Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/15
Outputs
Target Audience:This project engaged limited resource beginning farmers as well as individuals from the general public seeking professional training and certification for work in Chicago's growing urban agriculture sector and the local food system. Combined educational initiatives over the three-year grant period reached a total of 1,592 individuals. Participants in Windy City Harvest's sustainable urban agriculture training continuum included Youth Farm, a youth development program; Apprenticeship, a nine-month training certificate delivered in partnership with the City Colleges of Chicago; Harvest Corps, an educational and transitional jobs program for justice-involved youth and adults; and Entrepreneurship & Careers, which offers 14-week industry-specific evening courses and weekend workshops as well as the farmer incubator program. Staff leveraged partnerships with community-based organizations to reach socially disadvantaged individuals in Chicago's low-resource communities, an audience not typically engaged in agriculture initiatives. Out of the 611 participants for whom demographic data was collected, 423 (69%) identified as African American, 95 (16%) as Hispanic/Latino, and six (1%) as multiracial (combined total of 86%). Additionally, 486 (80%) qualified as limited resource. Limited resource status was measured by self-reported household income (based on a form developed by WCH in partnership with Daley College), history of incarceration, or eligibility for free or reduced lunch under the National School Lunch Program. Changes/Problems:The Windy City Harvest program was delivered from September 1, 2012, to August 31, 2015, in a remarkably similar fashion to what was originally proposed in November 2011. In most cases, goals were exceeded. However, some difficulties were encountered. The elimination of the program at the Cook County Sheriff's Boot Camp (also known as the Vocational Rehabilitation Impact Center) reduced the Garden's ability to deliver on objective one, since fewer Boot Camp residents completed garden training (95 versus 180-240 projected). However, the transitional jobs component continued, and the Garden engaged more ex-offenders than originally projected through WCH Corps. One other problem encountered resulted in fewer industry-specific certificates developed. Four of the six certificates were developed and delivered, engaging more individuals than anticipated. However the composting certificate was put permanently on hold due to insurmountable city regulations relating to composting. The value-added products certificate had to be delayed due to the lack of commercial kitchen or partner with this kind of facility, but this certificate will move forward when the Lawndale Christian Health Center facility is built. Staff plans for this certificate to launch in fall 2016. Small changes were made to the incubator program as that part of Windy City Harvest was refined and updated to respond to farmers' needs and the site's capacity, leading to even better results. Overall the most significant unexpected outcome generated as the result of the BFRDP grant is the incredible growth in Windy City Harvest's profile over the past few years. The program has harnessed new partners, received significant media attention, and been identified as a leader in sustainable urban agriculture and its application to workforce development and health in the Chicago region. One example includes the Clinton Global Initiative's endorsement of Windy City Harvest's commitment to "Resilient Communities: Jobs, Food, and Health." Another is Windy City Harvest's recent participation in FarmAid40, when a former WCH incubator farmer and current employee appeared on stage with Willie Nelson and other music legends to talk about urban farming. The Chicago Tribune's October 2015 editorial, full of praise for WCH's leadership and its ability to harness urban agriculture to improve the city, is yet another incarnation of this success. These results were made possible through USDA's support, which helped WCH grow in new ways to develop beginning farmers in Chicago. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?WCH's steadily growing reputation as a leader in urban agriculture and social enterprise has provided numerous opportunities to educate the public and other industry professionals about the program model, reaching more than 8,700 individuals. Highlights include participation in the 2013 through2015 Good Food Festivals, where WCH staff presented workshops to the public--on topics such as home scale aquaponics and vermicomposting. Project leader Angela Mason presented the program as part of a keynote panel on sustainable agriculture at the Chicago Botanic Garden's World Environment Day (WED) alongside Danielle Nierenberg, founder of Food Tank, and other industry leaders. In 2014, Mason was selected by an advisory board, conference staff, and the public to conduct a panel session at South by Southwest (SXSW) Eco, a prominent conference that brings environmental experts together to engage and co-create solutions for a more sustainable world. A list of select presentations and workshops follows: • EcoFarm Conference, Urban Agriculture Panel Presentation, January 23, 2013 • Chicago Botanic Garden, facilitator training, February 2, 2013 • Calumet in my Backyard Environmental Leadership Day, Field Museum, food desert problem-solving session, February 15, 2013 • Youth Farm program model presented at Roberti Community House's Leave No Child Inside Day, March 14, 2013 • Good Food Festival, Higher Education Panel Presentation, March 15, 2013 • Conference for Innovative Education, March 23, 2013 • Youth Farm program model presented at Waukegan Public Library's Dia de los Ninos event, April 21, 2013 • "Food System Chain Game," Rooted in Community Youth Leadership Conference, July 25, 2013 • North Chicago Community Days, Leave No Child Inside activities, August 3-4, 2013 • Good Food Festival, Public Private Partnerships, March 14, 2014 • Good Food Festival, So You Want To Be a Farmer, March 14, 2014 • University of Illinois, Chicago, Urban Planning Conference, Incubator Farmer Training, Feb. 2014 • Reaching Resilience, -Growing Farmers in the Midwest, April 9, 2014 • Chicago Botanic Garden Facilitator Training, Youth Development on a Sustainable Urban Farm, February 22, 2014 • Illinois Specialty Crop Conference, Food Safety at Your Farm, January 8, 2014 • Wheaton College, From the Ground Up: Social Movements and Soil Improvement, February 28, 2014 • Barrington Area Public Library, Flower Power, April 24, 2014 • Garfield Park Conservatory, Green and Growing Fair, March 22, 2014 • Abbott Green Partner Greening Your Home Garden, May 13, 2014 • Chicago Botanic Garden Corporate Roundtable on Sustainability: McCormick Place Rooftop and • Corporate Campus Gardens, May 10, 2014 • Advocates for Urban Agriculture, Incubator Programs in Chicagoland Area, May 14, 2014 • Good Greens Meeting, Incubator Programs, May 20, 2014 • MACE Sodexo, Utilizing Local Produce in Your Catering Events, May 6, 2014 • Chicago Botanic Garden School Garden Conference, Curriculum Development and School Gardens June 28, 2014 • Chicago State University Environmental Leaders of Change Career Panel, April 24, 2014 • Erie House Community Health Fair, Making Green Smoothies with Fresh Vegetables, June 20, 2014 • American Community Gardening Association, Chicago Food System Chain Gang, August 8, 2014 • KAM Isaiah Isreal MLK Food Justice and Sustainability Weekend, Season Extension in Urban Agriculture, January 17, 2014 • Youth Development in the North Lawndale Community, August 19, 2014 • Windy City Sustainability, Chicago, Sustainability in Agriculture Education, September 18, 2014 • Youth Voices Conference, The Youth Experience at WCH Youth Farm, October 17, 2014 • Chicago Botanic Garden facilitator trainings, January 31, 2015, and February 24, 2015 • North Chicago High School Parent Resource Fair, February 2, 2015 • "Beyond the School Lunch," ArtWorks Chicago, February 28, 2015 • "Food System Chain Game" and "History of Agriculture," Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep Earth Day celebration, April 5, 2015 • "Cultural Studies of Science Education," University of Illinois - Chicago, April 15, 2015 • Presentation to Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children (CLOCC), Lawndale Christian Health Center, April 16, 2015 • WCH program model presented