Garfield Community Farm

12/22/2024

In the quite of the snow we are grateful for another amazing year of farming, gardening and teaching in Garfield.

12/20/2024

Happy to see that the FDA finally caught up to the science and made a move in the right direction when it comes to labeling food as “healthy.” This of course doesn’t diminish the sovereignty consumers have in making choices about their food (we believe strongly that nothing should ever diminish that sovereignty) but this move is beneficial for multiple reasons. One being that — now that this is the FDA definition, there can now be more progress in making food options at public schools healthier 🤞🏼🤞🏼 Read more about the changes here https://www.sciencealert.com/fda-rewrites-rules-of-healthy-foods-for-first-time-in-30-years

12/19/2024

As many know, Garfield Community Farm was started by The Open Door Presbyterian Church and one of their pastors, John Creasy (me). As the farm has developed into it's own 501c3 the church and I have also developed a new ministry to help more faith communities engage with ecological restoration, food production and spirituality in nature. This winter Wild Indigo Guild is hosting our first fully online guild. Check it out and join us!

Send a message to learn more

12/16/2024

Every December, we pass out our “Community Report” along with a small gift. This is a critical piece of our approach to engagement and serves two primary goals:

1) To let our neighbors know what happened at GCF this year, as well as raise awareness about our services.

2) To act as an accountability measure, letting our neighbors know that we want them to hold us accountable in meeting the needs and desires of our neighbors as it relates to our mission.

Dear Garfield, thank you for letting us be your neighbor again this year!

12/14/2024

Second Saturday of the month winter workday at Garfield Community Farm with our friends! So good to be together during the colder months. Join us next month, January 11! 11/1

12/10/2024

We love leaves!! Today, students from helped move some bags of leaves to our larger leaf pile. When the leaves are big, they are added into our compost. As they decompose, we are able to incorporate them into our homemade, peat-free potting mix 🍂

12/07/2024

Come one, come all!

Winter Solstice Celebration

Saturday, December 21, 2024, 5-6pm

Garfield Community Farm, 509 Wicklow Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15224

This event is organized by

Join us as we partner with Garfield Community Farm for a warm, annual Winter Solstice celebration that welcomes the season’s quiet beauty and the rebirth of light.

This free event begins with a guided meditation, inviting reflection on winter’s stillness and the solstice’s timeless symbolism of hope and renewal. A candlelit walk through the farm grounds follows, leading us from darkness to light, a journey mirroring the sun’s own turning point.

At the heart of the evening, a communal bonfire invites warmth, stories, and shared s’mores—a reminder of simple joys and togetherness during winter’s longest night.

Come celebrate the season, nature, and community in this timeless tradition.

12/06/2024

We had a blast last evening with the fab youth of ! As a follow up to our lesson on sugar, youth were able to taste test various sugars - including raw sugarcane, raw honey harvest just a few weeks ago from the hives at GCF, molasses cookies, and maple syrup. And though there was some mild disappointment at not being able to use the very sharp meat cleaver to hack at the sugarcane 😂, the kids had a great time and learned a lot of raw sugars vs processed sugars.

12/06/2024

Now is a great time to sign up for next year's permaculture design course that will be help partly at Garfield Community Farm.

12/03/2024

Giving Tuesday is one day, but our impact is year-round. Every day is a day you can give 😊

There are so many ways to give! Volunteering, donating used tools, participating in events, offering expertise, giving money, sharing a post, and more. We are focusing on four specific aspects of our work this Giving Tuesday: Community Resources, Increasing Biodiversity, Boosting Education, and Increasing Access. Swipe through the photos to learn how your support can impact these four critical areas of our mission.

Would you like to support our work today? Visit our “Donate” page on our website. There is a “donate” link that will take you to our PayPal page. There is also a “Wishlist” link for those who like to give something more tangible. If there are other ways you’d like to give (like volunteering), please reach out 😊

12/02/2024

Giving Tuesday is tomorrow, but our impact is year-round. You don’t need to wait until December 3 to give 😊

There are so many ways to give! Volunteering, donating used tools, participating in events, offering expertise, giving money, sharing a post, and more.

