Growing
Power’s Chicago Projects Office officially opened in February of 2002
to manage resource development and the technical assistance needed to assist
emerging Community Food Centers and urban and small farm projects in the
metropolitan Chicago area. By bringing together food related activities
that are typically dispersed, an urban farm as a community food center allows
for an integrated approach to addressing food security, ecological, nutrition
and public health issues.
Urban Farm Sites in Chicago:
Altgeld Gardens Urban Farm
Established 2010
This 2.5-acre urban farm on Chicago's Southside will grow and distribute healthy produce and create job opportunities in one of Chicago's most isolated and impoverished communities. In 2010, Growing Power in partnership with the Chicago Housing Authority employed 150 adults and 40 at-risk youth from the local community. The site currently has one-acre in production and has a large-scale compost and vermicompost systems and a hoop greenhouse for year-round production.
The
Chicago Lights Urban Farm
Established
2003
Located at the intersection of W. Chicago Avenue & N. Hudson Avenue, Chicago, IL 60610.
Since
2003, Growing Power has worked in collaboration with
Chicago’s Fourth Presbyterian Church to facilitate the Chicago
Avenue Community Garden. In 2002, Fourth Presbyterian Church bought property in the Cabrini-Green
community on Chicago Avenue between Hudson and Cleveland. The purchase of this former unkempt basketball court was an outgrowth of
Fourth Church’s forty-year involvement with the children and families living
in Cabrini-Green. As
the neighborhood transitions from low-income “projects” to mixed-income
housing, the overarching goal of the community garden is to help facilitate a
thriving diverse community and ensuring that present residents are not cast
aside in this process of transformation. As the first step in this important
endeavor, Fourth Church with Growing Power’s help, transformed the Chicago
Avenue site into a community garden, as a way to strengthen the church’s
relationship with the families and children in the Cabrini community.
The
urban farm is located in the quickly changing neighborhood adjacent to the Cabrini-Green
row houses. The farm empowers neighborhood youth and residents to have increased economic opportunities through access to organic produce, nutritional education, and work-force training.
Established
2005
Located
in Grant Park at the intersection of E. Congress Parkway & S. Columbus Drive, Chicago, IL 60605.
In
partnership with the Chicago Park District and Moore Landscapes, Inc., Growing
Powe r
created a 20,000 square foot urban farm on Chicago’s lakefront
adjacent to Buckingham Fountain and Lincoln Memorial in Grant Park.
Over 150 varieties of heirloom vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers are grown
at the urban farm in the heart of downtown Chicago.
Our
partnership demonstrates that the
social benefits of
urban agriculture reach beyond local food miles and
food security but also encompass youth economic development and
re-establishing biodiversity through
the production of organic vegetables, herbs and other edibles
in a city space.
A major focus of the program
is job preparedness for young people. Farm interns work together to cultivate,
weed, plant and harvest vegetables, herbs, and flowers that are grown in the
edible potager garden. Also of great importance is the project’s impact
on a city’s policy regarding urban farming. This project seeks to
quantify the commercial viability of urban agriculture both in economics and
production.
Using farming as a hands-on
teaching tool, youth are challenged both mentally and physically, gaining a
broad range of experiences from observation and decision-making to physical
fitness and culinary appreciation. Interns
gain the valuable and unique skill of learning how to produce something,
creating a whole host of entrepreneurial opportunities for their futures. In addition to regular farm activities, farm interns experience marketing
produce and value-added products at small community farmers' market, building
customer service and entrepreneurial skills needed by both farmers and
artists.
Iron Street Urban Farm
Established 2010
Located at 3333 S. Iron Street, Chicago, Illinois 60608.
Iron Street Urban Farm is located in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood. The vision for the urban farm is to "grow" healthy soil and energy, using closed loop ecological practices in order to produce local, healthy, and sustainable food year-round for Chicago. The seven-acre site will included:
- 10 hoop-houses to grow fresh produce year-round;
- aquaponics systems, which will produce healthy Tilapia and Yellow Perch;
- vermicomposting;
- small ruminant husbandry, including chickens, ducks, and rabbits;
- urban apiary with six bee hives;
- urban orchard and vine fruit production;
- green roof production and research; and
- the training an employment of over 40 youth.