to Botanic Garden Conservation International, Chicago Botanic Garden, May 4, 2015 • WCH Apprenticeship program presented at University of Chicago Careers In STEM conference, Sand Hill Nature Center, May 15, 2015 • "Veterans in the Corps and Apprenticeship Programs," USDA GoodGreens Meeting, May 28, 2015 • "Veterans in the Corps and Apprenticeship Programs," Farmer Veteran Coalition launch of Homegrown By Heroes program, May 28, 2015 • WCH program model presented to the Washington Park Advisory Council, June 4, 2015 • "Feeding the Movement," American Public Gardens Association conference, June 25, 2015 • "Food System Chain Game," Rooted in Community Youth Leadership Conference, July 17, 2015 How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?During the grant period, promotional materials, media placements, social media, and the WCH website have increased awareness of the program's mission and activities and told the stories of beginning farmers supported by the project. Following is a summary. • Windy City Harvest reached new heights in media coverage in recent years, with features printed in Rolling Stone and frequent coverage in the Chicago Tribune. One Chicago Tribune story on urban rooftop farming was reprinted in the Los Angeles Times and the Omaha World Herald, reaching an audience of 1.4 million. An October 2015 editorial in the Chicago Tribune provided high praise for Windy City Harvest and project director Angela Mason. Total circulation is estimated at nearly four million over the duration of the grant. • Windy City Harvest articles in the Garden's Keep Growing member magazine were distributed quarterly to an average of 55,000 member households (660,000 impressions). • The Garden's communications department developed 500 copies of a Windy City Harvest brochure that includes farm site locations and addresses, a list of employment and service partners, and a graphic illustration of the employment and education model. • Windy City Harvest was featured in the Garden's bi-monthly e-newsletter, which currently reaches 70,000 subscribers. • The Garden's digital communications team reconstructed the web design of Windy City Harvest destination pages to improve navigation, functionality, and readability. Enhanced web content includes program and site descriptions, participant bios, market locations, and photographs. In total, these sites received 27,293 visits during the grant period. • Program activities and accomplishments, as well as farmers' market times and locations, are periodically shared through the Chicago Botanic Garden's Facebook (93,888 likes), Twitter (17,000 followers), and Instagram (8,074 followers) pages as well as the WCH Facebook (1,586 likes), Twitter (466 followers), and Instagram accounts (509 followers). • Broadcast and radio promotion of the project has been extensive during the grant period and included segments on WBEZ Worldview, WBEZ Afternoon Shift, WGN-Tonight, ABC Heart and Soul, and more. Links to select media spots are available on the Garden's website at www.chicagobotanic.org/pr/video and www.chicagobotanic.org/pr/audio • Invitations to President's Circle Urban Farm Tours, the WCH annual open house at the Arturo Velasquez Institute, and the Youth Farm Open House in North Lawndale were sent via direct mail and email to generate a total attendance of nearly 500 guests. These events introduced attendees to WCH programs, where community partners, residents, staff, and program participants met, toured the farm, and enjoyed a farm-fresh meal together. Farm tours and other activities raised awareness of WCH, resulting in more than 2,000 visitors across all farm sites. Youth Farm visits generally included both a tour and hands-on volunteer work/team-building activities. Among other highlights, WCH was a featured farmer at the 2015 FarmAid 30 benefit, which drew 26,000 concert-goers. Activities included a sold-out tour of the Legends farm site in Bronzeville on October 18, the day prior to the concert. Darius Jones, former coordinator of the McCormick Place farm and a Corps and Apprenticeship graduate, hosted an additional 150 people for tours of the rooftop site. During the concert, Youth Farm students and Windy City Harvest staff sold fresh produce, Apprenticeship students educated concert attendees about the project and its mission, and staff presented WCH on two separate panels along with performers and other local farmers. Documentary film segments featuring Jones and Rosario Maldonado, Apprenticeship graduate and WCH market coordinator, were projected onto screens before and during the stage performances. During the grant period, WCH farm sites hosted the following groups and individuals: Accion AgriBank American Community Garden Association American Society of Landscape Architecture Chicago Architecture Foundation Chicago Public Schools Christy Webber Landscapes Deloitte Design Evanston FamilyFarmed FarmAid Food Tank Girl Scout Leaders Girl Scouts of America Girls in the Game Golub and Company Governor's Office for Sustainability GreenCorps Grow Springfield Growing Solutions Hilton Conrad Towers Illinois Institute of Technology INUAg Kansas State University Kennedy King College - Washburne Institute Lake Forest College Lake Forest High School Leichtag Foundation Lincolnshire Garden Club Loyola Environmental Sustainability Institute Michael Pollan National Park Trust National Restaurant Association National Worker Cooperative Notre Dame Young People's Innovation Camp Oman Botanic Garden Organopoponico Vivero Alamar Queen Lili'uokalani Trust Roberti Community House Seven Generations Ahead Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders The Ancona School The President's Circle of the Chicago Botanic Garden University of Guelph University of Illinois - Chicago Urban Roots USDA Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, Kevin Concannon World Link What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Although this is the final report for this project, WCH has significant growth plans for the near future to better serve beginning farmers. These include establishing a Windy City Harvest food hub and aquaponics center, graduated incubator site, and an increased partnership with Safer Foundation. Details follow. Food Hub WCH is partnering with Lawndale Christian Health Center (LCHC), a community clinic in one of Chicago's most high-need/low-opportunity neighborhoods, to develop a year-round facility for training, food aggregation/distribution, and nutrition education that will include a commercial-scale aquaponics system, kitchen, cold storage, and healthy corner store. The facility will build WCH's capacity to offer simulated work experiences in areas that have significant economic potential and great demand for a trained workforce. Industry partners are assisting with developing training components to ensure that participants are prepared for related employment. The building will operate as a food hub, providing space for processing produce for distribution from WCH's 12 locations, from incubator farmers, and potentially from other Chicago area urban farmers. A commercial kitchen will allow farmers to create value-added products, particularly with second-rate produce. This space will significantly increase WCH's capacity to serve beginner farmers. The food hub will benefit other WCH areas as well, including year-round programming for Youth Farm participants, food demonstrations/nutrition education for community residents with diet-related illnesses, a prescription produce box program for LCHC clients, and more transitional jobs. Ten Corps trainees will install and operate the site's equipment with approximately 28-35 individuals ultimately working in the building year-round. The facility will generate increased annual income through year-round production of high-value greens and fish and create capacity to offer new paid workshops. Graduated Incubator Space WCH will build on a successful partnership with developer Brinshore-Michaels to install farms on Chicago's near West Side in the West Haven neighborhood among mixed-income housing. West Haven will emulate Legends South, the WCH incubator farm established successfully with Brinshore in 2012. Three separate farms will be nestled among the housing; one ¾-acre plot will contain hoophouse frames for year-round production, while two half-acre sites will be reserved for graduated incubator farmer space. This space will provide incubator farmers who complete the two-year program but still face barriers to accessing land with a more hands-off location to further develop their small businesses on a larger scale than the one-eighth to one-quarter acre farmed during incubation. Safer Foundation Safer Foundation is the nation's largest non-profit provider of services for people with criminal records. Safer's president has committed to channeling ex-offenders into WCH training and assisting with pre-screen and post-job placement, helping WCH shoulder a larger number in Corps. WCH will pilot this formal collaboration in 2016 and expand the partnership in 2017. This partnership will ensure a steady stream of vetted, qualified candidates for the increased openings, helping to replace the consistent source lost when the Cook County Sheriff's program was discontinued. Further, Safer Foundation has a vast network of employment partners, which could open avenues for WCH Corps graduates. Additional Growth WCH has applied to REDF, a social enterprise funder, to help expand the program to serve more individuals. WCH has made it to the fourth level in a five-step selection process. If funded, REDF will help to make WCH more sustainable overall through growth as a social enterprise.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