Today, we are excited to introduce you to La’Deya. La’Deya lives just a few blocks from GCF and visits frequently. While there are many aspects of GCF she enjoys, La’Deya especially values two of the new installs focused on promoting positive mental and emotional health (designed by ). She loves to slowly make her way through the “Whisper” Progressive Meditation Walk, as well as listen to the wind chimes that are a part of our “Sound” Sensory Space. La’Deya has expressed that both of these help her find inner calm and peace 😊 How beautiful! We are incredibly grateful that our space is able to be used this way by so many community members.

Would you like to support our work today? Visit our “Donate” page on our website, There is a “donate” link there that will take you to our PayPal page. There is also a “Wishlist” link if you’d like to give something more tangible. If there are other ways you’d like to give (like volunteering), please reach out 😊

11/27/2024

The labyrinth is look amazing at night at the farm. Best time to walk it is probably early evening just before dark. Come on up and enjoy!

11/26/2024

Giving Tuesday is one week away, but our impact is year-round. You don’t need to wait until December 3 to give 😊

There are so many ways to give! Volunteering, donating used tools, participating in events, offering expertise, giving money, sharing a post, and more.

Today, we are excited to introduce you to Isa, our amazing new Community Education & Engagement Assistant. A recent Pitt grad and resident of Garfield, Isa joined our team this summer. Her passion for environmental justice, advocacy, community, and relationship-building have added incredible value to our team. We are thrilled that she is choosing to use her gifts to help GCF carry out its mission.

Want to give? Visit our “Donate” page on our website. There you’ll find a link to our PayPal page, as well as a link to our “Wishlist” if you’d like to give something more tangible. If there are other ways you’d like to give (like volunteering), please reach out 😊

11/22/2024

They are coming just in time for Christmas! We've ordered more of the limited edition sweatshirts designed by our very own Bre Stanton (our Production Director)! Supplies will be very limited so pre-order now with a donation of $50 or more, indicate size in the "notes" line. We will be in touch soon about delivery. Visit www.garfieldfarm.com/donate

11/21/2024

Do you know how much sugar is in your drink? There are over 55 different names for sugar on food labels. This doesn’t include artificial sweeteners and other sugar substitutes, which aren’t even listed under “Sugars” in the nutrition label but are only identified in the ingredient list.

The recommended daily amount of added or refined sugars (this includes 100% juice, honey, and maple syrup) for youth is less then 25g. A bottle of Sprite has 64g. A 100% juice box has 23g. In comparison - - a snack pack of chips ahoy only has 8g.

As we tell the fab youth of , BEWARE SUGARY DRINKS! In general, they can pack in way more sugar than a food snack. The last pic in this reel has our three other Sugar guidelines if you’re interested in reading them.

11/18/2024

From pathways to grip strips to signage to play areas, GCF is trying to measure and increase the accessibility of its site. We acknowledge that there is always room to grow in accessibility. We also strongly believe that accessibility is nuanced and complex, incorporating the five main components of accommodation, availability, affordability, accessibility, and attractiveness.

Over the past year and a half, we’ve been able to make large strides in measuring and improving accessibility largely due to the generous support of . Many of the improvements we made were based on feedback received from community members. This winter, we want are excited to build on that feedback. We will be working with two different consultants over the next few months— and — as well as get feedback from more of our community through an Accessibility Feedback Form (link in comments). Have you visited our space or participated in our programming? Please take a few minutes to fill out the form.

11/17/2024

Wild Indigo Guilds Join our first fully online guild from anywhere in the world! We’ll gather weekly for 1.5 hours for phase one the Wild Indigo Guild Program, see details below. Gatherings will take place one evening a week, 7pm to 8:30, eastern time (USA). A Zoom link will be sent. Cost is on a ...

11/12/2024

*This Saturday*

Join Russ Thorsen from Pass Sustainable Agriculture to get all your composting questions answered. This workshop is geared towards beginner composters but advanced composters are welcome as well! Russ brings years of experience with various types of composting, so bring on your questions 😊

This is a FREE, family-friendly community workshop. Childcare will be provided.

This workshop is part of Garfield Farm’s Food and Knowledge to the People Project which aims to increase access to fresh produce, teach skills to grow and preserve food, and provide opportunities for people-to-people knowledge sharing and hands-on experience that helps build the confidence to grow culturally relevant and affordable produce. Many thanks to the SWPA United Way Community Food Solutions Grant program for supporting this project!