MILL CITY GROWS HOSTS “A TOAST TO THE HARVEST” CELEBRATION AND FUNDRAISER FOR FOOD ACCESS ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2022

Tickets are now available at MillCityGrows.org for MCG’s first in-person fundraiser since 2019

[LOWELL, MA] – Lowell-based non-profit Mill City Grows (MCG) continues to commemorate its 10-year Anniversary with a special series of events throughout 2022. Marking MCG’s first in-person fundraiser in three years, “A Toast to the Harvest” will be held on Friday, September 23 from 6pm to 8pm, outdoors on the lawn behind the Tsongas Center (300 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way). Tickets are now on sale at MillCityGrows.org with all proceeds benefitting MCG’s Food Access & Education Programs in Lowell. The event will also celebrate the organization’s ongoing citywide partnerships which have been instrumental to MCG’s impactful food justice work and ten-year history in the community. 

“Connecting in person with our supporters, volunteers, and program participants is adding to our excitement and anticipation,” says Mill City Grows Executive Director Jessica Moore-Wilson. “Creating sustainable pathways to healthy food access in our community takes all of us working together. This event is an opportunity for us to recognize and celebrate this unified effort, and invite the public to join us for the next exciting phase of our organization.”

Mill City Grows’ “A Toast to the Harvest” Fall Fundraiser is part of 10 signature events in 2022 throughout the City of Lowell commemorating MCG’s 10-Year Anniversary. Mill City Grows started as a single community garden in Lowell’s Rotary Club Park in the Back Central neighborhood. After a decade of working with residents, businesses, and city officials, MCG now manages 24 school and community gardens, more than five acres of Urban Farm land, and a range of food distribution and food education programs that engage over 15,000 residents per year. Mill City Grows is committed to ensuring that local foods, from our own urban farms and sourced from other regional growers, is accessible to residents of all income levels. 

As MCG enters its next phase of operations in the City of Lowell, the organization is beginning a planning process in partnership with Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust and Mass Audubon to protect Lowell’s historic Rollie’s Farm by creating an urban wildlife sanctuary, farm, and education center for the community. The public is invited to an upcoming Community Listening and Visioning Session on Wednesday, September 7, from 6pm-8pm at UMass Lowell’s Coburn Hall, to learn more about the Rollie’s Farm Project and share ideas for its future. Details are available at MillCityGrows.org or by calling 978-455-2620.

Mill City Grows’ 10th Anniversary Celebration is made possible with the generosity of MCG’s 10th Anniversary Event Sponsors: Bank of America, The Nancy L. and Richard K. Donahue Foundation, Jim Waldo & Susan Mitchell, Plenus Group, Inc., Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA, Microdesk, Verizon Foundation, Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union, and Enterprise Bank. Additional support is provided by the Mass Cultural Council. Mill City Grows is a recipient of the Cummings Foundation $25 Million Grant Program. 

About Mill City Grows

For the past 10 years, Mill City Grows (MCG) has worked towards food justice in Lowell, Massachusetts, using the following strategies and programs: education in and out of schools, supporting community leadership through community gardens, increasing urban agriculture through urban farming, implementing a mobile market, and empowering people to produce their own food. MCG infuses food production spaces with food education to support their belief that a community that understands how to grow, access, and prepare healthy food will have better quality of life and deeper investment in their local environment. Visit MillCityGrows.org to learn more, and follow MCG on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

###

Contact:
Jessica Moore-Wilson, Executive Director
Jessica@millcitygrows.org
978-455-2620
MillCityGrows.org