Outreach & Education
Sola Gratia Farm is committed to building a community of cooperation and care.
We aim to connect our community around food by supporting everyone in having the means to share fresh, healthy food with each other. To do so, we share sustainable food production and preparation skills, create community spaces around farming and gardening, and provide supportive spaces for people of all ages to develop their own personal, positive connection with food and farming. Our work particularly aims to supply low-income community members with skills, resources, and support.
The Community Classroom
The Community Classroom is our outdoor agriculture education and demonstration farm, located on our original 4 acres on the campus of St. Matthew Lutheran Church. It is open every day from dawn until dusk during the growing season for you to visit, explore, and enjoy! The Community Classroom includes:
raised and in-ground learning garden beds for you to explore different crops and growing styles,
interactive stations and play areas, such as mud kitchens,
walking paths and seating for enjoying the outdoors,
Partner Plots where our community partners have their own educational gardens, and
COMING SOON - a forest garden planted with fruit and nut trees and shrubs!
We also host staffed events in The Community Classroom throughout the year - for fun (such as monthly Play Dates) and for learning (such as gardening workshops). Check out our Events page to see what’s coming up!
Our vision for The Community Classroom is that it can be an agriculture education space with opportunities for teaching and learning, outdoor recreation, and productive and meaningful service. You can be part of developing The Community Classroom by volunteering with us!
Grow More Good Workshops
Part of our mission is to share skills for growing healthy, nutritious, local foods with others in our community. We do this through our Grow More Good Workshop Series, an annual series of gardening workshop intended to support beginner and intermediate gardeners with the knowledge, tools, and confidence to grow their own gardens full of delicious food for themselves and others! Grow More Good Workshops typically cost $5 to attend, but we offer many scholarships so as many people can attend as possible. Reach out to us at info@solagratiacsa.com to request a scholarship.
School and Community Programs
We offer a number of educational programs for school, after-school, and community groups! Please see our Educational Program flyer below for more information.
We welcome opportunities to connect with more members of our community! Fill out the form below to inquire about scheduling a program. If you have questions or something more unique you’d like to discuss, reach out to Outreach/Education Manager Fiona Munro at outreach@solagratiacsa.com.
Unfortunately, due to the demands of the farming season, we cannot honor every programming request. Flexibility in scheduling is appreciated, if possible!
Major Initiatives
Farm to School
In July 2020, we began a project to increase access to healthy, local food and agriculture education opportunities in Champaign-Urbana schools. In collaboration with local Urbana School District 116 and Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, we developed a Farm to School Planning Report and Action Plan in 2021. Since then, we’ve worked with our collaborators to support school garden spaces, expand agriculture and nutrition education options, bring local food into the cafeteria, and deepen the connection between our local food system and our education system.
For more information about our Farm to School efforts, visit the C-U Farm to School website: www.cufarmtoschool.weebly.com
Solidarity Gardens
We are part of a coalition of local organizations that leads Solidarity Gardens, a collaborative that supports community members in growing food for themselves and their neighbors. Solidarity Gardens supports a network of community gardens around Champaign-Urbana, operates donation sites for home gardeners to share their excess produce (including one at our Community Classroom site), and provides free garden plots to low-income and immigrant gardeners. We have provided educational and coordination support as well as donating seeds, starts, and other supplies for use in community and private gardens. This project is a collaboration with Cunningham Township, Champaign Park District, Urbana Park District, and other organizations. Through Solidarity Gardens, we have facilitated 12,000 extra pounds of produce to be grown and shared in our community!
You can learn more about Solidarity Gardens’ work on the Solidarity Gardens website: https://www.solidarity-gardens-cu.org/