Appendix C Additional innovative urban agriculture projects around the nation Growing Power
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Chicago, Illinois
Growing Power also operates five urban farms in Chicago. The following are the brief descriptions of GP’s Chicago farms:
The Chicago Lights Urban Farm This farm is an example of nonprofit and faith-based organization partnership. It was established in 2003 on a former unkempt basketball court, purchased by the Chicago’s Fourth Presbyterian Church. The urban farm, located in the quickly changing neighborhood, empowers neighborhood youth and residents to have increased economic opportunities through access to organic produce, nutritional education, and workforce training.
Grant Park “Art on the Farm” Urban Agriculture Potager This edible potager garden (an ornamental vegetable or kitchen garden) is a prime example of public, private, and nonprofit partnership. In 2005, in partnership with the Chicago Park District and Moore Landscapes, Inc., GP created a 20,000 square foot urban farm in Chicago’s famous Grant Park on the lakefront. Over 150 varieties of heirloom vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers are grown at the urban farm in the heart of downtown Chicago. A major goal of the potager garden is job preparedness for the youth. In addition to regular farm activities, farm interns experience marketing produce and value-added products at a small community farmers market, as well as building customer service and entrepreneurial skills. This partnership demonstrates that the social benefits of urban agriculture reach beyond food security to also encompass education of youth in economic development and reestablishing biodiversity in a city space. Also of great importance is the project’s impact on city policy regarding urban farming. This project seeks to quantify the commercial viability of urban agriculture both in economics and production.
The Jackson Park Urban Farm and Community Allotment Garden In collaboration with the Chicago Park District, GP has since 2007 managed 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 GP to supply fresh produce to Chicago’s South Side. 1
Growing Power web site: www.growingpower.org/chicago
Urban Agriculture 121