Gardening Conference Encourages Growth

By Becca Smith
Community Garden Coordinator, Tarrant Area Food Bank

Farmers, gardeners and individuals from all over DFW and the North Texas region are invited to attend Tarrant Area Food Bank’s Dig Deep conference as a means to network, explore important aspects of growing and hear about the work being done in our area to help end hunger and promote a healthier community.

We have set the date for July 16, 2016 at UNT Health Science Center’s MET building in Fort Worth. We are excited to bring the event to a campus that focuses so much on sustainability and has a thriving community garden of their own.

This year, we are offering three tracks focused on community gardening, homestead gardening, and urban farming. Within each track, we have invited speakers to present on topics relating to technical instruction (how-tos), operations and management and social/community engagement. The sessions will have a little something for everyone with topics ranging from “Working with Children in the Garden” to “Food Justice and Community Food Systems.” We are excited to be able to offer such a wide variety of topics presented by some of the most knowledgeable people in their fields. Conference attendees will certainly benefit immensely from any session they attend.

The purpose of the conference goes beyond sharing knowledge and information with a group of like-minded people. Community gardening and fruit and vegetable cultivation has been a tool used by Tarrant Area Food Bank for several years as a part of our mission to “empower communities to eliminate hunger by providing food, education and resources through innovation and collaboration.” While building our own community garden program and furthering our own education, we noticed a lack of networking and group education resources for growers in North Texas, thus Dig Deep was formed.

Dig Deep is not just for the experienced grower. We encourage gardeners, farmers and community members of all experience levels to attend this event. Join the Tarrant Area Food Bank, UNT Health Science Center and organizations and individuals from all over North Texas at Dig Deep: A Conference for Growers. Register today.