Before we get too far into 2025, we are taking a moment to reflect on some of the notable moments of 2024. It was another amazing year for our fast-growing nonprofit. Here are a few highlights:

• We opened a retail store, where area farmers and food producers have one more way to reach Roanoke shoppers. Every Wednesday through Friday, Roanokers can find fresh vegetables, locally grown fruits, local eggs and cheeses, farm-raised meats (often cuts not carried in national grocery chains) plus home-grown honey and hot sauce, locally milled grains, and locally roasted coffee. The store allows us to forge relationships with more farmers and add more local food to our regional food systems.
• LEAP Kitchen Manager Jeff Bland cooked like crazy in the processing kitchen that launched this year in The LEAP Hub. Have you seen those frozen vegetables, soups, and specialty items for sale in the LEAP Community Store and Mobile Market? They’re chopped, stirred, and baked by Jeff, with the help of a dedicated team of volunteers, community groups who sign up to help, and interns. Processing is a way to extend the life of our region’s seasonal foods. It also makes the food more accessible to many of our customers.
• Grandin Village Farmers Market supported more vendors, served more customers, held more special events, and hosted more markets than it ever has. And weren’t those special events fun? Here’s to more Love Your Honeys and Pepper Paloozas in 2025!
• At West End Farmers Market, we secured funding so we could offer $5 in tokens to every child (ages 2-17), all year. This program gave familiesa reason to stop after school and work. It gave kids a chance to try new foods that they chose themselves, to interact with farmers, and to work on their math skills. It also created a truly special community, with families gathering for visits, Roanoke City Public Libraries committing to hand out free books, and even a volunteer who began reading to children at the market.
• In Mountain View Community Garden, volunteers built new handicapped accessible growing beds; local businesses collaborated on a "barden" for hanging out; and an amazing team of volunteers from Home Depot painted the pavilion. We’re also excited to see the front beds at The LEAP Hub grow into an interactive teaching garden.
• We can’t wrap up this reflection without lifting up our successful Golden Cactus ‘Fun’draiser, our fruitful October fund drive, and the many events held by LEAP supporters, sponsors, and donors on our behalf. Every donation, roundup, special event, and raffle ticket purchased made it possible for LEAP to keep hosting our farmers markets, stocking our fridges, and driving fresh food to our Mobile Market stops. Thank you!