Urban Triage is re-introducing urban culture (BLACK Folks) to our original roots, beginning with food, family, and festive fun. On September 16, 2023, the community glue known as a non-profit organization, Urban Triage, whose slogan is "For the people, By the people" rallied Madison's community to 2299 Spring Rose Rd, Verona, WI 53593. This is where Brandi Grayson and her change advocacy agents pulled the community together in celebration of growth, sustainability, and community!
Hold on, don't take the word Harvest Festival lightly. Urban Triage is one of the biggest non-profits in the City of Madison and they are raising the bar to new heights. Last year, Urban Triage hosted the 1st Annual Urban Harvest Festival at the Farley Center for Peace, Justice, and Sustainability where they had been collaborating with farmers to run an agricultural program that educates, feeds, and inspires the community. Ruthanna Hutton-Okpalaeke, Agriculture Program Manager at Urban Triage, is at the helm of their operations at the Farley Center and has worked with the children and guardians throughout the years to get to this point of harvest and commemoration.
When you think of Black non-profits or Black businesses in general the closest we get to being agricultural conscious is going vegan. Not in my almost 20 years of living in Madison Wisconsin have I ever seen or was inspired by farming initiatives. Urban Triage is bridging the gap between BIPOC and harvesting year around. Urban Triage is working to normalize the presence and participation of BIPOC people in the agriculture field by bringing these innovative ideas and experiences to children in a safe environment. The Farley Center is an incubator farm. There’s a lot of different individual farmers and farming groups out there, so they got to be surrounded by other farmers of color and know that they could be in this space too. I think that is what I really wanted for the kids in our program, because we do focus on BIPOC communities in agriculture, and particularly the Black experience in agriculture.” - Ruthanna Hutton-Okpalaeke
No one is born a genius. I believe early exposure to various outlets breeds what we label as geniuses of today. Raise a child on a farm and they will be guaranteed to be more advanced in planting and harvesting veggie crops than a child whose only source of entertainment came from digital devices. Although their peers may be amazed, the magical credit goes to the ability to witness non-traditional outlets. Harvesting is a survival tool like fishing. Give a person fish and they'll eat for the day. Teach a person how to fish and they will eat for a lifetime. Urban Triage could have simply hired their staff to harvest crops and host weekly giveaways of free fruit and produce. But you see, that will only keep our people in a dependent state of mind. UT is leading BLACK folks to the lake without forcing them to drink from the hands of the source.
Urban Triage provides a look behind the curtain with its agriculture program. Community members can see how their food is grown, what it takes to successfully bring a crop to harvest, and what amazing results such work can have when they themselves are able to reap the benefits of their work. While many festivals in Madison and the surrounding area celebrate food and harvest, those festivals are often spaces that can feel isolating and alienating for BIPOC community members when there is little diversity in the people or culture present. That's clearly not the case with UT. Yes, their staff is fly asf! They also take community-facing situations extremely seriously. Put yourself in Brandi Grayson's shoes? Imagine stepping up to the plate to become the unapologetic voice of BLACK folks in Madison, WI? We're already outnumbered as we barely make up 7% of the population in this city. That never discouraged Brandi Grayson aka BG to use her past experiences as fuel to ignite the voiceless. Look at her now. Urban Triage is the go-to organization for all things community oriented. Of course, UT isn't the only org doing the work, but we must be honest. They are covering all bases with implementing change all while empowering a majority BLACK staff and challenging us all to step outside of our comfort zone and be a part of the change we all would love to see not just in Madison, but all around the world. Urban Triage deserves recognition at the highest level in the form of receiving a KEY to the CITY of MADISON.
One of the things that was on Urban Triage's to-do-list last year was, to consider the fact that they have this farm at the Farley Center, and yes, the public can go out there, but that's not where the people Urban Triage is trying to get involved live, said Hutton-Okpalaeke. Very aware of this, one of their programs allows participants to do garden bed installations in Madison and in the surrounding areas. This was very thoughtful because many of the people that visit Urban Triage farm are only farmers at the farm. Only to go home, where they're no longer farmers due to the lack of land resources. This program will allow farming to become applicable on the farm as well as in their residential neighborhoods.
This year, Urban Triage offered a shuttle service to and from their farm. The shuttle services were wheelchair accessible and meet the needs of those differently disabled. All things considered, it is highly recommended to sign-up for the shuttle services if you are disabled and plan on attending the 3rd Annual Urban Harvest Festival, next year.
Some of the event highlights included the enjoyment of Aerial Performers, Stilt Walkers, Children's Museum Activities, Face Painting, Jugglers, Bouncy Houses, Golf Cart Transportation to Urban Triage field, African Drummers, Live Performance from the Cigarette Band out of Milwaukee, Spoken Word by Local Artists, and Dance Performance by NO Boundaries.
Let's not forget about the FREE Food, FREE Wine, FREE Beer, and the latest and greatest musical sounds provided by the multi-platinum producer DJ Pain 1.
PLEASE DONATE!
If you would like to get involved with the next Harvest Festival or any of our upcoming events, please consider donating. What we do and who we are is because of supporters like YOU! You can donate your time by volunteering, or you can donate monetarily by clicking HERE.
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Written by: 1neofmani Pen video/photo/ credit: LessWork Lens | LessWork logo designs by: LessWork & Matt Nemetz of FocalFuse Other Logos ownership: Urban Triage, Kingdom Restaurant, Broadjam, EOTO, Serieux Clothing
Citing Source Credits:
Urban Triage blog Title: "The Urban Way to Harvest Fest" Blog: #39
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