Tag: #UnityUnlimited

Activism, Community, Donations, Down On the Farm, Events, Faith, Food Equality, Food Insecurity, Food Justice, Health, Hope, Marginalized, Neighbors, Non-Profits, Nutrition, Opal's Farm, Relationships, Role Models, Social Justice, Spirituality, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming, Volunteers, What Can I Do

Day of Service

gregoryjoel

Happy Sunday and the beginning of October! Thank you to everyone who participated in the White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health at the Watch Party on Wednesday. We are so thankful attention is being given to the food insecurity and the health issues that stem from it. The conversation has started and now is the time for action – changing how we think about food, giving access to healthy food for everyone, and pursuing food justice. This is 2022 – there is no reason that 1 in 5 of our kids goes to bed hungry each night.

One of the things that stood out to me the most is that the food advocacy community here in Tarrant County is already doing and growing into many of the actions the conference discussed. We are blessed to have a small but vibrant community of food advocates here in Fort Worth and Opal’s Farm is proud to be part of that community.

In support of the White House Conference and the Administration’s drive end hunger by 2030, Opal’s Farm will be hosting a Day of Service at both the Community Food Bank and Opal’s Farm. Not only will be doing some excellent service work at both places, but we will also be walking “Opal’s Walk for Hunger” from the Community Food Bank to the farm, immediately followed by a celebration of Ms. Opal’s 96th birthday! Please come and join the festivities.

Anxiety, Common Courtesy, Community, Donations, Down On the Farm, Emotional Health, Food Equality, Food Insecurity, Food Justice, Giving, Marginalized, Neighbors, Non-Profits, North Texas Giving Day, Opal's Farm, Prayer, Service to Others, Thoughts From the Porch, Tractors, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming, What Can I Do

Ups and Downs – New People and Thefts

gregoryjoel

I didn’t realize how long it had been since I’ve written a blog post until I saw there was no September posts. Here it is the 25th and the month is almost over. It’s not like nothing has been happening. In fact, it’s busier than ever – some good and some well, you know…

Opal’s Farm started September with hiring a new Assistant Farm Manager, Amber Carr. In three short weeks she’s come to be loved and appreciated by each of us. We have long been trying to grow into the next phase of Opal’s Farm and we finally can do just that. Amber interned with Charlie Blaylock at Shines Farmstand for the last year and brings a wealth of knowledge and incredible drive to Opal’s. We are blessed to have her with us.

Stacey Harwood, our Volunteer Coordinator is no longer a “volunteer” Volunteer Coordinator! We were able to hire Stacey on part-time thanks to a salary grant from the Rainwater Foundation and Grow Southeast. Stacey has been with Opal’s as a volunteer since Spring of 2020 and she is greatly appreciated.

We had a major glitch in operations last Tuesday. We found the fence down and the doors to our shipping container were wide open. About $15,000 worth of equipment was stolen. The thieves cut the fence and loaded everything on our trailer and took off. While it is fortunate that our new Kubota tractor was not touched, the BCS tractor and rotary plow that builds our beds is gone. We now park the Kubota off-site for security reasons. The police said that several sites were hit in the last couple of weeks. Apparently, these people are professional thieves. Given the tools necessary to cause the break-in damage it makes sense…

They weren’t messing around.

For this reason, we are setting up a Go Fund Me account to help replace the stolen equipment and install additional security measures. While no security systems are perfect, we try to give thieves reason to think twice before attempting to break in. You can always donate directly to Unity Unlimited and the Opal’s Farm page. Please be sure to mark what it’s for.

I know the North Texas Giving Day was last Wednesday, but we are asking to consider this a special, immediate need. This has hampered and slowed our operations in many ways. Anything you can give would be a great help and so appreciated.

Anniversaries, Awe, Children, Community, Democracy, Down On the Farm, Equal Rights, Events, Faith, Family, Farmers Markets, Fireworks, Food Justice, Freedom, Generations, Grandchildren, Gratitude, Heroes, History, Honor, Hope, Neighbors, Non-Profits, Opal's Farm, Persistence, Revival, Service Organizations, Service to Others, Social Justice, Spirituality, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming, What Can I Do

Happy Juneteenth! Happy Freedom Day!

gregoryjoel

Opal’s Farm celebrated Juneteenth in a big way this year. We missed Miss Opal’s Walk to Freedom since we were at Cowtown Farmers Market yesterday, we had a record-breaking day in produce sales at the market! Thank you to all our friends and customers – many of whom were first time visitors to the market – who came out to wish us well and celebrate the Juneteenth weekend with us. You made our day extra special!

