Franklinton Farms

We are raising money for Franklinton Farms to employ participants of The Refuge Ministries addiction recovery programing,  so that we can integrate urban agriculture as part of opioid/addiction recovery in our community. Any donation will help make an impact as we invest the donations directly into hiring participants from The Refuge's addiction recovery ministry to build and maintain new gardens that comprise Franklinton Farms' 12-garden urban farm in Franklinton. Our $45,000 goal will enable Franklinton Farms to hire 2 participants from The Refuge, full-time, through the end of 2019. These participants will help beautify and landscape all of our garden sites, grow and distribute nutritious fruit and vegetables throughout the Franklinton Community, and complete the construction of 3 new gardens for our organization - all as part of their recovery from the devastating addiction/opioid epidemic that continues to devastate communities and livelihoods!

A donation of $13.50 provides funding to engage one participant from The Refuge for 1 hour of fulfilling urban farming work at Franklinton Farms, while simultaneously funding their addiction recovery programming at The Refuge.

Check out the video above (thanks to John Thorne for making this for us!) to see the work of Franklinton Farms and The Refuge in Action - and check out the pictures on our website to see work that the Refuge participants have accomplished over this past year! https://franklintonfarms.org/refuge-ministries-partnership/

More about Franklinton Farms and The Refuge Ministires:
Franklinton Farms is a 501(c)3 nonprofit urban farm in Franklinton dedicated to Growing and Sharing Food, Creating Beauty, and Building Community in Franklinton. Learn more at franklintonfarms.org

The Refuge Ministires is a faith-based organization in Franklinton that offers free residential rehabilitation ministries for men (18+) and women (18+). These ministries take men and women from homelessness and hopelessness to homeownership, empowering responsible people of God for the rest of their lives. More information at therefugeohio.org

Update: Our total goal is $45,000. Thus far outside of GoFundMe we have raised $16,850 so we lowered the GoFundMe total to $28,150. Other support includes:

- $2,460 through a friend's personal Facebook fundraiser
- $14,390 through individual contributions ($40, $10,000, $1,500, $250, $2,500, $100)

Franklinton Farms has just $2,000 remaining to reach our year-end fundraising goal. Support your local nonprofit urban farm by donating to help us reach this goal by the end of 2017! Your contribution supports Franklinton Farms' ongoing efforts to build a more healthy and local food system through urban agriculture. 

This year, our farm has grown in size as well as programs and four of our biggest success of 2017 include:
- Expanding our neighborhood Weekly Produce Basket (CSA) to 40 summer households and 20 winter households
- Developing a family-oriented learning garden that, in partnership with multiple neighborhood organizations and OSU, will serve as a neighborhood gardening education venue 
- Launching an urban agriculture training program to help equip neighbors (those who struggle with barriers to employment such as addiction and conviction history) with light construction and landscaping skills
- Transitioning a large portion of the farm's electricity generation to renewable solar-power to showcase Franklinton Farms' commitment to building a carbon-neutral local food system.

We believe that sustainable agriculture and good food have the power to transform. We envision a neighborhood and food system that respects the land, values all people, and celebrates community. 

By helping us reach our $2,000 goal you are helping Franklinton Farms promote a variety of initiatives that support a socially just and environmentally sustainable food system in the chronically under-served Franklinton neighborhood.

Let's create a healthier community together.

For more information on our programs and mission, visit franklintonfarms.org

Grateful to be doing this work,

Franklinton Farms Team