What started as a downtown community garden in 2011 has grown into a five-farm produce-distribution hub and early childhood garden education nonprofit. Urban Harvest STL just earned a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to open a demonstration garden in Midtown on Grandel Square, one block from the symphony. It’s currently running an end-of-the-year campaign to collect donations for the new garden. “We’re hoping to make that connection between art and agriculture,” executive director Katie Houck says. “Bringing that space to life will be exciting and something we hope to do over the next year.”

Visit urbanharveststl.org for more information.

One Africa! One Nation! Farmers Market creates space for Black farmers and artisans at its O’Fallon Park market during the growing season. “We want to end food apartheid by bringing Black farmers and Black entrepreneurs into the market, circulating dollars within our community to help build this community,” market manager Rage Gray says. “I love doing this work. I believe ending food apartheid is incredibly necessary for Black people to be free and self-determined.” OAON also educates youth and holds a produce giveaway in the Gary Brooks Black Power Community Garden. Last year, it donated more than 1,000 pounds of produce. This winter, the market will work with its parent nonprofit African People’s Education and Defense Fund, to raise funds and volunteers for the Uhuru Wa Kulea Women’s Health Center.

Visit oneafricamarket.com for more information.

Founded in 1988, Food Outreach provides low-income Missouri residents who qualify for the program with Medically Tailored Meals and groceries for pick-up or delivery. “Since the pandemic, we’ve built up our delivery program tenfold,” Justin Kralemann, senior director of development and strategic initiatives, says. “We serve 450 clients per month on home delivery and will probably reach 500 this year.” Food Outreach provides services to anyone who qualifies, regardless of healthcare system and serves individuals living with HIV or cancer. The organization buys all its own food, so monetary donations and volunteer hours are welcome during the holiday season. Last year, 1,250 volunteers donated more than 17,000 hours of their time to Food Outreach.

Visit foodoutreach.org for more information.

Among many other hunger-relief efforts, Operation Food Search gives children backpacks containing meals and snacks for evenings and weekends outside of school meals, which would otherwise be their only source of daily nutrition. “Something that inspires me is the amount of concern and activism among chefs and restaurants,” Jocelyn Fundoukos, OFS director of communications, says. “Gerard Craft came in and did a virtual cooking class as an event for us to raise money, and it was really popular. Some of my friends still pick up some of those ingredients and make what they learned from that cooking lesson.” Right now, OFS is looking for financial donations and volunteers to hold food drives or pack meal kits.

Visit operationfoodsearch.org for more information.

Erica Williams founded A Red Circle in 2017 to increase food access and community development in North County with a racial equity lens. In the face of area grocery stores shuttering, A Red Circle spearheaded the affordable Healthy Community Farmers Market in Riverview. “A neighborhood could crumble in one generation, but it can take multiple generations to fix,” Williams says. The best way to support A Red Circle this winter is by donating money to its new farm-to-table grocery store called People’s Harvest, which is being developed in North County with plans to open in 2025.

Visit aredcircle.org for more information.