In 2024, CPI received a generous grant award from the City of Cincinnati's Boots on the Ground program and set about growing “Food Champions" around the west side of the city. By working with leadership already present in these neighborhoods, we were able to assist in launching ten inspiring projects, each one unique to the group of individuals who conceived and orchestrated it. These folks brought their vision, goals, friends, volunteers and hard work, and CPI helped guide and finance to establish significant food production. This year, we are inviting our Food Champs to share their stories.
Nate Hale, in his own words…
I want to thank the folks at CPI so much for the support over the past year. The fruit-producing trees and shrubs you provided were of exceptional quality, and the planting event, where we added over 20 trees to our growing orchard, was truly inspiring.
My family and I have immense gratitude for the opportunity to live on and steward this land. We've been transitioning large parts of it from a landscape dominated by a few opportunistic species to a more diverse and balanced ecosystem and incorporating food producing plants.
Our hope is that this space will continue to become a place for sharing, learning, and building community. My background in production agriculture has instilled in me the importance of integrating annual and perennial food production for a sustainable future. For the past several seasons we have been working on the first phase of the design - to establish a productive market garden where we produce annual and perennial fruit and vegetable, and enact practices to improve overall soil health.
The recent planting of orchard trees marks a significant step in realizing our vision for a larger orchard as a part of the whole site design. We're also implementing water management techniques, planting nut trees, and reintroducing native species.
I am incredibly grateful for this partnership in helping us realize this vision and move towards a more resilient way of living and working with the land. I am excited to see how our partnership evolves in the coming years. Food is a beautiful and inspiring aspect of life, and I am grateful for the opportunity to interact with it in this way.