- the vision for the site is that it will also include an anaerobic digester to not only create nutrient-rich compost, but renewable energy as well.
- Learn more at www.ironstreetfarm.com.
Established
2007
Located
in Jackson Park at the intersection of S. Cornell Drive & E. Marquette Drive, Chicago, IL 60649.
In
collaboration with the Chicago Park District, Growing Power manages the Jackson
Park Urban Farm and Community Allotment Garden in Chicago. This half-acre
site is used as a community garden for local gardeners and as a model-urban farm
for Growing Power to supply fresh-produce to Chicago’s south side. At the farm, community members learn gardening basics from Growing
Power’s staff and have the opportunity to farm their own plot.
The Jackson Park Urban Farm
includes space for Growing Power to grow produce in raised beds, training and
education of community residents who use allotment plots, youth development,
community outreach through education programs and the availability of locally
grown fresh, safe and healthy food that exceeds certified organic standards.
The growing beds use Growing
Power’s Living Biological Worm System approach and is an active learning tool
to teach youth and adults the importance of closed-loop systems and how to grow
food in urban soil which is often depleted or contaminated. Learning how
to compost using both aerobic and anaerobic digestion methods and the production
of valuable vermicompost and compost tea is stressed and part of the hands-on
training and demonstration both with gardeners and our youth.
View
a slide
show of the Jackson Park farm created by our wonderful volunteers at
the McCormick Foundation,
Interested
in gardening at Jackson Park? Please email Laurell Sims at laurell@growingpower.org or call 773.376.8882.
Education and Outreach:
Youth Program:
Teens work after school and during the summer at all of our urban farm sites in Chicago. In 2010, through our partnership with After School Matters and the Chicago Housing Authority, Growing Power Chicago provided 140 teens the opportunity to get their hands dirty working at active, thriving neighborhood farms. For detailed information regarding our youth program, please click here.
Food Policy:
The Chicago team is actively engaged in policy related work when is comes to urban farming and food security. The Chicago Food Policy Advisory Council (CFPAC) facilitates the development of responsible policies that improve access for Chicago residents to culturally appropriate, nutritionally sound, and affordable food that is grown through environmentally sustainable practices. The CFPAC is a network of organizations and individuals sharing their experiences and concerns about food security in the Chicago region in order to influence policy makers to make informed decisions motivated by the goals of community food security. Erika Allen, our Chicago Projects Manager, is the president of the council and Growing Power staff provides technical support.
The Growing Food and Justice for All Initiative (GFJI) is an initiative aimed at dismantling racism and empowering low-income and communities of color through sustainable and local agriculture. This comprehensive network views dismantling racism as a core principal which brings together social change agents from diverse sectors working to bring about new, healthy and sustainable food systems and supporting and building multicultural leadership in impoverished communities throughout the world.
Volunteer:
Come get your hands dirty and help your community. Find out how to get involved on our volunteer page.
Food Production:
Market Basket Program:
In Chicago, we have 14 active market basket sites. At these sites, neighbors can pick-up fresh produce and share in our farmers bounty. Different from a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program, our Market Basket offers a variety of produce, from local farmers and from small scale wholesalers to create a one-stop produce pick-up. Click here to learn more or sign-up for our Market Basket program.
Farmers Markets:
From May through December, you can get your fresh produce at one of our local markets in Chicagoland. Click here for exact street locations for our markets. The following is a list of markets when you can get your delicious greens and hardy vergetables:
- 61st Street Farmers' Market in Woodlawn on Saturdays;
- Chicago Lights Urban Farm in River North on Saturdays;
- Engelwood Farmers' Market on Thursdays;
- Green City Market in Lincoln Park on Wednesdays and Saturdays;
- Iron Street Urban Farm in Bridgeport on Saturdays.
To find out restaurants and small grocery stores who sell our goods, please click here.
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