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Current updates

4/16 Update:

It has been one month since the fire at St. Joseph's. Your generous support has helped us continue operating the farmstead while also navigating next steps for our former tenants, the historic building, and our future.

While the future timeline for the building restoration remains unknown, we are happy to report that our public events scheduled for next week will resume as planned. Our first weekly Arkansas Food Market that includes 12 local farmers and food producers will take place next Thursday April 24 from 4:30-7:30pm. Our Annual Earth Day Celebration is also Saturday April 26 from 10am-2pm and includes local vendors, live music and performance, goat yoga, free trees and seedlings, interactive activities including the Rover mobile library and yarn decorating, and more fun! *Due to limited parking please try to carpool and follow the signs when you arrive.

We are excited to finally invite the public back to the farmstead (outside) and hope you will join us next week or soon. We will continue these updates as news on the progress of the building becomes available. We are now at 89% funded for our Farmstand resurrection campaign and next month we are organizing an online auction (May 12-18) with many generously donated items, gift certificates, gift baskets, memberships, and more exciting items to share soon. 

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much for all of your support over these past 30 days that have carried us through such a challenging month. We look forward to spring harvests, summer fun and are hopeful for a resurrection.

With Gratitude,

St. Joseph Farmily

4/2 Update:

There have been new developments since our last update one week ago. Engineers were onsite and their initial assessment indicates that fire damage has compromised the structural integrity of the building. As a result, a perimeter fence has been constructed around the building and the structure  will need to be shored up before anyone can gain access. The upcoming weather poses a real threat to the already compromised structure of the building so please continue to send positive thoughts and prayers our way.

St. Joseph Center  continues to pivot in light of these ongoing developments and our current focus remains on the farm and upcoming market season. The year-round Farmstand and store provided a large percentage of revenue that supports our efforts as a nonprofit organization and every day that the St. Joseph farmstand remains closed is a daily loss of income. We also work with over 100 local farmers and food producers who count on spaces like St. Joseph's to earn a living through wholesaling of their products. We have 5 farmers onsite through our Growing Urban Farmers program and harvests have begun. In  a little over 2 months, our blackberry season will be coming to fruition followed by watermelons in our Hunger Relief garden.

Response to the initial fire recovery fund has already helped cover the following costs we’ve endured due to the fire: staff relocation and salary, returning rent and deposits for 30 artists, & loss of income from the  Farmstand, rentals and programming that we continue to incur daily. Continued assistance for our former artists in securing space, materials, and other fundraising efforts is still a priority.

In order for St. Joseph’s to rebound from the daily losses, we will need to resurrect the St. Joseph Farmstand immediately. We have started a new campaign after receiving a $10,000 donation match towards our goal of $40,000 in 1 month. This campaign will help us restock and rebuild after our farmstand lost over $9,000 in inventory so that we can reopen this summer.

We are asking everyone who has pitched in to share our new Help St. Joseph Resurrect Our Farmstand   campaign so that we can reach our goal by May 1. 

Thank you so much for your continued support.

3/23 Update:

The team has been hard at work since the fire Wednesday navigating through a quagmire of details requiring attention after a disaster of this scale. A bit of history to help frame the challenge of navigation. In 2010, the St. Joseph Center of Arkansas signed a 50-year lease for the property with the owner, the Catholic Diocese of Little Rock and assumed all fiscal and management responsibility. As owners, the Diocese is working directly with the insurance company and communicating with SJ.

We learned yesterday that the Diocese has selected East-Harding Construction as lead on the project. The insurance company is working with forensic engineers who will be onsite next week to do inspections. Hopefully, the path forward will be made clearer after the structural integrity of the building has been determined. The good news is, with the exception of the chapel, the interior sustained minimal fire damage. Updates will be posted as they become available.