An Evening of Food, Community, and Conversation

Please join CitySeed in a night of food, community, and conversation -- featuring Chef Chrissy Tracey in conversation with Babz Rawls Ivy. We are thrilled to welcome the community into our new home, and to celebrate our 20 years of creating a just food system in New Haven.

Enjoy light fare from CitySeed's network of food entrepreneurs, Sanctuary Kitchen, and more!

Chef Tracey's books will be available for purchase on site, thanks to our partners at Possible Futures and Bamn Bookz.

About Chef : Christian "Chrissy" Tracey is a first-generation Jamaican American, originally from Connecticut. As a lifelong vegetarian, she transitioned to a vegan diet in 2018—but not before she was able to spend a few months exploring "the other side," trying different meats to understand the flavors this world had to offer. She is passionate about sustainability and climate change matters, and believes that bringing plant-based food to the masses will help decrease our environmental footprint at large. At 27 years old, she is a vegan chef for Bon Appétit and runs a company called Vegan Vibes Meal Prep in Connecticut. Tracey is a CT 30 Under 30 recipient and contributes her excess resources as a business owner to providing low-income families with plant-based meals in New Haven County.

About : Blogger; Social Media Strategist; Speaker; Certified Spiritual Director; Mom; Radio Personality; Support Group Facilitator; Thought Leader. By day, as the Editor-in-chief of the Inner-City News, Babz works to hold the stories and images of Black people sacred. She hosts The LoveBabz LoveTALK radio show each morning on 103.5 WNHH-LP and streamed on www.newhavenindependent.org. By night Babz is all about personal development -- walking people through personal crisis, particularly divorce. Babz holds a B.S.in Business Administration/Marketing and is a National Urban Fellow with a Masters in Public Administration. I am a certified Spiritual Director, holding membership in Spiritual Directors International as well as supervisory oversight at The Mercy Center, Madison CT.

About : Our vision is to provide all New Haven residents with access to fresh, local food and to build economic opportunity in the food system. We believe a just food system is foundational to a thriving community and we actively strive to remove barriers to food access, food entrepreneurship, and local farm viability. CitySeed’s three core programs are designed to support the entire food system – from field to shelf.

Our year-round network of Farmers Markets’ brings local food directly to New Haven neighborhoods while supporting Connecticut farm viability.

Sanctuary Kitchen partners with refugee and immigrant chefs to build economic opportunity and intercultural understanding through food.

CitySeed Incubates is dedicated to breaking down barriers and fostering economic opportunities for aspiring food entrepreneurs in New Haven, in order to build a thriving culture of inclusive economic development through food in Connecticut.

Working at the interface of food security and economic equity, CitySeed works to develop real and lasting solutions.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

CitySeed, 162 James Street, New Haven, United States