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Chefs in the Garden 2024

July 29, 2024

Growing Hope Announces Return of Chefs in the Garden Fundraiser with Two-Night Dinner Series


YPSILANTI, Mich. (July 2024) – Growing Hope is thrilled to announce the return of the beloved Chefs in the Garden fundraiser, set to take place on Sept. 15, 2024, and Sept. 22, 2024, at the Growing Hope Farm in Ypsilanti. Beginning at 5 pm each evening, the two-part dinner series featuring celebrated chefs Kiki Louya and Ji Hye Kim will offer an experience of local farm-to-table food and encourage support for strengthening our local food system. In addition to the memorable dining experience, attendees will enjoy auctions, raffles, and live entertainment. 


After a break in 2023, guests can expect to experience the first Chefs in the Garden joint fundraiser with the partnership of Detroit Food Academy on Sept. 15th. Both organizations share a mission for youth programming in local food systems through culinary arts, sustainable farming, entrepreneurship, education, and leadership in local communities. The evening will feature a three-course dinner with dessert, prepared by Chef Kiki Louya, recognized as one of “16 Black Chefs Changing Food in America” by the New York Times and other notable chefs from Detroit Food Academy. Working alongside teen program participants from Detroit Food Academy and Growing Hope, this collaboration showcases culinary talent and highlights the importance of youth engagement in food systems. 


Growing Hope is delighted to welcome back Chef Ji Hye Kim, award-winning chef/owner of Miss Kim in Ann Arbor. Known for her food rooted in Korean tradition and adapted to showcase Michigan’s bountiful produce, her family-style meal will shine seasonally and locally. Her return to Chefs in the Garden is highly anticipated, as she is committed to prioritizing fair wages, benefits, and equity in the industry and has participated in programs like James Beard Chef Boot Camp for Policy Change and Food Lab Detroit’s Fellowship for Change in Food and Labor.


Tickets for each evening of Chefs in the Garden will be available starting July 29. Tickets for the Sept. 15 event with Chef Kiki Louya are priced at $150, and tickets for the Sept. 22 event with Chef Ji Hye Kim are priced at $125. All proceeds from the Sept. 15 event will support Detroit Food Academy and Growing Hope’s efforts in empowering Detroit and Ypsilanti youth. “I am beyond excited to host these phenomenal, mission-minded chefs at our farm this season; I think our community is in for a truly transformational meal.” -Julius Buzzard, Executive Director.



You can purchase tickets for September 15 with Detroit Food Academy and September 22 with Chef Ji Hye Kim online on or after July 29.


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By Julius Buzzard April 1, 2025
Happy Earth Month!  Spring arrives with a quiet urgency. The thawing ground reminds us of the resilience of our land, of the ancestors who tilled it, and of the communities who still gather to nurture its abundance. But this year, as we step into Earth Month, I carry a deep and growing concern for the future of our food system—one that has been shaken by policy decisions that threaten the very foundation of food sovereignty in Ypsilanti and beyond. The recent funding freezes and budget cuts—from the loss of the Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) program to the closure of USDA offices—are not just bureaucratic shifts; they are existential threats to our farmers, our food access programs, and the families who rely on them. I have sat across the table from our legislators, pressing them on these cuts and their real-life consequences. Time and time again, I have asked them: How will our small farmers recover from the sudden disappearance of revenue they had come to rely on? How will low-income communities access fresh, local produce when the programs designed to bridge that gap are gutted? The answers, when they come at all, ring hollow. And the weight of these decisions falls heaviest on Black farmers. Over the past few months, I have spoken to Black farmers across the state who have lost tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding. Each has asked to remain anonymous, fearing retaliation if they speak out. We’ve spent years investing in trust—through policy change, the Washtenaw County Black Farmers Fund, and steadfast community advocacy—and now, that trust has been shattered. The jar that held every marble of faith and progress has been smashed to the ground. I am deeply concerned about the long-term implications of these actions—not just for our farmers but for the fight for equity in our food system as a whole. If we continue down this path, we will see more land lost, more livelihoods destroyed, and more barriers to sovereignty erected. But let me be clear: while these attacks are meant to dishearten us, they will not stop us. Hope is not lost. We are building and investing in a local food system that ensures the right to food for all. We are planting, growing, and sharing. We are organizing, advocating, and refusing to be silenced. Our programs at Growing Hope continue to provide fresh, local produce to our neighbors, even as the environment shifts around us. We continue to uplift local growers, ensuring they have the resources they need to weather this storm as they have weathered past storms and will weather future storms. We demand that our legislators listen—not just to us but to the land itself, which has long whispered the truth of what justice looks like. This Earth Month, as we honor and commune with Mother Earth and the ancestors who fought for our right to grow, we reaffirm our commitment to a just and sovereign food system. We will not let short-sighted policies or political indifference derail the work of generations. And we ask you to join us—whether by growing, sharing, advocating, or simply refusing to look away. In solidarity, Julius P.S. If you’re looking for a practical way to participate and support our local food system, visit and become a friend of the market , where we’re reimagining how we invest in and support growers, eaters, and everything in between.
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