Let’s build a Farm to School Movement in West Hartford! Connect with us on Facebook and Instagram to stay updated or contact kim@root2risewh.org.
The root2RISE project was founded on the fundamental belief that all people deserve to feel a sense of belonging to the land.
When was the last time you thought about your relationship to your food? Or the people, the land, and natural world that make it all possible? Our food system has changed dramatically over the past decades but does it serve you well? Does it serve everyone in our community? Is our food system sustainable? Here at root2RISE we have more questions than answers and are eager to walk the path of building a more resilient and just local food system with you.
We believe that making space for these conversations, when rooted in love, compassion and community, has the power to reconnect people to themselves, each other, and the world.
Our Mission: root2RISE is committed to cultivating the relationship between people, land and food. Through intentional education, advocacy and collective action we have the power to transform our community.
Community Farm Share Event
Fall 2025
SAVE THE DATE! Join Farmers and Educators and Artists as we celebrate all that comes from the land around us this harvest season. Visitors will participate in hands-on activities and will have an opportunity to learn about our local food system.
When: Friday, October 3, 2025, 3:30-6:30pm
Where: Webster Walk at Blue Back Square, West Hartford
What we do
Community Farm Share Event. root2RISE organizes this annual, sometimes semi-annual, event to connect farms and residents around fresh, local food and educational experiences to create a deeper understanding of our food system. It is a celebration and open to the entire community.
School garden support. root2RISE has provided support for school gardens by organizing deliveries of soil at no charge, seeds, seedlings and funding for small projects like the construction of garden beds.
Educational programming. root2RISE is available to provide 5-senses, hands-on learning in the garden classroom.
Check out sample Lesson Plans and the Resources page for more information.
Farm to School in West Hartford?
root2RISE hosted an informational webinar last August to explore the Farm to School movement that is growing strong across the US and right here in Connecticut.
By advocating for Farm to School programming in West Hartford, we can 1).get more local food into our cafeterias, 2)offer students and families hands-on, garden-based learning experiences, and 3)deepen students’ relationships with food through education focused on agriculture, health, connection and sustainability.
Contact kim@root2risewh.org to find out how you can help!
Honoring People and Land
Our approach to being in relationship to the land is fundamentally place-based. We wonder…who lived here before us? How did they care for this land and all that is living and non-living? How can we uplift these inherently sustainable life ways today? Through questions like these, we have an opportunity to understand the whole history of this land we call home.
root2RISE honors the strength and resilience, past and present, of the Native peoples of this land - the Tunxis, Wangunk and Saukiog and others (visit https://native-land.ca/). It is with gratitude and humility that we seek to learn all we can about their lives and their legacy of living in reciprocity with the natural world.