WCH exceeded nearly every measure in the three objectives set during the course of the three-year grant period. Staff is extremely pleased with the results obtained in the BFRDP-funded program. Details on achievements follow. WCH's short courses and workshops served a total of 947 through the duration of the grant (compared to the cumulative goal of 580). A total of 109 people participated in 17 weekend courses held at the Arturo Velasquez Institute of the City Colleges of Chicago. The three-hour courses featured an in-depth focus on a single topic, such as crop planning or season extension. An additional 1,023 participants in food preparation demonstrations at Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) sites learned how to prepare healthy meals. A total of 39 students enrolled in the half-day Farm Dreamsworkshop held in early spring each year. Student feedback was overwhelmingly positive and students reported that they gained a better understanding of the risks and resources involved with starting a farm business. Youth Farm programming included sustainable agriculture and workforce preparedness activities on four farm sites. Interest in Youth Farm led to 273 paid positions during the grant period--exceeding target enrollment by nearly 50 students. Students gained a thorough understanding of sustainable urban agriculture practice and impact, with 83% agreeing that they could lead a crew of their peers in gardening activities and 89% understanding how their work improves food access. The nine-month Apprenticeship program enrolled 57 students, including nine (16%) with a history in the justice system and 40 (70%) low-income individuals. Each June through September, all students participated in an internship at WCH and partner sites, returning to the classroom in September for employment-related sessions. In total, 46 Apprenticeship students earned a certificate during the grant period (including graduates of the 2012 session). The transitional jobs training program, Corps, served a total of 85 justice-involved men-- more than the 51-69 proposed--hired from Cook County Department of Corrections, Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, Safer Foundation, and other partners. Throughout the duration of the grant period a total 45 individuals were placed in jobs, with additional individuals returning to school. In addition, 16 Corps trainees who participated in the 2015 program continue to receive placement services through a newly introduced Job Club. Despite a difficult transition after departing the Cook County Sheriff's Boot Camp, the program maintained a 53% job placement rate over three years. Four certificate curricula were created during the grant period, and the program granted 17 business and entrepreneurship certificates and an additional 17 industry-specific certificates. Combined with the Apprenticeship, WCH students earned a total of 95 professional certifications during the grant period, despite obstacles that prevented the launch of two additional courses, described in "changes/problems." Apprenticeship graduates proved successful in finding employment in agriculture and related industries. Among the 44 graduates of the 2012-14 programs, an impressive 42 (95%) immediately found jobs, 40 (90%) in related industries. Despite graduating so recently, nine (47%) of the 2015 graduates have already found employment, eight (42%) in a related industry. WCH staff predicts that all graduates will be employed within six months. The past year brought a record number of farmers to the incubator program. Staff determined that a smaller plot--1/8 of an acre--was more appropriate for the farmers than the previously offered 1/4-acre. As a result, Legends could accommodate more farmers. Eight small farm businesses and 15 small farmers were incubated from the 2012 pilot through the end of the grant period. One of the original incubator farms, Urban Aggies, ceased activity in 2015. Urban Aggies had already operated for two years, and those two farmers assumed full-time positions in urban agriculture careers: one as the WCH incubator farm coordinator and the other as operations manager of Garfield Produce. The owner of Your Bountiful Harvest moved to West Africa with her family and reluctantly left her farm. In 2015, 12 beginning farmers and five new businesses and one returning from the previous season, included Planted Chicago, Sweet Pea and Friends, Anarchy Organics, Creciendo Farm, and Return to Life. The final evaluation report indicates that the WCH incubator program is thriving. The infrastructure provided by WCH is exceptional. The program provides significant support, mentoring, and responsive feedback that guides farmers as they develop their small business. Challenges remain and are being addressed through program changes (see "future plans"), but overall the incubator is operating as anticipated. WCH now has 12 sites in the greater Chicago area, including five farms added during the course of the grant: the McCormick Place Rooftop (the largest edible green roof garden in the Midwest), Urban Garden Lab in the heart of Chicago's downtown, Legends incubator farm, PCC Austin community garden, and Chicago Hilton rooftop. The newest of these, PCC Austin and Chicago Hilton, were added in 2015. PCC serves the Austin community with fresh food and nutrition education and employs one Apprentice and one Corps trainee each year. Hilton rooftop farm produce goes to the hotel caterer. Surpassing expectations, a total of 14 beginning farmers built sustainable agriculture skills while employed as crew leaders on WCH projects. For example, Stacey Kimmons has thrived as the coordinator of the Hilton rooftop garden and owner-incubator of Return to Life Farming, which supplies produce to the WIC program. Evaluation was conducted throughout the three-year project period by the hired consultant, Martha Boyd of Angelic Organics Learning Center. She met with staff to review program components and also attended the monthly incubator meetings in 2015, since all issues were discussed here openly and in detail. WCH leadership and Boyd also conducted focus groups or surveys of program participants, alumni, employers, and customers. The final assessment contains a wealth of information about Windy City Harvest. According to the report, WCH has created a coherent pipeline from basic information through more sophisticated courses, then directing participants to apply their skills beyond the program. The Apprenticeship program serves multiple audiences, including non-traditional students, and focus group participants confirmed the program made them more competitive when job seeking. The Legends farm itself provides good physical resources for the incubators and the immediate connection to markets is invaluable. Staff balance encouragement with high standards and are perceived by incubators as generous with their time and knowledgeable. Overall the incubator program breeds a strong community and commitment. The report acknowledges the difficulty in farming full time without external supports and offers 20 recommendations, including many affirmations of the program's current activities. Selections suggesting improvements include the following. • Consider extending the option of a 3-year maximum at the Farm, with goal setting along the way so that people chart a course • Assemble a team to provide technical assistance to farmers about key business issues like taxes, workers compensation and other labor/employee management, and insurance. • Continue providing access to the refrigerated truck and explore more ways to assist farmers with transportation issues. • During their final season at the Incubator, assist farmers to find a place to farm the next year. Staff will consider the outcomes of the report and integrate improvements where possible. Select areas will be addressed with planned WCH expansions.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/13 to 08/31/14
