#RivieraRoots celebrating climate-conscious gardening and green living
THIS WEEKEND, THE CITY OF RIVIERA BEACH IS CELEBRATING AN INITIATIVE GEARED TOWARDS GREEN LIVING. HERE TO TELL US MORE ABOUT THAT. AND SATURDAY’S EVENT IS MALIKA BROWN, THE CEO OF EA ROADMAP. THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE WITH US. WE APPRECIATE IT. SO FIRST I WANT TO TALK ABOUT RIVIERA ROOTS. WHAT IS THAT EXACTLY? SO WE DECIDED TO LAUNCH AN INITIATIVE AROUND GARDENING. WE PARTNERED WITH THE CITY OF RIVIERA BEACH ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO IN RESPONSE TO COVID. WE LAUNCHED OUR INITIATIVE, OPERATION NO FOOD GAP, AND WE ESTABLISHED AN URBAN FARM. SO WE WORKED WITH RESIDENTS FOR RESIDENTS, AND WE GREW ORGANIC PRODUCE ALONGSIDE. AND EACH YEAR WE HARVESTED ABOUT 14,000 POUNDS OF NON-GMO, ORGANIC PRODUCE. AND SO THE CITY IS EVOLVING. AND SO NOW THAT PROJECT IS KIND OF SUNSET. SO WE SAID, IF WE’RE GOING TO REMOVE THE FOOD, HOW CAN WE REPLACE IT? AND THAT’S WHERE RIVIERA ROOTS CAME INTO PLAY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. AND THIS IS A CITYWIDE INITIATIVE RIGHT. YES, YES. AND SO WHAT WE DECIDED TO DO WAS RUN A PROGRAM OVER EIGHT WEEKS, AND WE HAVE AN AMAZING PARTNER, BIG GREEN, A NATIONWIDE ORGANIZATION WHO FOCUSES ON GROWING FOOD. AND SO THEY MADE AN ANONYMOUS DONATION TO US. AND WE MADE THE DONATION TO THE CITY. SO WE FEATURED AN EIGHT WEEK PROGRAM WHERE WE ROTATED THROUGHOUT THE CITY. WE DID WORKSHOPS, WE TAUGHT PEOPLE ABOUT GARDENING. WE GAVE OUT AT LEAST 500 TO 700 GROW KITS FOR RESIDENTS TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO DO IT. WE ALSO ESTABLISHED THE RIVIERA BEACH ENVIRONMENTAL DETECTIVES WITH THE YOUTH, SO THEY COULD PRETTY MUCH EXPLORE THE INTERSECTION BETWEEN CLIMATE CHANGE AND FOOD INSECURITY. AND WE WERE WE’RE NOT. YEAH, WE’RE NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT RESIDENTS OF RIVIERA BEACH, BUT YOU HAVE, LIKE YOU SAID, YOUTH CHEFS COMING IN, YOU KNOW, JUST TO BE ABLE TO TAKE PART. RIGHT. AND WE’VE BEEN DOING THAT FOR YEARS. BUT WE UNDERSTAND THAT WE NEED TO EAT HEALTHY. BUT HOW DO WE MAKE HEALTHY FOOD TASTE GOOD. SO THAT’S WHY WE HAVE THE CHEFS. SO THE EVENT ON SATURDAY IS GOING TO BE SUPER FUN. WE’RE GOING TO SHOWCASE INLET GROVE AND THEIR CULINARY DEPARTMENT WILL ALSO SHOWCASE A RESIDENT CHEF, ANOTHER CHEF. BOUNCE HOUSES, ALL KIND OF ART THERAPY WORKSHOPS. WE’LL HAVE WYNWOOD BUGGIES THERE AS WELL BECAUSE WE ESTABLISHED TWO NEW GARDENS IN THE CITY AND CREATED MURALS AS WELL. SO IT’S GOING TO BE A GREAT EVENT. AND BEFORE WE WRAP UP E ROADMAP, HOW DOES THAT ALL KIND OF GET INCORPORATED INTO THIS? YOU KNOW, SO E ROADMAP IS OUR ORGANIZATION AND WE LAUNCH OPERATIONAL FOOD GAP IN RESPONSE TO COVID. SO WE REALLY WANTED TO ADDRESS AND REMOVE BARRIERS TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO ACCESS NUTRITIOUS FOOD. THE IDEA IS ALL ABOUT FOOD SOVEREIGNTY. YOUR ZIP CODE SHOULD NOT DICTATE YOUR ACCESS TO HEALTHY FOOD. SO THAT’S OUR ROLE. A GREAT ORGANIZATION, A GREAT PARTNERSHIP, AND JUST DONE SO MUCH, YOU KNOW, OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS AND CONTINUING TO DO SO WELL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. AND IF YOU WANT TO TAKE PART IN THE CELEBRATION IN THE EVENT ON SATURDAY, WE’VE PUT ALL OF THE INFO
#RivieraRoots celebrating climate-conscious gardening and green living
Updated: 12:41 PM EDT Sep 18, 2025
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#RivieraRoots brings together young people, chefs, gardeners and residents of Riviera Beach to promote climate-conscious gardening and green living in Riviera Beach. The city is celebrating the city-wide initiative on Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Dan Calloway-Tate Recreation Center in Riviera Beach. For more information, click here.
#RivieraRoots brings together young people, chefs, gardeners and residents of Riviera Beach to promote climate-conscious gardening and green living in Riviera Beach.
The city is celebrating the city-wide initiative on Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Dan Calloway-Tate Recreation Center in Riviera Beach.
For more information, click here.
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