{"id":349581,"date":"2026-07-23T06:49:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T06:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/349581\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T06:49:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T06:49:09","slug":"4-roots-farm-hosts-community-plant-based-potluck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/349581\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Roots Farm hosts Community Plant-Based Potluck"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the middle of the Packing District in Orlando, the last thing I expected to find was a farm. Especially one that was so quiet and serene, even though it was on such a busy street at 1101 N. John Young Parkway<\/a>. While I knew that I was attending their monthly \u201cCommunity Plant-Based Potluck,\u201d I had no idea what to expect.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(SABRINA HANSEN)<\/p>\n

The event details<\/a> on their website said to bring a dish, but the dish had to have \u201cno animal-based products (that includes meat, chicken, fish. Watch out for chicken broth, fish\/bonita flakes and bacon bits). No dairy (butter, cheese, milk, etc.), egg, or honey.\u201d I am not one to be a master chef, so I\u2019m thankful they provided alternative options to cooking, like bringing fruit.\n<\/p>\n

When I arrived, I walked into what looked like a cafeteria with tables set up at the front where all the food was laid out. When getting closer, I saw just how colorful everything was. It struck me that if this were a barbeque (which I am quite familiar with) the food would not look nearly as vibrant.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(SABRINA HANSEN)<\/p>\n

While I knew no one there, the director of health and nutrition education, Alesia New, greeted me. I apologized for not cooking anything and said that I hoped it was OK that I had just brought fruit.\n<\/p>\n

She said it was wonderful and announced to the room, \u201cWe have fruit!\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(SABRINA HANSEN)<\/p>\n

I jumped in line for the food, and there I struck up some conversations with the people who were waiting with me. I would also hear various conversations, most of which were people identifying which food they had made. Everyone was so friendly, and I could see how conducive the environment was to building community.\n<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(SABRINA HANSEN)<\/p>\n

After I grabbed my plate of fruits, potatoes, black beans, rice noodles, tofu bites and more, I found an open seat. When I asked the table if the seat was taken, they implored me to sit. I continued to strike up conversations with them.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(SABRINA HANSEN)<\/p>\n

While most people go to the store to buy their ingredients, many people at this potluck had grown their own food, including one of the people I dined with, Katie Kamala Haley. She is the founder of Pineapple Peace Garden<\/a>, a nonprofit in Minneola, Florida. Her website says the nonprofit aims to \u201cinspire people to grow organic food and herbal medicine in their own backyards.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

She finds events like these are important as they bring community, especially over something they find in common. She shared that in her opinion, eating plant-based foods means \u201cyou\u2019re eating something that\u2019s alive and it\u2019s vibrant and it\u2019s filled with all kinds of good things for you. It\u2019s fresh and if you grow it, you know exactly where it came from.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Haley sees growing her own food or turning to alternative places to source food as a way for people to exert power. \u201cSupport your farmers is the biggest thing,\u201d Haley said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want our food system to turn into this industrial food system that we have no connection or control over.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Later in the evening, I was able to sit and chat with Alesia New, who had helped put on the potluck. She explained that while she had helped with tonight, she was not the one who started the event when it began in May 2025.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

New said one of the purposes of the event is to teach. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to empower people to make choices,\u201d she said. \u201cA lot of people have a lot of chronic diseases and they don\u2019t realize how they could make a change in their lives with the food that they eat.\u201d She also shared how they have this space as a way to create community, and that it is not a place for judgement but for questions.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

I can attest that I asked a good number of questions and was always met with enthusiasm from participants ready to impart their knowledge. The farm proved to be a great place to nourish not only the body but also the mind as well.\n<\/p>\n

The potlucks occur monthly with the next ones being July 23 and Aug. 27. To register, visit TicketTailor.com\/events\/4roots\/<\/a>.\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the middle of the Packing District in Orlando, the last thing I expected to find was a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":349582,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-349581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=349581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/349582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=349581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=349581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=349581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}