Outputs
Target Audience: This project engaged limited resource and socially disadvantaged beginning farmers as well as individuals from the general public seeking professional training and certification for work in Chicago’s growing urban agriculture sector and the local food system. All initiatives within this project reached a total of 676 individuals in the second year of a three-year grant. Demographic information was collected on the 178 participants in the WCH’s intensive training programs. These include Youth Farm, a youth development program in sustainable urban agriculture; Apprenticeship, a nine-month training certificate in sustainable urban agriculture, delivered in partnership with the City Colleges of Chicago’s Daley College/Arturo Velasquez Institute; Harvest Corps, an educational and transitional jobs program for justice-involved youth and others who have significant barriers to employment; and Entrepreneur and Career, which offers 14-week industry-specific evening courses and a business incubator program. Staff worked diligently to reach socially disadvantaged individuals in Chicago’s low-resource community, an audience that is not typically engaged in agriculture initiatives. Out of the 178 participants for whom demographic data was collected, a total of 136 (79 percent) qualified as limited resource. Also, out of the 178, 120 (67%) are African American and 32 (18%) are Hispanic/Latino (combined total of 85%).Limited resource was measured by a household income scale and self-attestation form developed by WCH in partnership with Daley College, history of incarceration, or eligibility for free or reduced lunch under the National School Lunch Program. Youth Farm employed 108 high school students, ages 15 to 18, from North Lawndale, Washington Park, Waukegan, North Chicago and other low-income Chicago communities. Demographic data show that 96 percent of 2014 Youth Farm students are Black or Hispanic/Latino, and approximately 85 percent qualify for free or reduced lunch. Through eight weeks of paid summer training and after school programming in the spring and fall, students learned to grow fruits and vegetables safely and sustainably and received mentorship and college and employment support. In addition, students sold produce at community farm stands, conducted nutrition demonstrations at Women, Infant, and Children (WIC), centers, and learned about agricultural careers. The Apprenticeship program recruited and enrolled 22 adult participants from low-income Chicago communities, predominantly on Chicago’s South and West sides. Of the 14 graduating participants, 50 percent are African American or Hispanic/Latino, and 54 percent are low-income. Training included six months of classroom work at 20 hours per week followed by a three-month paid internship at 32 hours per week. All students qualified for reduced tuition on a sliding scale beginning at $1,260 (of the full $2,400 tuition). A total of 27 formerly incarcerated youth and young adults—95 percent African American or Hispanic—were employed in the Harvest Corps program. The majority of these individuals were non-violent youth offenders, ages 17-20, from the IDJJ system, in particular from the Illinois Youth Center of Chicago, a juvenile detention facility on Chicago’s West Side. Groups of three to five individuals worked under a trained crew leader at WCH sites; crews maintained beds at Rodeo Farm and Kraft Foods Garden, composted on land adjacent to the Rodeo Farm, and harvested leafy shade crops in just four inches of soil on the McCormick Place rooftop. Ten students, eight of whom are Windy City Harvest graduates, earned their certificate from Windy City Harvest’s 14-week Business and Entrepreneurship for Local Foods, offered from October 2013 to January 2014. Developed in partnership with an M.B.A. team from DePaul University, the course met Monday and Wednesday nights, at Daley College’s Arturo Velasquez Institute. Students received 70 contact hours of instructional time. Informed by a best practices framework, lessons focus on business management skills—financial accounting, market research, crop budgeting, and distribution—in the context of producing vegetable crops for sale in commercial markets. Five individuals have established three incubator businesses at the Legends South farm site. Urban Aggies has a quarter-acre plot and grows vegetables for wholesale markets. Your Bountiful Harvest Family Farm also has a quarter-acre plot and grows vegetables for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) market boxes, for residents of the Legends community, and for wholesale distributors, including Midwest Foods. The third business is Dirt Dolls, which farms a one-eighth-acre plot and sells Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)-style boxes through subscription and to local independent food stores and cooperatives. Additional educational offerings and services that engaged the target audience included short courses and public workshops on sustainable urban agriculture and nutrition, serving 492 people, and a Farm Dreams workshop serving 12 aspiring beginning farmers. Changes/Problems: Most activities are on target to meet established goals, so no major changes will be implemented. However, increased attention will focus on strengthening enrollment and retention in the Apprenticeship and Harvest Corps programs. While the WCH apprenticeship was successful, staff members were disappointed with the drop-off rate—eight students left the program after enrolling, for a variety of reasons. Some withdrew to take full-time positions in food-related industries; many were male heads of household who required immediate income. Others were unprepared for the hard work urban agriculture requires. WCH staff also struggled with the WIA-eligibility process for these students. The WIA issue came to a head in January 2014 when the Garden was informed that WCH students were no longer eligible for this federal funding because of how the City Colleges of Chicago now define WIA eligibility via approved career tracks. To continue to attract capable limited resource participants, the Garden will offer a sliding tuition scale to the 2015 class, as they did this year. Program information sessions will be held throughout the winter, scheduled as applications are received. In addition, WCH staff will be working with targeted community partners, including Legends South, Leave No Veteran Behind, PCC Wellness, and City Colleges of Chicago, to recruit qualified candidates. Interest in the 2015 program is strong. There have been 108 requests for applications; 63 individuals have attended information sessions; 33 attended a work shadow day; 28 submitted a survey; and 16 were offered positions in the first round of recruitment. As mentioned in the "Accomplishments" narrative, WCH experienced a significant program change when the Cook County Sheriff’s Office re-evaluated VRIC’s entire operation, eliminating the garden program among others. The Garden is now working with youth ages 17 to 21 served by the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ) through their Illinois Youth Centers school program, as well as those referred by organizations supporting at-risk youth such as Becoming a Man, the Black United Fund, and Inner Voice Chicago. To better prepare candidates for the behavioral and performance expectations of the workforce, Garden employees are working with IDJJ professionals to develop pre-release education and training opportunities similar to those offered at VRIC. Options for such early candidate screening and program mentorship include training at an aquaponics installation at the North Lawndale Christian Health Center, adjacent to the North Lawndale Youth Farm, and training atthe WCH farm site at West Garfield Park. