Forage Inc

“There are no committees with the authority to act on behalf of the governing body.”

“The form 990 was prepared with the assistance of an independent certified public accountant. The form was reviewed by the president and executive director, and provided to the board prior to filing.”

“Vote by the board based upon research of comparable compensation for similarly qualified person.”

“Governing documents are provided to the public upon request.”

“Youth gardens - 2018-2019 was our third year running a garden-based science program partnership between the cultural arts coalition's long-running science academy and working food's youth garden program. Our two established gardens at community centers in gainesville continue to grow and provide a creative space to explore gardening, food, cooking, science, nature, and art. Program partnerships have improved the content and delivery of educational materials. This has allowed us more time to explore the many creative approaches to learning that a well-run garden can offer. Visual and performing arts, as well as cooking and nutrition lessons have deepened our relationship with our students, demonstrating the interconnections between frequently isolated subject materials. This spring, working food and the greater duval neighborhood association jointly received an award from the city of gainesville recognizing our "outstanding efforts to promote recreational activities in the city of gainesville." we also welcomed jessica wilson as our new garden program coordinator mid-way through the school year. She has brought much expertise, passion and vision to the program, and we are looking forward to continuing to develop and deepen our impact on youth education.”

“Seed collective - celebrating a decade of work this year, we reflect on the long way our southern heritage seed collective has grown into a well recognized program locally, regionally and nationally. Our work saving and sharing regionally adapted seeds has grown into an influential community program with wide-reaching impacts. From providing opportunities for successful food production in home and community gardens, to empowerment for adults with disabilities through our collaborative work at grow hub, our seeds are building community resilience. We've elevated the importance of seed stewardship through story, education, empowerment, collaboration, and human connection. This year is one for reflection and focus, as we think about our future work. After 10 years of learning so much about seeds- we now fully recognize their critical role in agricultural biodiversity, food security, climate change, and creating resilient communities. While we are but a small piece of this complex and important work, the impacts of our work are replicable and wide reaching. We've partnered on two important projects funded through the southern sare program, that are foundational and critical for cultivating regional resilience in agriculture and food security. --acquired hand-built seed processing equipment for improved handling for seed cleaning purposes. All equipment is accessible for our crew with special needs. It is simple and effective. --featured in a popular permaculture video series with green dreams's pete kanaris receiving over 63,000 views to date --hosted organic farmer bob quinn during his visit to gainesville, showing him our seed operation and sharing mutual love and passion for regional varieties and organic production practices. --hand-packed 8,500 individual seed packets for local distribution. --over 850+ volunteer hours helping in our gardens, seed packing, and events. --currently keeping over 500 varieties in our seed collective. --468 active paying members that support our seed collective. --stewarding 78 local and regional varieties becoming more adapted to our climate. --hosted 38 classes, workshops, tastings and other events on seeds, gardening and local food.”

“Community food center - our community event center provides an affordable gathering space for a wide range of community events. We also participate in numerous off-site events, providing talks, workshops, tours and more. Since july, we have attended, organized, hosted, over 35 different events, ranging from workshops on food production, supporting local produce bulk- buying, yoga, variety tastings, pop- up events by our incubating entrepreneurs, and talks by prominent community members and out of town visitors. Culinary incubator: the culinary incubation program at working food is in its second year of operation. For the past three months, we have been working to restructure our culinary incubation program to better serve our entrepreneurs, and will be launching this new improved process for on- boarding and support in march. Over 5000 hours have been booked in our kitchens since last year. We currently have 20 businesses; 7 minority-owned and 4 women-owned in our program all at varying stages of development. Of these businesses 35% are food trucks, 25% are catering businesses, and 40% are value-added products. Working food provides business support and development through the business incubation period, as well as connections to local resources along their journey. We are working with industry- standard metrics to help gauge the success of businesses and help to graduate them into their own facilities in gainesville. New this year, we are offering steeply discounted event space for entrepreneurs to host events and pop-up restaurants, including collaborations of two or more businesses hosting together. This will help by combining resources for purchasing and procuring products while providing new experiences and food for the community to enjoy. We have hosted two pop-ups this since july and will have another, a black history month celebration, at the end of the month. We have also been hosting meet and greets for new entrepreneurs, and we are looking forward to increasing these kinds of community-engaged events throughout the year. We have been working with score to develop a workshop entitled "so you want to start a food business?" for the public that goes over everything from business planning to regulations, that will be piloted sometime this spring. Additionally, we are working with the women's collaboratory and successful local business owners, such as blue highway, to offer mentorship and resources for our incubating companies.”