An afternoon of local food, line dancing, community gathering, and fundraising among the crops is returning to downtown Birmingham this weekend as Jones Valley Teaching Farm hosts its second annual Gather fundraiser on Saturday, May 30 from 4–7 p.m.

Held at the organization’s Center for Food Education, the picnic-style event supports Jones Valley Teaching Farm’s Good Community Food programs, which work to strengthen Alabama’s food system through food access initiatives, agricultural education, culinary instruction, and support for urban growers and community gardens across the state.

This year’s event will feature food from a lineup of Birmingham favorites including Rusty’s Bar-B-Q, Gus’s Hot Dogs, Dalle Momo, Mez Jay’s Kitchen, Yo’ Mama’s, Salice, Tina’s Market, and members of Les Dames d’Escoffier, alongside locally donated beer and wine, family-friendly activities, line dancing lessons led by Desi Keith of D2 Line Dancing, a silent auction, and a tomato plant sale. Guests are encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs and spend the afternoon gathering outdoors on the downtown farm.

“This is our second year hosting Gather as a community fundraiser, and it really grew out of a response to losing USDA funding,” Jessica Hill, Community Programs Manager for Jones Valley Teaching Farm, said. “For a long time, much of our community programming was supported through USDA grants, so our community advisory board stepped in and said, ‘How can we help sustain this work?’”

Created by JVTF’s Community Advisory Board in 2025, Gather was designed not only to raise operational funding for the organization’s Good Community Food initiatives, but also to deepen community awareness around the programs themselves.

Good Community Food supports a wide range of initiatives throughout Alabama, including the GCF Fellowship program, free and reduced-cost workshops, $5 cooking classes, annual community garden grants, free produce through two JVTF farm stands, and the organization’s Seedling Share program, which provides transplants to more than 45 community gardens statewide.

“Last year, a large portion of the funds raised went directly toward our community garden project fund so we could continue expanding access,” Hill said. “But Gather also supports so many of our broader initiatives, from our Seedling Share program, which provides transplants to more than 45 community gardens across Alabama, to our farm stand, community workshops, and fellowship programs centered around food and education.”

Former Good Community Food fellow and current Community Advisory Board member Elizabeth Reid said the programs have had a personal impact on her own family as well.

“What began as an extension of a gardening hobby has grown into a meaningful commitment to supporting programs that nourish families and communities,” Reid said. “It is an impact we now see at home, where my thirteen-year-old is a self-proclaimed foodie, experimenting with recipes from locally grown produce, fermenting foods, and learning what it means to be part of a passionate community working to ensure good food is accessible to all.”

For Hill, the event’s mission extends beyond fundraising. She said one of the most meaningful aspects of Gather is the way it reflects the larger spirit behind Jones Valley Teaching Farm’s work.

“One of my favorite parts of Gather is seeing the community come together to take care of one another,” Hill said. “At the heart of it all, that’s really what this work is about: growing, sharing, and caring for people through food.”

Founded in 2002, Jones Valley Teaching Farm operates student-centered teaching farms and educational programs that use food as a foundation for learning, environmental stewardship, and workforce development. Through its Youth Pathways and Experiences initiative, Birmingham students participate in paid work-based learning opportunities designed to connect them with future careers and higher education pathways. The organization’s Center for Food Education serves as a broader community hub for food education and outreach across Alabama.

Sponsors for this year’s event include SteelCrest Wealth Management at Morgan Stanley, Compost Only, Rotaract Club of Birmingham, Grassroots Wine, and Cahaba Brewing Company.

Tickets are $75 for adults and $15 for youth ages 5 to 15. Children 4 and under receive free admission. Purchase your tickets for this year’s Gather here.

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