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The Garden was selected by an advisory board, conference staff, and the public to conduct a panel session at South by Southwest (SXSW) Eco, a prominent conference that brings environmental experts together to engage and co-create solutions for a more sustainable world. Project Director Angela Mason led the team that submitted the chosen proposal called "Green Job Creation: Path to Community Empowerment." The Oct. 7, 2014 presentation addressed how green jobs can serve as a second chance for the hard-to-employ and help encourage often underrepresented groups (e.g. women and minorities) to get involved in urban agriculture and horticultural sciences. A panel comprising Mason, Oscar Medina of the Western Institute for Leadership Development, andRachel Pinderhughes, chair of the Urban Studies & Planning Department at San Francisco State University, discussed the unemployment landscape and those individuals who are typically hardest hit. Mason also attended the Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Development Program project directors meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 24, 2014, to report on this grant project. Throughout the reporting period, WCH staff have been active in conferences, professional meetings, and school trainings to learn and disseminate their knowledge to others. Altogether these trainings and presentations, as described below, reached more than 1,700 people. Good Food Festival, Public Private Partnerships, March 14, 2014 Good Food Festival, So You Want To Be a Farmer, March 14, 2014 University of Illinois, Chicago, Urban Planning Conference, Incubator Farmer Training, February 12, 2014 Reaching Resilience, Growing Farmers in the Midwest, April 9, 2014 Chicago Botanic Garden Facilitator Training, Youth Development on a Sustainable Urban Farm, February 22, 2014 Illinois Specialty Crop Conference, Food Safety at Your Farm, January 8, 2014 Wheaton College, From the Ground Up: Social Movements and Soil Improvement, February 28, 2014 Barrington Area Public Library, Flower Power, April 24, 2014 Garfield Park Conservatory, Green and Growing Fair, March 22, 2014 Abbott Green Partner Greening Your Home Garden, May 13, 2014 Chicago Botanic Garden Corporate Roundtable on Sustainability: McCormick Place Rooftop and Corporate Campus Gardens, May 10, 2014 Advocates for Urban Agriculture, Incubator Programs in Chicagoland Area, May 14, 2014 Good Greens Meeting, Incubator Programs, May 20, 2014 MACE Sodexo, Utilizing Local Produce in Your Catering Events, May 6, 2014 Chicago Botanic Garden School Garden Conference, Curriculum Development and SchoolGardens, June 28, 2014 Chicago State University Environmental Leaders of Change Career Panel, April 24, 2014 Erie House Community Health Fair, Making Green Smoothies with Fresh Vegetables, June 20, 2014 American Community Gardening Association, Chicago Food System Chain Gang, August 8, 2014 KAM Isaiah Isreal MLK Food Justice and Sustainability Weekend, Season Extension in UrbanAgriculture, January 17, 2014 Youth Development in the North Lawndale Community, August 19, 2014 Youth Voices Conference, The Youth Experience at WCH Youth Farm, October 17, 2014 Windy City Sustainability, Chicago, Sustainability in Agriculture Education, September 18, 2014 How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Project results will be finalized and produced in year three of the grant, at which point the information will be shared broadly with communities of interest, particularly within Chicago’s urban agriculture and local food system. During the reporting period, promotional materials and media placements have increased awareness of WCH farm sites, program practices, and beginning farmers supported by “Training Beginning Farmers for Chicago’s Urban Agriculture Community” project. Following is a summary: Windy City Harvest was featured in several print and online media publications, includingthe "Chicago Tribune," "Landscape Architecture Magazine," "The Chicago Bureau," and "Urban Farm" magazine. Combined circulation is estimated at more than 500,000. Windy City Harvest articles in the Garden’s “Keep Growing” member magazine were distributed quarterly to 54,000 households (216,000 impressions). The Garden’s communications department developed 500 copies of a bi-fold, 8.5” by 11” full-color Windy City Harvest brochure that includes farm site locations and addresses, a list of employment and service partners, and a graphic illustration of the employment and education model. Windy City Harvest was featured in the Garden’s bi-monthly e-newsletter, which reaches 69,000 subscribers. The Garden’s digital communications team reconstructed the web design of Windy City Harvest destination pages to improve their navigation, functionality, and readability. Enhanced web content includes program and site descriptions, participant bios, photographs, and staff blogs. Search engine optimized pages for each branch of the program navigate easily to maps of market locations, donation pages, and Windy City Harvest Facebook (771 likes), Twitter (228 followers), and Instagram pages (195 followers). Broadcast and radio promotion of the project has been extensive during the reporting period and included segments on the Los Angeles Times website, WBEZ Worldview, WBEZ Chicago, WGN-Tonight, and Chicago Tonight. Video links are available on the Garden’s website at http://www.chicagobotanic.org/pr/video. Invitations for a President Circle Urban Farm Tour, the Legends South Farm ribbon cutting ceremony, the Windy City Harvest annual open house at Daley College, and the Washington Park Youth Farm Open House were sent via direct mail and email to generate a total attendance of more than 200 guests. Farm tours also raised awareness of the grant project and, more broadly,Windy City Harvest. Staff offered Rodeo Farm tours on Wednesdays at a fee of $5 per person for non-profit organizations and $10 per person for others. Youth Farm also hosted frequent guests for tours and team-building activities. During the reporting period, WCH farm sites hosted the following groups. President's Circle of the Chicago Botanic Garden National Worker Cooperative Conference Local Foods Tour American Community Garden Association Lake Forest College AgriBank Loyola Environmental Sustainability Institute Tour GreenCorps Deloitte Christy Webber Hilton Conrad Towers Girl Scout Leaders and Girl Scouts of America Illinois Institute of Technology INUAg Notre Dame Young Peoples Innovation Camp University of Guleph, Ontario World Link, Belarus Youth Delegates Growing Solutions Oman Botanic Garden Food Tank Accion USDA Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, Kevin Concannon Golub and Company Seven Generations Ahead Design Evanston Governor’s Office for Sustainability National Restaurant Association What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? All of the activities described in years one and two will continue during the next reporting period. Some activities will be enhanced, as follows: Certificate programs will grow in the next year. While the Garden is on schedule to submit all 6 new curricula to Illinois Community College Board for approval by August 31, 2015, curriculum development has been more time consuming than anticipated. This delay is a result of evolving Cook County Department of Public Health regulations regarding composting and value-added products, as well as WCH’s effort to customize curricula to the needs of Chicago’s sustainable agriculture and local foods sector. Progress to date has been encouraging. Seven students are enrolled in the 14-week Season Extension course and nine students are enrolled in the Business and Entrepreneurship for Local Foods. Courses are progressing smoothly, and all 16 enrolled students are expected to earn certificates in December. Business plans from students in the 2013 class, assessed by nine project evaluators, have been implemented in the farm businessesUrban Aggies, Dirt Doll Organics, Your Bountiful Harvest, North Lawndale Greening Committee, and other successful ventures. A total of 14 WCH nine-month certificate graduates graduated in October; all obtained positions as beginning farmers, food professionals, growers, edible garden designers, or mentors at agricultural non-profits, or are pursuing employment related to their training; in addition, 12 of the 13 certificate graduates (92 percent) from the 2013 graduating class have started their own