Abbys Organic Community Farm Inc

ABBY'S ORGANIC COMMUNITY FARM HAS BEEN ORGANIZED TO PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC IN ITS COMMUNITY. MORE SPECIFICALLY, THE ORGANIZATION WILL PROVIDE A VARIETY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS REGARDING NUTRITION, HEALTH, AND WELL-BEING THROUGH CLASSES, PRESENTATIONS, AND HANDS ON SESSIONS USING A COMMUNITY GARDEN AND FARM. THESE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS WILL BE OFFERED TO YOUTHS, ADULTS, AND SENIORS IN THE COMMUNITY OF LUTZ, FLORIDA AND THE SURROUNDING AREA. BY PROVIDING THESE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, AOCF WILL HELP TO EDUCATE AND EMPOWER MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY TO ACHIEVE BETTER HEALTH AND WELLNESS THROUGH NUTRITION AND ORGANIC GARDENING AND FARMING.

OUR MISSION AT ABBY'S FARM AND THE START OF PROJECTS ENVISIONED WERE DELAYED SLIGHTLY IN 2015. AS SUCH, WE SPENT THE FIRST PART OF THE YEAR ORGANIZING ADMINISTRATIVELY AND GETTING OUR HOUSE IN ORDER TO PREPARE FOR THIS EXCITING UNDERTAKING. WE BEGAN IN EARNEST BUILDING AND PREPARING THE FIRST PHASE (ROUGHLY 25% OF TOTAL) OF OUR RAISED BEDS GARDENS IN JUNE AND WERE COMPLETED BY THE END OF THE YEAR. OUR GREENHOUSE WAS ORDERED AND DELIVERED IN LATE 2015, BUT WAS NOT OPERATIONAL BY THE END OF THE YEAR. THE COMPOST, FRUIT TREES, BEAUTIFICATION AND HERB PROJECTS WERE ALL BEGUN IN THE FALL OF 2015 AND WILL BE ONGOING PROJECTS THAT ARE NEVER TOTALLY COMPLETE. HOWEVER, THE GROUNDWORK HAS BEEN LAID FOR EXTENSIVE LONG TERM IMPROVEMENT. WE SECURED A DONOR THAT IS WILLING TO UNDERWRITE OUR CHICKEN COOP PROJECT IN 2016 AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THAT THROUGH TO COMPLETION. IN TERMS OF EDUCATION, WE HAD SEVERAL WORKSHOPS BY THE END OF THE YEAR FOCUSING ON GROWING IN RAISED BEDS, HYDROPONICS AND GARDENING IN OUR FLORIDA SOIL AND CONDITIONS. AT YEAR END, WE HAD APPROXIMATELY 50 VOLUNTEERS WITH ROUGHLY 20% (80/20 RULE) OF THAT NUMBER COMING OUT AND WORKING ON THE FARM ON A REGULAR BASIS. THE RESULTS OF ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY ARE LARGELY DUE TO OUR INVESTMENT IN THE WEBSITE AND SUBSEQUENT INVOLVEMENT IN THE VARIOUS SOCIAL MEDIA SITES FOR CONSTANT COMMUNICATION WITH OUR CONSTITUENTS.