The Good Page features positive LGBTQ+ news in Central Florida and Tampa Bay, uplifting and inspiring stories highlighting locals in our community. In this issue, we check in with the Blue Trunk Community Network.
In the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, many were left searching for ways to rebuild. But for Itiba and the team behind Blue Trunk Community Network, the devastation became a call to action — a chance to create something deeply rooted in resilience, sustainability and community.
“We were looking to revive this ancestral diasporic tendency that we had as a community throughout the Americas,” Itiba says. “And seeing the way that Puerto Rico and the Caribbean overall responded to those tragedies and emergency moments really made us realize that we didn’t have enough sense of that in our communities as migrants.”
Blue Trunk Community Network was born out of this vision. What started as a grassroots effort has blossomed into a multifaceted organization centered on food sovereignty, sustainable living and cultural empowerment. Over the past seven years, Blue Trunk has cultivated programs that not only provide practical resources but also honor the traditions of collective care and environmental responsibility.
At the heart of their mission is a commitment to ecological sustainability. “We are unable to function properly as communities if the environment that we are in is polluted, unsafe, uncomfortable or inaccessible,” Itiba says. “This is the way that our people were able to manage Earth prior to colonization.”
One of Blue Trunk’s most impactful initiatives is its food drive program, which began in 2020 as a pivot early in the pandemic. Originally, the organization focused on community gardens and food exchanges, but when large gatherings became impossible, they shifted their efforts to direct food distribution. What started as an emergency response effort has now grown into a well-organized operation, reaching over 500 community members across Osceola, Orange and Seminole counties this past year alone.
“The way that our food drives and resource drives happen… it’s very individualized and personalized for the people that are requesting those resources,” Itiba says.
At Blue Trunk, the belief is simple: “People themselves are what create community,” Itiba adds. “You don’t need to be labeled anything to develop yourself as a community member; what matters is creating safe spaces for yourself and those around you.”
This philosophy is woven into everything they do, from fostering mutual aid networks to cultivating spaces where people can gather, share knowledge and support one another. Community isn’t just about shared resources — it’s about belonging, connection and the collective effort to build a more sustainable, empowered future.
For those interested in joining the movement, Blue Trunk offers multiple ways to get involved. Community members can participate in workshops on sustainable living, lend a hand at monthly volunteer events or host a gathering to bring people together in meaningful ways. The organization partners with Central Florida Mutual Aid for these events because they believe in the power of different communities coming together and the importance of leaning on one another.
Beyond food security and environmental education, their work is deeply informed by their lived experience. “The discrimination, the disparities that we’ve experienced, the difficulties that we live day to day are part of who we are,” Itiba says. “And that is reflective of the type of support that we’re seeking and the kind of help that we need.”
Education is also a crucial part of their mission. “The workshops or sometimes round table events create a space where we have a classroom without doors, a university without borders. It allows for us to be educated and learn in a way that’s respectful to our elders, our youth and outside of the academic frame that is very classist,” Itiba says.
Whether through food drives, cultural workshops or community-led initiatives, Blue Trunk Community Network is proving that sustainability isn’t just about the environment — it’s about people.
For more information about Blue Trunk Community Network or to get involved, visit their Instagram or email Info@BlueTrunkGarden.org.
Interested in being featured in The Good Page? Email Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Williams at Jeremy@WatermarkOutNews.com in Central Florida or Managing Editor Ryan Williams-Jent at Ryan@WatermarkOutNews.com in Tampa Bay.