businesses or are employed as beginning farmers or within the local food sector. Their positions include the rooftop gardening coordinator of Revolution Brewing, the manager of the edible landscaping division at Christy Webber, a GreenCorps mentor at Tilden High School, WCH sales coordinator, WCH corporate campus crew leader at Kraft, two incubator farmers who started the Dirt Doll Organics, and manager of Mariposa Gardening & Design—now enrolled in a sustainable landscape architecture program at the University of California, Berkley, and interning at the Palace of Versailles in Paris. Several additional 14-week industry-specific certificate courses are now in development; at least two will be rolled out in 2015. A rooftop gardening course, expected to serve 8-10 students, at least 50 percent of whom will be WCH graduates, is adding elements of small-scale edible landscaping to the curriculum. The recent proliferation of edible gardens less than 3,000 square feet in Chicago, many of which exist at ground level, has prompted WCH staff to realign the course to the real needs of the job market. Since 2010, Farmed Here, a sustainable indoor farming company based in Bedford Park, Illinois, has hired eleven Windy City Harvest certificate graduates, including several with a felony background; six graduates are currently employed. The company grows produce locally, indoors, in two large aquaponics facilities, and maintains distribution contracts with Whole Foods and other large grocery store chains. FarmedHere is assisting WCH staff in revisions to an aquaponics certificate course developed by Andy McGhee, who manages the daily operation of aquaponics systems for the WCH program. Recent meetings with John Brophy, director of sustainability for the City Colleges of Chicago, have focused on adapting the value-added products course to include plant-based food cultivation elements. A new three-quarteracre farm would be built on the Washburne Culinary Institute/Kennedy-King campus and enrollment would target 8-10 students in the culinary and agriculture programs. While being trained in the planting, harvest, and sourcing of seasonal produce, students would improve their qualifications for employment as chefs at any number of farm-to-table restaurants, which have become increasingly popular in Chicago, regionally, and across the nation. Also in the coming year, the Garden is excited to assist the five incubator farmers at Legends South through a recently awarded grant from the Food: Land: Opportunity initiative of the Searle Funds at the Chicago Community Trust. NeighborSpace is leading a coalition of urban agriculture programs and organizations, including Windy City Harvest, Growing Home, Growing Power, and Angelic Organics Learning Center, to develop a plan for creating a business structure that will support Chicago’s under-resourced urban farmers, as they access and remediate land, work through City regulations, and grow and sell food. This endeavor represents the first collaboration of its kind in Chicago, and promises to create a more welcoming environment for graduates of Windy City Harvest and for other urban agriculture entrepreneurs. A 13-acre community development and urban farming district in Englewood, an identified food desert on Chicago’s south side, has been identified as a potential site of a cooperative or food hub system. Whole Foods Market recently announced plans to open an 18,000-square-foot store in 2016 inEnglewood and source food from local farmers. The incubator program will continue to address the biggest impediments to small agribusinesses in large cities, such as Chicago, with high real estate values and substantial bureaucracy—the inordinate costs of site purchasing, permitting, and preparation and the difficulty in being recognized as a small business. Until recently, no small farmer had attained a business license from the City, posing a significant barrier to property purchase, insurance acquisition, and sales. Creating a business management structure, such as a cooperative, could address this impasse in concrete ways that directly benefit the small producer and the surrounding community. To wit, one of the “Training Beginning Farmers for Chicago’s Urban Agriculture Community” project’s greatest successes has been the acquisition of peddler business licenses among incubator farmers, enabling them to register with the state, acquire general liability insurance, and establish company bank accounts. These farmers are opening doors for other aspiring entrepreneurs who wish to follow in their footsteps and farm in the City. In partnership with the PCC Austin Family Health Center, located at 5425 West Lake Street in Oak Park, the Garden is eager to grow its strong base of community farms in the City. PCC Community Wellness Center recently received a Humana Foundation grant for a three-year project with Windy City Harvest to install a quarter acre garden that will grow produce for sale to residents, and function as a community training and education center. Installation of the farm began in September, and the site will open in June 2015, with eight volunteer allotment farmers maintaining the site in the first year of operation. In 2016, two residents will complete pre-applications to enroll in the WCH nine-month certificate program. By 2017, the PCC farm will be managed by a local resident who has completed the WCH certificate program.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The project “Training Beginning Farmers for Chicago’s Urban Agriculture Community” is on target to meet all objectives set out in the proposal. Annual goals were largely met and, in some cases, exceeded. Objective 1 Short courses and public workshops on sustainable urban agriculture and nutrition far surpassed annual training goals—serving 492 people. Six three-hour, weekend courses on crop planning, season extension, building healthy soil, and aquaponics were offered to the public—all at the Arturo Velasquez Institute of the City Colleges of Chicago. A total of 12 students enrolled in the half-day Angelic Organics Farm Dreamsworkshop in March 2014. Of the 12, five were WCH students enrolled in the Apprenticeship program. After attending the workshop, a total of 11 (91%) participants expressed a strong or very strong desire to start a farm or market business. All 12 (100%) reported they would recommend the workshop to others considering farming. The Youth Farm season was highly successful and included programming at the Urban Garden Lab (UGL), a rooftop container garden and vertical growing farm in Chicago’s Loop, and three community farms. Interest in Youth Farm led to 421 youth applications and 108 paid positions in 2014. Of the 93 percent of students who completed the program, average attendance was 97 percent, and 61 percent of students applied for crew leader positions—illustrative of the strong work ethic the Youth Farm reinforces. All eight senior Youth Farm participants graduated high school; seven are attending college—an impressive feat, given only 65 percent of Chicago Public School (CPS) students graduate in four years. The Apprenticeship nine-month certificate program enrolled 22 students and 14 earned a sustainable urban agriculture certificate accredited by the Illinois Community College Board. All graduates earned a C or above on classroom work, completed internship assignments, and developed a crop plan for a sustainable farm business. From June through September, studentsperformedpaid farming duties at sites such as Big Delicious Planet & Bayless Garden and the McCormick Place Rooftop Farm. In September, students returned to the classroom for class sessions devoted to job searching, resume building, and mock interviews. Staff project all students will be employed within six months; 10 have expressed their intention to enter farming jobs or start farm enterprises. WCH experienced a significant program change when the Cook County Sheriff’s Office re-evaluated the Vocational Rehabiitation Impact Center’s (Boot Camp's)entire operation, eliminating the garden program among others. The Garden is now working with youth ages 17 to 21 served by the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ) through their Illinois Youth Centers school program. The 13-week Corps program provides training in sustainable agriculture, environmental literacy, and work skills through Roots of Success; support service coordination such as for housing or food stamps; and closely supervised paid work