Nonprofit holds free family event to introduce the community to its new demonstration garden.
(St. Louis, Mo., April 23, 2024) A Red Circle will host its first ice cream social on Sat., June 1 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at its North County Community Nexus located at 9300 Lewis and Clark Blvd. in Bellefontaine Neighbors. The family event is free and open to the public with refreshments provided by Ice Cream King’s ice cream truck. The event will include a tour of the recently installed demonstration garden, which features raised garden beds, planters, and multiple rows of fruit trees.
Scheduled to open in 2025, the Nexus involves the renovation of an existing 43,000-square-foot strip mall and a two-story office building that were purchased by A Red Circle in March 2023. The Nexus is the biggest project in the nonprofit’s history, providing both programming and critical links to strengthen the revitalization of North County’s healthy food infrastructure.
The Nexus will consolidate the nonprofit’s headquarters, a community-owned grocery store, its Learning and Opportunity Center, a bistro, and the recently introduced demonstration garden. There will be rental options available including a storage shed with communal farm equipment, cold storage so farmers can preserve their crops, a commercial kitchen, and office space for health providers.
Founded in 2017, A Red Circle is a nonprofit dedicated to the advancement of racial equity in North St. Louis County, Mo. The organization creates economic and community betterment solutions through education, employment, and empowerment. A Red Circle has four Missouri locations – Healthy Flavor Community Garden in Riverview, North County Agricultural Education Center in Pine Lawn, The Creative Spot in Ferguson, and North County Community Nexus in Bellefontaine Neighbors – to best serve the community and improve wellness opportunities for its citizens who experience healthy food access disparities in the region.
