In an era where the price of groceries continues to increase, the importance of agriculture is worth recalling and remembering.
On October 6, Charlottesville City Council approved leases for two organizations that support local food systems through education and production.
One of them is a 0.07 acre lot on 8th Street NW next to the City of Promise building that has been used for many years.
“Cultivate Charlottesville has been using this property for many years, and it was time we needed to get a lease agreement in place,” said Brenda Kelley, the city’s redevelopment manager.
City of Promise is a nonprofit organization that seeks to end generational poverty through self-sufficiency initiatives.
Aleen Carey, co-executive director of Cultivate Charlottesville, said City of Promise approached them and asked them to steward the space.
“The space is used as a place where community members can come by and get the fruits and vegetables that are there at any point in time,” Carey said. “They don’t have to wait for one of us to be there.”
Carey said they also use the space for community events to educate people about food.
Cultivate Charlottesville formed in 2020 when the Urban Agricultural Collective, the City Schoolyard Garden, and the Food Justice Network came under the same umbrella.
Rent for the first year will be $1 with $450 for the second with further increases capped at three percent.
No one spoke at the public hearing.
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