FAIRVIEW, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Root Cause Farm is a volunteer-based nonprofit dedicated to combatting food insecurity through growing and giving away free, fresh produce. This weekend, there will be an opportunity for the community to give back to them.
Take Root Festival will go on from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, June 21 at Root Cause Farm, 26 Joe Jenkins Road.
“It’s our keystone annual fundraising festival, basically,” said Ashley Haywood, Root Cause event and fundraising coordinator. “There’ll be bounce houses and activities, like bouquet making, where we’ll have cut flowers and you can make your own bouquets.”
The free, family-friendly event will also feature live music, local beer, food trucks and ice cream, as well as a wide variety of agricultural activities, workshops and demonstrations. For visitors interested in seeing more of the farm, farm manager John McNair will lead tours every half hour.
Find the full list of Take Root activities here.
The Take Root educational topics are as diverse as the food Root Cause grows.
“Fungi in the soil and soil biology is one,” said Haywood. “Biological pest control and then the other is growing greener and leaner.”
Root Cause might be feeding the mind with the Take Root workshops, but their primary aim is to feed as many bodies as possible.
“Our mission is to grow community solutions to hunger,” Sedona Lewis, Root Cause director of fundraising and communications. “We use the power of volunteers to produce over 11,000 pounds of food every year that is then distributed to people in the community who otherwise would not be able to afford fresh, beautiful, locally-grown vegetables.”
“Every single bit of it is given away,” Haywood added.
According to the farmers, since Hurricane Helene, the number of families that receive Root Cause food has more than doubled, rocketing from around 60 households to 140. Despite the increase in demand, the farm’s food remains entirely free, no questions asked.
“It’s really important to us that we’re creating an inclusive, barrier-free experience for folks in need of assistance,” Lewis explained.
Root Cause farmer’s markets are held at the property from 3 to 4:30 p.m. every Tuesday.
For more information about Root Cause Farm, visit www.rootcausefarm.org.
