With the rise of the fast-food industry in recent decades and the availability of so much processed food in mass-market grocery stores, the distance between people and organic food is increasing. Sustainable farming and organic food movements are spreading across the nation as a reaction against the trend to be apathetic about where your food comes from, how nutritious it is, or how much it actually costs to get from the farm where it was grown to your local grocery store. Jones Valley Urban Farm is a part of this movement of back-to-the-basics local farming. JVUF is a non-profit organization based in Birmingham that exists to educate the community about healthy food and give people the opportunity to grow their own food the natural way.

JVUF’s vision is to “be a model sustainable urban farm that teaches youth and the Birmingham community about sustainable agriculture and nutrition through outdoor experiential education.” JVUF grows food at a variety of locations, including 3 acres of vacant property downtown and 7 acres of land at Mount Laurel. Their community garden rents 4×8 foot plots to 30 members who then grow their own organic produce and flowers on it under the guidance of JVUF staff. From the months of May through October, JVUF sells their food, flowers, and herbs to the public at the After Work Farm Stand and Pepper Place Farmers Market. JVUF is also involved in a Food Box program which provides family-sized boxes of fresh fruits, vegetables, and healthy recipes at low cost through a weekly subscription.

Jones Valley Urban Farm does much more than just grow and sell food. They also host a variety of educational programs that inform everyone from pre-schoolers to students to adults about gardening, sustainable farming, and nutrition. Their Second Saturday Education Series invites families, adults, gardeners, and anyone else who wants to play in the dirt to learn more about gardening! The next one is this Saturday, December 12, and the topic is Hunger in the Real World, so visit their website if you’d like more information on that class or any of their other great programs.

In an interview in the Tannehill Trader, Executive Director Edwin Marty shares his hopes of changing Birmingham through Jones Valley Urban Farm: “The vacant land all over Birmingham could be the very earth that feeds the people that aren’t getting enough fresh fruits and vegetables. And it could give those same people jobs and a way to make an honest living. Imagine if Birmingham grew 50% of all its own food!” It seems that JVUF is well on its way to making those hopes into realities as it continues to educate the community and promote healthy food in practical ways.

Each week Bedouins International posts a story. Maybe it’s one we’ve helped to tell, or a story we hope to tell, or it maybe it’s just a story we think deserves to be told. In any case, we hope you find them inspiring and motivating. Read more stories here.

Christmas is a time of giving. Of cookies and warm drinks and story-telling. Bedouins International wants to kick off the holiday season by hosting a party for our friends and community, one complete with snacks, stories, and the chance to hang out with the people who helped us get here in the first place.

So mark it in your calendar/phone/planner: Friday, December 4, at 7:00 p.m. we will have a Night of Storytelling in Apartment #501 in the Phoenix Lofts. This will be a chance for us to reminisce and retell some of our favorite stories from the past two years, three continents, eight countries, and a plethora of projects. It’ll be a time to say “thank you” to those of you who have supported us along the way as well as a chance to let new friends know what we’ve been up to and where we hope to go next.

So come party with us! We’ve created an event on our Facebook fan page for you to find out more details. Hope to see you there!