assignments at WCH work sites. A total of 27 students were employed and acquired farming skills through the transitional jobs program. These participants contributed to WCH’s harvest of 70,137 pounds of produce, serving 100,196 people and generating $125,080 in sales. Objective 2 Staff wrote curricula for a Season Extension certificate course and delivered a revised Business and Entrepreneurship for Local Foods certificate course. From October 2013 to January 2014, the business course, taught by Sean O’ Farrell, met five hours per week, for a total of 70 contact hours. Instruction focused on management skills in the context of applying sustainable urban agriculture techniques to produce vegetable crops for sale in commercial markets. All participants created a business plan and shared them at a final presentation. Ten students completed the business certificate in January 2014; eight are WCH graduates and five were eligble for reduced tuition through the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). Surpassing expectations, five incubator farmers established three farm businesses at Legends South, the site of the former Robert Taylor Homes housing project in Bronzeville. Urban Aggies has a quarter-acre plot and grows vegetables for wholesale markets. Your Bountiful Harvest Family Farm also has a quarter-acre plot and grows vegetables for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) market boxes, for residents of the Legends community, and for wholesale distributors, including Midwest Foods. Dirt Doll Organics farms a one-eighth-acre plot and sells Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)-style boxes through subscription and to local independent food stores and cooperatives. A final report of incubator farmers’ progress in 2014 will be available in December. Objective 3 WCH staff are pleased with the four newest farm sites: three new incubator farms at Legends South, and the Urban Garden Lab. The Urban Garden Lab hosted indoor programming in plant propagation and aquaculture, whileproviding rooftop garden instruction in intensive, small-scale container growing. WCH staff recruited CPS students, including those from the North Lawndale and Washington Park pool of Youth Farm applicants, increasing the Garden’s capacity to educate Chicago youth. Legends South provided land for three incubator farm businesses and was used as a training site for formerly incarcerated, justice-involved youth served by IDJJ. In addition, Bronzeville residents who rented garden plots gained access to garden tools, seeds, and mentorship; and low-income older adults participated in a weekly garden workshop. Four WCH graduates were trained and engaged as crew leaders in 2014. Fernando Orozco maintained an 8,000-square-foot garden on the Kraft Corporate Campus garden and led Windy City Harvest Corps participants in sustainable farming techniques while growing produce for the WIC farmers’ market program. Erin Matson facilitated vegetable production by training her crew members on all aspects of sustainable urban farming. At Rodeo Farm, Britt Calendo oversaw the operations of a compost crew; and,at Legends South, Desiree Sanders was responsible for planning and overseeing sustainable growing methods, and developing and fostering good working relationships with community residents. This grant project has deepened the impact of a highly successful partnership between WCH and the Community and Economic Development Association of Cook County (CEDA), which serves low-income mothers and children in the WIC program. WCH supplied $14,850 of fresh produce to CEDA locations for distribution to WIC clients in exchange for food vouchers. In addition, WCH donated 9,574 pounds of produce to food pantries and community centers and sold 26,650 pounds of fresh, healthy produce at or below-cost to community markets accepting federal benefits, increasing healthy food access for more than 50,000 low income residents. While evaluation results are an outcome for the final grant year, the consultant hired to implement the evaluation, Martha Boyd of Angelic Organics, has been meeting regularly with WCH staff and participants and preparing data for the 2014 report. She met with WCH staff on April 11, 2014, to review the Business and Entrepreneurship for Local Foods course, attended students’ business plan presentations, and interviewed each of the urban farm businesses incubating at Legends South. The WCH leadership team and Boyd also confirmed the evaluation plan and timeline for 2014-15, including planned meetings for focus groups of Youth Farm participants, WCH alumni, and employers and customers.
Publications
- Type:
Books
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Gardening as a Social Enterprise: Including People with Disabilities (p. 40). (2014). Chicago: Chicago Botanic Garden.
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Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/13
Outputs
Target Audience: This project engaged both limited resource beginning urban farmers and individuals from the general public seeking professional training and certifications for work in Chicago’s growing urban agriculture sector and the local food system. All of the initiatives within this project reached a total of 524 individuals in the first year of the three-year grant period. Demographic information was only collected on 258 of these individuals who were involved in long-term programs (internships, certifications, or transitional jobs). Staff worked diligently to reach individuals in Chicago’s low-resource community, an audience that is traditionally not engaged in agriculture initiatives. Out of 258, 191 (74%) were African American and 34 (13%) were Hispanic (combined total of 87%). Also out of 258, 210 (81%) were limited resource individuals. Limited resource is measured by eligibility under the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA), history of incarceration, or eligibility for free or reduced lunch under the National School Lunch Program. Changes/Problems: Most activities are on target to meet established goals, so no major changes will be implemented. Although staff have had some difficulty with WIA certification—the department has had significant layoffs, which has delayed the process, particularly for individuals with a criminal background—they will continue to work with WIA offices to ensure eligibility. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? All of the training activities offered through this project have been described under “accomplishments.” How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Project results will be finalized and produced in year three of the grant, at which point the information will be shared broadly with communities of interest, particularly in Chicago’s urban agriculture and local food system. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? All of the activities described in year one will again take place during the next reporting period. Some activities will be enhanced, as follows. Certificate programs will grow in the next year. The certificates are taking longer to establish than anticipated; some have been difficult to develop because of pending changes to city or federal regulations, while others have simply required more planning time to create a full curriculum. Staff will take steps in the coming months to prioritize these activities. After the business entrepreneurship class finishes on January 22, staff will evaluate its success for the next round of implementation. At the same time, work on the additional certificates will continue. Project director Angela Mason is currently seeking an instructor for a 14-week, 4 credit hour course in season extension that will begin in January 2014 and serve 8-10 students, at least 50% of whom will be Windy City Harvest certificate graduates. The curriculum is also nearing completion for the aquaponics certificate, so this will be delivered early in 2014 as well. Staff will continue discussions with City Colleges to offer two of the industry certificates, value-added products and entrepreneurship, at Kennedy King College, with cross promotion between the school’s agriculture and culinary programs. Recruitment for the next WCH certificate course began before the last class graduated. Beginning in August 2013, staff offered three informational sessions, including one targeted at potentially WIA-eligible individuals, to ensure a larger class in 2014. A total of 24 individuals have been accepted; individuals on a waiting list will fill spots should the class fall below 20. The greater focus on recruitment will ensure that WCH will reach targeted goals for the coming year. The pilot year for incubator sites provided copious information for staff, and they continue to conduct research on appropriate lease costs and levels of support. The project director has hired a crew leader to provide oversight to participants at Legends South, the new incubator site as of the 2014 growing season.