Leicester Food Coalition
Community Driven Food Sovereignty | Empowering equitable access to food through connection and education.
The Leicester Food Coalition is a simple concept to better connect and resource individuals and organizations working towards regional food sovereignty. We are currently part of a broad coalition of local partners, utilizing funding from a Dogwood Health Trust Collaboration & Innovation Grant.
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Community Dinners
We host dinners and brunches at our local community centers to share delicious locally grown food and conversation.
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GIVING GARDEN
The Leicester Library Giving Garden grows food in the community to distribute to the community. They operate a free fridge, a seed library, an educational workshop series, and a community orchard.
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Farmers Market
Our local Leicester Farmers Market is hosted by the Leicester Community Center. It runs every Wednesday from May through October (3pm to 630pm). We offer double SNAP.
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Food preservation and preparation workshops
An educational series to reconnect folks to the practice of cooking, preserving, and enjoying seasonal produce from the farm or garden.
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Aggregate Table
At the Leicester Farmers Market, we host an aggregate table. The table is cooperatively managed and brings in produce from multiple local farm partners.
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Community Cafe
An exploratory model to test out cooperative community ideas. At its heart the community cafe is a rural gathering space around food, farming, and community care.
Food Preparation and Preservation Workshops
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Hot Water Bath Canning
July 11, 1 -3 PM
Sandy Mush Community Center
This workshop will cover the skills and knowledge required to safely use a hot water bath canner at home for high-acid food preservation. The class will focus on teaching approved techniques for canning fruits and vegetables that are seasonally abundant, using freshly harvested ingredients from local farms. Together we will prepare a few different varieties of pickles for everyone to take home and enjoy. Participants will also receive recipes, canning jars, and canning kits to support home food preservation.
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Kid's Nutrition
August 8, 10 AM to 12 PM
Leicester Community Center
Growing minds & bodies need proper nourishment! This interactive workshop is targeted for Leicester-area families with children ages 10 and younger. Together we will prepare a delicious & nutritious lunch to enjoy, using fresh ingredients from local farms. Participants will be provided with seasonal produce and recipes, plus seeds to grow fruits & veggies at home! This event will be bilingual, offering Spanish-English content and language integrated learning.
We will have different stations for groups to rotate between, with different children’s activities teaching easy, hands-on food preparation while learning about plants & nutrition. -
Fermentation Class
August 29, 1 - 3 PM
Leicester Community Center
This class will teach participants how to ferment foods, the science behind the process, and how to incorporate fermented foods into their diet. They will learn about the history, culture, and science of fermented foods. We will discuss how microbes produce flavor and other metabolites. This hands-on workshop will go over different ways to ferment vegetables with a variety of herbs & spices, to create sauerkraut, kimchi, beet kvass, mustard, and traditional pickles. Participants will create their own unique ferments, and will be provided with a take-home kit to continue their fermentation experiments at home!
Leicester Food Coalition - Community Calendar
This is a public and sharable calendar to help the community connect to all the incredible work of the Leicester Food Coalition. Whether that’s volunteering at the next Leicester Library Giving Garden workday, or supporting local farms at the Wednesday Leicester Farmers Market.
If you have a local food or farm related event that you’d like us to add to the calendar, or a food access location to add to the map, please email us below. We'll review your message and get back to you within 48 hours.