2022 CHANGEMAKERS
URBAN GROWERS COLLECTIVE, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
U
Growers Collective a 2022 Changemaker.
rban Growers Collective provides hands-on job training and career laddering at eight urban farms totaling 11 acres for youth, beginning BIPOC farmers, and men who are at high risk for gun violence. The impact of this organization far outstrips its square footage. We are proud to name Urban
The purpose of the MOSES Changemaker designation is to recognize emerging leaders in the organic farming and food movement who creatively overcome systemic challenges in order to nurture a thriving agricultural future for all. Food insecurity is just one dimension of the system that the Urban Growers Collective is trying to dismantle.
44
Laurell Sims left her hometown of Chicago in 2001, when urban farming was just becoming popular. At the turn of the millennium, the non-profits of this Midwestern city realized that if something happened to the highways flowing into the metropolis, there was perhaps a day’s worth of food in the whole town. Sims, Co-founder of the Urban Growers Collective, reflects that, more than two decades later, food security is still a major issue in Chicago, made even worse by the pandemic. “For so long we siloed food insecurity, lack of housing or unstable housing, access to employment, lack of quality education, and economic development all as separate problems,” says Laurell. “But they are all interconnected. Addressing them as one system also helps tackle issues like gun violence.” The Urban Growers Collective works to create solutions with Chicago communities to get folks what they need. Produce from the farms is available at farmers’ markets, in their “Collective Supported Agriculture” program and through their Fresh Moves Mobile Market. Job training efforts directly help tackle systemic instabilities in the city.
