Farm-Table Conversations at Crabtree Farms Community Book Club, Chattanooga

Crabtree Farms Community Book Club brings literature to the field. Located at Crabtree Farms of Chattanooga — 1000 E 30th Street, Chattanooga, TN 37407 — this monthly book club gathers locals and visitors for an hour of focused conversation about food, land, sustainability, health, and community. Run as a free program with voluntary donations, the club is a chance to move beyond passive reading into practical exchange with people who garden, teach, cook, and steward urban farmland. Sessions are led by Rogelio Cerezo, Director of Development and Administration at Crabtree Farms, whose childhood memories of family farms shape how he frames stories around place and practice. The meetings are intentionally accessible: participants bring their own copies of the month’s selection (use CURIOUSCRB at Book & Cover for 15% off) and arrive ready to reflect, ask questions, and connect book ideas to the farm’s ongoing workshops, plots, and educational beds. The setting matters. Crabtree Farms is an active educational farm in Chattanooga’s landscape where seasonal plantings, pollinator-friendly borders, and demonstration beds illustrate the intensive, small-scale practices of urban farming. While the book club focuses on ideas, attendees leave with a grounded sense of how those ideas show up in soil, seed-saving, crop schedules, and community food systems. Conversation ranges from recipe histories and agroecology to health equity and land access; the mix of participants — students, staff, local gardeners, and curious neighbors — keeps each hour lively and varied. Practical bits: the club lasts about an hour and is open to people ages 10 and up. Books are not provided, though occasional copies may be on hand; members should acquire that month’s book and can get a discount at Book & Cover by using the online code. The program is offered freely; donations support Crabtree Farms and the facilitator. Contact Chloe Watts at 423-493-9155 or [email protected] with questions. Why go? This is more than a reading group; it’s a place where ideas are tested against raised beds and community programs. For travelers staying in Chattanooga, a session offers a low-effort, high-impact way to meet locals invested in sustainable food systems, learn about urban agriculture practices, and leave with tangible next steps to support local food resilience. At the address on E 30th Street, the book club stitches literature to land in a way that’s practical, convivial, and rooted in real farm work. Sessions are suitable for families and young readers; facilitators encourage questions and local resource sharing, including volunteer opportunities, seed-swap notices, and upcoming workshops that translate dialogue into action. Whether you come for the discussion, the community, or the chance to see urban farming in practice, this book club is a gateway to sustained, place-based learning during a short visit to Chattanooga and beyond.