We are thrilled to be speaking this Tuesday, August 4, at 4 p.m. ET, with Raynise Kelly of Pittsburgh-based Soil Sisters. This community-minded plant nursery, which has been in development for years, and officially launched this January, was founded by Raynise and her sister TaRay, with a mission to:
Address the needs of local communities that are lacking resources, knowledge, and accessibility to fresh produce and seedlings. We are shortening the distance between the grower and the produce that reach your table. By helping all growers, local restaurants, backyard gardeners, school gardens and more to access fresh food and fighting against food apartheid!
TaRay and Raynise Kelly, the duo behind Soil Sisters
After being inspired by her experiences gardening with her grandparents, Raynise enrolled in the Horticulture and Technology program at Bidwell Training Center. Her agriculture career began at Brenckle’s Greenhouse, but after a period there, she decided to focus her learning and skills on growing food instead of decorative plants. Raynise then began working with Grow Pittsburgh at the School Gardens (and she is now the Learning Garden Educator) became a certified herbalist by Stonefruit Community Herbalists.
TaRay developed expertise in growing and tending to plants as part of the University of Pittsburgh Grounds Department. Her experience handling the gardening and landscaping for the university brings a different skill set to Soil Sisters. Together, Raynise and TaRay decided to pursue their business, establishing themselves as voices in the community for food justice. Raynise is a board member of the Hilltop Urban Farm, a member of the Black Urban Gardeners, PA Farmers Union, Western PA Young Farmers Coalition, and has recently joined the working committee of Pittsburgh Food Policy Council. TaRay is a board member of Grow Pittsburgh and a member of The PA Farmer’s Union, as well the Black Urban Gardeners.
Together the sisters operate a plant nursery in the Beltzhoover neighborhood and have held successful seedling sales, though their greenhouse isn’t installed yet and they currently don’t have regular hours open to the public. They are operating an urban garden summer camp this year in McKinley Park, and it has received a huge outpouring of support from the community.
Soil Sisters summer camp
We can’t wait to learn more about the women behind Soil Sisters, and what else they have in the works for the coming year!
Join us on Tuesday, 8/4 at 4 p.m. on Instagram for a great live conversation with Soil Sisters. To watch Instagram Live, be sure to follow PA Eats on Instagram (we’re @pa.eats), and head to the app at 4 p.m. ET. You’ll get an alert that we’re going live, and you can join us there. If you miss the live feed, you can always catch up later, as we save the Q&A sessions to our IGTV page!
- Feature photo: Soil Sisters
