End of Year Staff Reflections – Seedling Giveaway

This year, NACDI was growing and planting seeds in our community. With our Four Sisters Food Sovereignty programs, we are connecting our people back to the living world. We thought it would be an outstanding idea to work with our partners to grow some seedlings and have a plant giveaway for the community. Our farmer, Gloria Iacono, started tomatoes, peppers, kale, chard, sunflowers, and more. We worked with EPIC, Dream of Wild Health, and East Phillips residents and held an event on May 13th for a Seedling Giveaway. The organizers provided over 500 plants to neighborhood residents to use in their own gardens. They also provided entertainment and a food truck to make the event a day-long Spring celebration.

Although there was a steady drizzle on our day, the turnout was incredible!! We had hundreds of our neighbors show up to browse and learn about the seedlings. We had master gardeners and farmers on site to answer questions and to set people up for success in their gardens.

It is amazing what we can do with the most modest of gifts. A simple seed, soil, and light are the gifts we receive from Creator. How we give that back to our community is a testament to our mission and adherence to our Native values. It was so heartwarming to see the look of joy on our neighbors faces as they received their seedlings. By starting the growing season with connectedness and generosity, we were able to celebrate the abundance of gifts in our community. We are excited to continue to offer the seedling giveaway each year.

-John Williams, VP of Development