Foodlink Unveils Edible Education Center at Expanded Community Farm

On October 18^th, Foodlink, a Rochester, New York-based food bank that serves as the hub of the emergency food system across a 10-county service area, proudly cut the ribbon on their Edible Education Center at the organization’s Lexington Avenue Community Farm. The unveiling coincided with Foodlink’s annual Fall Festival.

The 2.3-acre urban farm provides programming that educates community members on nutrition and the local food system, including how food is grown and harvested. Their harvests support the Foodlink Curbside Market, which is a mobile market that brings fresh food into neighborhoods with fewer fresh grocery options. A community garden located at the farm is tended by 100+ local families, including low-income individuals and New Americans sharing their food traditions.

The capital improvement project invested $2 million in the neighborhood and supports Foodlink’s mission to fight hunger and food insecurity.

Foodlink’s Community Farm, which was founded in 2011, includes the 2,800-square-foot Edible Education Center, a 3,000-square-foot greenhouse, an apiary, orchard, and over 220 raised beds after the addition of 160 during this improvement project. The expansion allows Foodlink to host an additional 50 families and grow approximately 5,000 more pounds of food.

Erdman Anthony provided survey services to document the existing farm and the five adjacent lots Foodlink bought for this expansion. The firm also provided MEP design for the new building, including new air-handling units, a kitchen-hood and associated exhaust system, and heaters for the greenhouse; plumbing design for the new kitchen and bathrooms; the electrical design for the new electrical distribution panels for general power and power for the MEP equipment; and the lighting design for the new parking lot and drive aisles.

Learn more about Foodlink’s expansion here.

Learn more about how to support Foodlink’s mission here.