We loaded up the market stuff and headed to Panther Island Pavilion for the I Am Juneteenth Festival where we saw many old friends and met many new ones. It was even bigger and better that last years party and highlighted Freedom Day for us all. Many new vendors and food trucks came, and all ate well. Thank you, Miss JoAnn, and Miss Mattie’s Food Truck for the amazing food! You hold a special place in our heart. We look forward to seeing you every chance we get (and tomatoes are coming your way!).

The Dock Bookstore sat up right across from us, which was a real treat. The Dock has been at Meadowbrook and Handley Drive for fourteen years. Please drop by sometime to enjoy what a bookstore is supposed to be. Celebrate and support our local businesses that are so vital to our community.

The music and entertainment were terrific. Fireworks ended the evening of celebration with a spectacular show reminding each one of us that freedom is to be celebrated from June 19th through July 4th. It’s freedom for all of us regardless of race, religion, or politics. It’s time to celebrate our shared humanity and press on to a better community.

Miss Opal’s Walk to Freedom 2022 –
Miss Opal and Unity’s Executive Director Ms. Dione Sims

Ms. Opal addressed the crowd and then came to our booth to meet, greet, and sign copies of her children’s book, Juneteenth. I watched as the line grew long to meet “The Grandmother of Juneteenth”. Parents asks for pictures of Ms. Opal with their kids and themselves. They wanted their children to understand the history of Juneteenth and Ms. Opal’s life of advocacy and activism. I was mesmerized by the way she touches the hearts of everyone she meets, but especially the children. The message she sends is always the same – there’s much to be done. Know where you’ve been so you know where you’re going. Acknowledge the past so we can all move forward. Love others – especially in the small ways – and remember we all bleed red, we’re all brothers and sisters, and above all, each one of us are God’s children. Treat God’s kids well.

On this special Juneteenth – Freedom Day – I can’t think of anything better to do than that…

Ms. Opal and Gubernatorial Candidate
Beto O’Rourke
Community, Down On the Farm, Environment, Events, Farmers Markets, Food Equality, Food Justice, Gardening, Health, Neighbors, Non-Profits, Opal's Farm, Relationships, Service Organizations, Service to Others, Simplicity, Spirituality, Spring, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming, Volunteers

New Market This Saturday!

gregoryjoel

It rained last night! That’s a major news flash this Spring. I went to the farm today after the road dried up enough to pass and found the first ripe tomato of the season! I’d love to say it’s going to market, but it didn’t quite make it home. Enough said…

We are so grateful for the rain. Everything is looking so good. There’s something special found in God’s watering system that outperforms even the best of human irrigation. It seems like everything grew a couple of inches overnight. I hope to be bringing some variety to Cowtown Farmers Market this Saturday. Be sure and get there early before it sells out!

This coming Saturday, April 3oth, we will be leaving after Cowtown Farmers Market and setting up at the Funkytown Mindful Market at Texas Wesleyan University for the Polytechnic Heights neighborhood. It promises to be a wonderful day full of family fun, wellness, and developing healthy habits. I hope to see you all there. We are grateful to be a part of the festivities and hope we can continue to bring healthy, fresh local produce to our neighbors.

Funkytown Mindful Market

Join us at the Mindful Market for an eventful day to engage in mindful habits and support vendors that are providing services to improve our longevity.

Enjoy a plant-based meal or explore mindful movements that can help you start your journey to longevity.

April 30th, 2022 from 10:00AM to 4:00PM

Texas Wesleyan University

3200 E. Rosedale Street | Fort Worth Texas | 76105

Bad Weather, Community, Culture, Down On the Farm, Events, Generations, History, Hope, Neighbors, Opal's Farm, Relationships, Role Models, Service to Others, Social Justice, Truth, Unity Unlimited, Inc., What Can I Do

New Date!

gregoryjoel

Good Icy Texas Morning to you all! It’s not as cold as yesterday but it looks like this front is sticking around longer than we’d like and the roads are still treacherous. We’ve rescheduled “A New Community Vision for Fort Worth” for March 9th at TCC South Campus. We want a strong showing from our community so please come. The evening features a conversation with Ms. Opal Lee well as a showcase by Ballet Folklorico Fort Worth, Inc.

Unity Unlimited, Inc. is so pleased to be hosting this event. The registration link is https://dallastrht.org/event/a-new-community-vision-for-fort-worth/