Urban Triage’s annual Harvest Festival returns for its fourth year as the nonprofit organization looks to celebrate its accomplishments through its agricultural programs with the community.
The annual festival is a community celebration for what Urban Triage calls one of its most impactful and unknown programs. The program, Supporting Healthy Black Agriculture, teaches community members how to grow, harvest and use vegetables for healthy, sustainable living. Harvest Festival celebrates with family fun at the Farley Center for Peace, Justice and Sustainability, 2299 Spring Rose Rd., Verona. It currently operates its agriculture program on two acres of land.
“Agriculture is one of those things that is doing really good and people love that,” said Brandi Grayson, CEO of Urban Triage. “I don’t think we talk enough about [it], but our Harvest Fest is to celebrate all of that, all the reaping and sowing of the land.”
Harvest Festival is about the land and work it’s done, but it’s much more. Urban Triage sits at an intersection of promoting sustainability and health, while the whole team is on board.
Every member of the Urban Triage staff also does work on the farm. The organization has long pushed for all staff to have a hand in how it serves the community. Everyone from case managers to the marketing team find work to be done at the farm.
“They know what it takes to execute in that program,” Grayson said. “We believe that everybody has to touch all of the work so if you’re in the office and someone comes in for help, you’re not just sending them to someone else.”
Continued love for Harvest Festival and Urban Triage’s agriculture program has been a surprise for Grayson. She didn’t expect the community to engage how they have and increased interest.
Grayson recalled her own time growing her own food with her grandmother in their backyard in the 1980s. It was an important staple that she sees more people finding renewed interest in.
“It’s one of those skills that was part of our culture,” Grayson said. “We would go out there and pick beans and have string beans every Sunday. I hated it as a kid, but it was a skill that I didn’t know was so important to have, and I think that’s been lost over the last couple decades.”
The festival is also an opportunity to prop up small businesses in the area. Urban Triage consistently uses the same vendors each year while trying to add one or two into the mix. This year will see Rasta Barista serving its Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee as the newest vendor.
Other frequent vendors offer balloons, a magic show for kids, jugglers, stilt walkers, wine, beer and many others that have become staples for Harvest Festival.
Another important cornerstone for the Harvest Festival is respecting elders. Transportation from Urban Triage’s South Park Street office to Harvest Festival is provided via a shuttle and every elder is provided a volunteer to help them access all there is to offer while they’re there.
Harvest Festival will be held Sept. 6 from 3-8 p.m. at the Farley Center for Peace and Justice. It is free to attend; no registration is required.
Those in need of a shuttle are asked to register via Urban Triage’s website, but Grayson said Urban Triage will do everything it can to help elders get there if they can’t register. Shuttles will come every 30 minutes from 2:30-8 p.m. at Urban Triage’s office at 2312 S. Park St. The ride is about 15 minutes.