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1 A total of 245 people were engaged through short courses on sustainable urban agriculture. Five weekend courses were offered to the public on the topics of crop planning, seed starting, season extension, and building healthy soil—four in Chicago and one at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Thirty-two individuals participated in the three hour sessions. In addition, 113 people participated in classes related to building healthy soil, composting, gardening in small spaces, and seed saving at the Garden’s suburban campus, while another 100 Kraft employees learned about sustainable agriculture techniques through six one-hour “lunch and learn” sessions. The 2013 Green Youth Farm (GYF) season received a record-breaking 399 applications for programming that began in May on an after-school basis, continued through the summer, and resumed in after-school sessions through mid-October. The program employed 75 high school students and 14 grade schoolers in hands-on sustainable farming practices, healthy food preparation and eating habits, as well as critical work skills including teamwork, responsibility, and entrepreneurship. The program provided a first job for 60% of the high school youth. Twenty-one individuals participated in a Farm Dreams workshop in March 2013 that helped them determine whether they should pursue a career in agriculture. The workshop offered participants a series of self-assessments and shared information about available sustainable farming careers and training opportunities in the Chicago area. The Windy City Harvest (WCH) certificate program recruited 16 individuals, including 10 WIA-eligible students, four of whom were formerly incarcerated young men. Thirteen individuals graduated, including two ex-offenders. The training included six months of classroom work at 20 hours per week followed by a three-month paid internship at 32 hours per week. From February through mid-June, certificate students learned in the classroom and through hands-on greenhouse instruction. During the summer months, students were assigned to internships in sustainable urban agriculture at Chicago Botanic Garden or community partner locations, such as Neighborspace, Pilsen Community Market, and FarmedHere. They returned to the classroom in September to create a business plan for a local food enterprise, including a garden design, crop plan, and budget. In 2013 the Cook County Sheriff’s Boot Camp was renamed the Vocational Rehabilitation Impact Center (VRIC) to better reflect its goals. The gardening program continued. Through hands-on, closely supervised learning 20 hours per week for eight weeks, 95 incarcerated individuals gained knowledge in the basics of operating a one-acre sustainable farm as well as the vertical farming techniques of the aquaponics system. They learned about the social mission of local economies, the urban agriculture movement, and the reasoning behind organic practices. The garden program exposed participants to aspects of a successful workplace environment, such as finishing tasks on time, teamwork, and respect for others. A total of 39 individuals were selected from the VRIC pool for transitional jobs. These men worked 13 weeks for at least 30 hours per week in groups of 3-5 under a trained crew leader. Crews maintained raised beds at Rodeo Farm and the Kraft corporate food garden, composted on the land adjacent to VRIC, managed floral and native seed gardens, and—new in 2013—built out a new site at Legends South by installing and planting raised beds. The program included certification in “Roots of Success,” a curriculum of job readiness and foundational knowledge to supplement career training. Objective 2 Staff wrote a curriculum for a new certificate in urban agriculture entrepreneurship; classes began in October 2013 with 11 students. The classes totaling 70 hours are progressing smoothly. Five additional industry-specific certificates—in composting, aquaculture, season extension, rooftop gardening, and value-added products—will be developed to enhance urban farming competencies. Two of the certificates, season extension and aquaponics, are progressing quickly and will be offered in early 2014. To date a total of 13 individuals attained certificates in the past year through the nine-month WCH program. This figure will grow rapidly in the next two years as more certificates are added. Two incubator sites were established in 2013. The two individuals, both WCH certificate graduates and one a VRIC graduate, signed a land lease agreement and planted one-quarter acre in West Garfield Park on Chicago’s west side with a variety of vegetables. Staff checked in on progress weekly; assistance offered varied from providing seeds for cover crops to lending out costly equipment such as a broadfork and flame weeder and advising about integrated pest management. These two entrepreneurs also began businesses. Urban Aggies is a vegetable production startup that provides produce to restaurants and market-style boxes to individuals. Cio’s Mobile Kitchen offers healthy Mexican food sourced from local ingredients. The owner sells green smoothies, salads, and vegetable-laden tamales from a food truck stationed at a YMCA and also caters events. Most of the WCH graduates obtained positions related to their training. Of the 2012 graduating class of 14, 11 found immediately employment, with an additional two volunteering in the urban agriculture industry. Five students were hired by FarmedHere; others took positions such as the Black Oaks Center CSA coordinator, Whole Foods market sales coordinator, Pacific Garden Mission greenhouse manager, and Little Village Environmental Justice Organization garden coordinator. Objective 3 WCH staff are pleased with the two newest urban farm sites: Legends South and McCormick rooftop. The two-acre Legends South garden is located at the site of the former Robert Taylor Homes, now mixed-income housing. The site was established by VRIC graduates in transitional jobs. In 2014 it will serve as the incubator site. WCH also began farming on the roof of McCormick Place, the largest convention center in North America. WCH began planting on the 20,000 square foot site in early June 2013; produce was harvested and sold to Savor Chicago, McCormick’s catering service. This site, as the Midwest’s largest rooftop vegetable garden, garnered prolific media attention. Nine graduates of WCH were trained and engaged as crew leaders in 2013. They served in positions at VRIC, GYF, Kraft garden, WCH sales, Legends community garden, and the McCormick Place roof garden. From assisting residents with gardening small community plots to organizing all elements of WCH sales, these beginning farmers contributed to food security. Through their efforts and the work of all those in the Chicago Botanic Garden’s urban agriculture initiatives, the institution grew 87,091 pounds of produce. Of this amount, 20,070 pounds were donated to food pantries and an additional 13,600 were sold to individuals using government assistance coupons for a total of more than 47,000 low-income individuals provided with fresh produce. This figure includes families served through the Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) assistance program. In addition to produce boxes, GYF participants delivered 29 food preparation demonstrations at WIC centers. While evaluation results are a product for the final year, these activities will take place throughout the length of the project. The consultant hired to implement the evaluation, Martha Boyd of Angelic Organics Learning Center, has been active in 2013. She met with staff in September to further refine the existing draft evaluation plan and established a detailed evaluation timeline. She also implemented elements of the evaluation, e.g., visit/assess incubator sites and interview incubator famers, and is planning for 2014.
Publications
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