Community Works provides micro-enterprise opportunities that enable our friends who have experienced homelessness to earn a dignified income. This program empowers Mobile Loaves & Fishes volunteers to serve alongside our friends as they develop new skills, while also building enduring relationships. Micro-enterprise opportunities available through Community Works include gardening, art, blacksmithing, woodworking and concessions.
Genesis Gardens
Through Genesis Gardens, neighbors from all over Austin come together to roll up their sleeves and engage with Community First! residents, practice hospitality, recall what it means to put down roots, and share the abundance of our yields. The bounty from the garden is washed, bunched, canned, pickled, preserved or cooked and provided to neighbors throughout the Village — giving them direct access to the best vegetables on Earth!
The farm at Community First! Village features:
- More than 3 acres of organic vegetable production
- Hundreds of fruit and nut-bearing trees
- Dairy goats, chickens, rabbits, donkeys and honeybees
- Geodome and aquaponics system
Community Art House
The Community Art House provides a means through which our highly creative artists at Community First! produce and sell some of the best works of art in Austin. The art program provides a safe and supportive environment that fosters healing and creative expression for our formerly homeless friends. Mobile Loaves & Fishes partners with our Community First! artists to assist with the promotion and sale of their artwork, supporting their efforts to earn a dignified income through the beautiful use of their God-given talents.
Community Forge & Woodshop
The Community Forge & Woodshop empowers our Community First! friends to engage in the creation of timeless crafts while also earning a dignified income. Through blacksmithing, woodworking and a range of other projects, the men and women in this Community Works program become part of a restorative journey toward social contribution, financial stability and a mastery of handcrafting skills.
Our craftsmen and artists receive 100% of the profit from the sale of their products, enabling them to become more settled and experience greater stability in Community First! Village. They also encounter a greater sense of purpose, healing and friendships — foundational components of life that every person needs and deserves.
Learn more about the Community Forge, see our portfolio of work, commission a project, and find other ways to get involved.
Community Concessions & Catering
Every dollar makes change. Our Community Catering & Concessions program provides opportunities for Community First! residents to earn a dignified income while helping to prepare and deliver meals, treats and refreshments during privately-catered and Village-wide events.
The Community Catering & Concessions family includes the Community Grille, delivering “Honest to Goodness” hamburgers, hot dogs, Frito pies, candy, popcorn, s’mores kits, drinks and other treats for the soul; and the Goodness Grille, for preparing and serving brisket and other carnivore-friendly meals at large events.
