LEAF

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 2007, an open conversation about bulk buying 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 first two years have been successful beyond expectation. A network of dedicated volunteers and institutional actors, from local residents to Lakewood Public Library employees, worked together to make possible LEAF Nights, the first community gardens in Lakewood and a number of other innovative projects.

Some of LEAF's accomplishments include: LEAF Nights weekly community festival: Fresh, Local Foods, Knowledge and Culture

LEAF Community Garden Plots at 5 City Parks: with support from the city LEAF planned, soil tested and organized over 100 community garden plots.

Community Supported Agriculture: City Fresh and Covered Bridge Gardens

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: Closing the season with a Halloween/harvest themed bang, children's games, apple bobbing, baking contests, canning demonstrations, freshly prepared food, live music and art.

LEAF Nights, perhaps LEAF's most significant accomplishment, evolved into a weekly community festival. Each week, these festivals 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.