and amplify the efforts of other community minded individuals and organizations working to realize a brighter future for our community.