Porters Quarters Community Farm
host farm
Porters Quarters Community Farm
500-598 S.W. 3rd St.
Gainesville, FL 32601
Date and time
November 18, 2023
3:00 – 6:00 PM
event description
The Porters Quarters Thanksgiving Harvest Festival was a multicultural celebration of food, history, and community. The elders from Porters Quarters had a crock pot cook-off using Florida heritage crops as a key ingredients. Master farmers from the community led farm tours and workshops. A variety of local chefs provided cooking demonstrations on canning, pickling, healthy beverages, and more. Visitors purchased locally grown foods, enjoyed live entertainment, and played games with the kids.
about this farm
The Porters Quarters Community Farm is a small, urban farm started and managed by various community members in order to address high rates of poverty and food insecurity in this historically African-American neighborhood. The land for this farm was donated by community resident Chris Fillie. The farm is located across the street from the Porters Quarters Community Center and playground, a property managed by the City of Gainesville. Leaders like Faye Williams and Charles Nelson have helped organize a neighborhood coalition that works the land on Saturday mornings. Under the leadership of master gardeners Otis Garisson and Erinesha Hamilton from Sliick Garden, community members have been able to plant and sow various Florida heritage crops and provide a diversity of nutritious, locally-grown foods to neighborhood residents. Monique Fleming, a retired teacher, and other community leaders plan to start a freedom school for local school children at this garden in the Spring of 2024.
