Progress 09/01/13 to 08/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:We focused on new, emerging farmers seeking training, resources and support. The majority of the participants in this CFP project were people of color from Chicago's South and West sides. We initially trained the community partners and growers at our Iron Street Farm facility, until the Farmers for Chicago space was acquired at Growing Power's South Chicago Farm. Each farmer went through ten hands-on workshops covering both business plan development and hands-on farming skills. The program grew in 2016 to six farmers providing fresh vegetables, eggs, and flowers to the local community on the Southside of Chicago. The produce was sold through churches and schools, keeping the purchase of the produce's revenue within the community. During the Farmers for Chicago workshop series, we trained twelve different organizations on planning and farming techniques beyond the farmers enrolled in the FFC program, and provided ten scholarships for folks demonstrating need and students. Growing Power designed and piloted a healthy corner store project which placed a new reach in cooler in a corner store that we stocked with fresh vegetables and fruit at an affordable price. The store owner received 30% of the sale and Growing Power 70%. This format provides the consumer with high quality products and removes the financial liability from the store owner. The pilot partner was IMAN who assisted in the beginning but had capacity issues in expanding the program. Growing Power utilized the lessons learned and reach in coolers as the opportunity to manage The Fresh Moves Mobile Market was presented by Chicago's Mayor Emanuel we made the strategy decision to pivot to the bus as a community level food access portal for new growers. We were able to establish 28 distinct market stops per week serving over 500 customers weekly. Fresh Moves provides produce five days per week in food-desert communities on the south and west sides of Chicago. The mobile market sold produce in Chicago's most underserved communities including North Lawndale, Austin, Garfield Park, Washington Park, Englewood, Roseland, Woodlawn, Grand Boulevard, Fuller Park and South Shore. The buses make stops at health clinics, schools, day care centers, farmers markets, parks, housing complexes and other community sites to bring fresh, locally grown produce to community residents and provide Farmers for Chicago the opportunity to sell produce directly to the community. Growing Power uses converted city and CTA buses as mobile farmers markets, 'the farmers market on wheels' works toward closing the 'food access' gap. Customers board the bus and fill their bags with delicious local produce: fruit and vegetables as well as Growing Power products. Produce is priced to be affordable for all and fair return for the farmers. Changes/Problems:In the original grant goals, our aim was to partner with community based organizations to provide coolers to local corner store and fill the coolers with farm fresh produce. We encountered several obstacles with this model. First, it was difficult for our community partners to identify corner store owners willing to participate in the program. We did pilot with one corner store in the Englewood neighborhood in Chicago where we continued to have problems with the model. The store hours were often inconsistent, closing do to personal reason and violence in the neighborhood. Due to the closures, restocking produce became increasingly challenging and unmanageable. Because of the problems we continued to encounter, we decided to redirect our efforts to the Fresh Moves program in order to get fresh produce to under-resourced communities. SEEDS and WPC no longer exist and while they attended workshops and received plants, seeds and compost were not able to fully participate due to land tenue issues and capacity. We were able to work with Center for New Horizons and RTW Veterans center to deploy hoop house resources and staffing support to install farm beds, receive training and program design assistance. The Conference was attended by 600 individuals with a majority able to attend due to CFP supports. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Workshops and technical trainings were the number one goal of the project (please see information under Goal #1 above). We offered a variety of workshops both in Chicago and Milwaukee to teach growers our farming techniques. In Chicago, we offered the following workshops: project planning, farm budgeting, marketing your product, composting and hoop-house construction twice over the two-year grant period. In Milwaukee, six-times per year, we offered aquaponics, bee keeping, mushroom production, composting, project planning, year-round food production and marketing, as well as hoop-house construction. Additionally, our Chicago staff taught the Commercial Urban Agriculture Business Training Program in Milwaukee (which many of the FFC participated in additionally), which is aprogram that couples business planning with hands-on farm training. Each session, CUA participants participated in 1.5 days of business planning seminars and then followed up their training with 1.5 days of farm workshops. For 2017, the CUA program will change to be seasonal, with workshops offered every three months and will be Chicago based. We have also added two week-long intensive farm trainings for farmers who want additional support. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?"Farm to City-Fresh Moves in the Neighborhood" program impacted Chicago by: ? Nearly doubling the total amount of farmers' markets operating across the city; ? increasing the farmers' markets in low income neighborhoods by over 400%; ? creating a model for linking good food, health information and community; and ? supporting households' healthy eating; and supporting community based health and economic development efforts. As one can see under Goals #3, we worked closely with over 22 community centers to further our outreach efforts and maximize the number of people influenced by the program. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The "Farmers for Chicago" program aims to build the long-term capacity of low-income, underserved populations and to produce and make available high-quality, locally produced, and culturally appropriate food throughout Chicago. The goals of this project will benefit farmers, food processors, and consumers by making fresh food more accessible and commercial enterprises profitable and feasible in the following ways: Goal #1: Develop new farmers and the necessary infrastructure development to grow and distribute healthy, locally grown produce year-round for all Chicago communities. During the two-year grant period, Growing Power provided ten hands-on workshops in Chicago, IL and sixty-seven workshops in Milwaukee, WI, many of which were attended by Chicago residents. These workshops provided hands-on technical training in the agricultural fields of composting, year-round production, mycelium inoculation, bee-keeping, hoop-house construction and aquaponics. We also put a strong emphasis on business plan development while conducting our Chicago workshops and the Commercial Urban Agriculture Business Training sessions in Milwaukee in order to insure that new farmers had the capacity to cash-flow and scale their new enterprises. Workshop participants learned project planning, marketing, human resource development, financial planning and budgeting, as well as community engagement. Over 500 people were trained through the workshop series over the last two years. Goal #2: Accelerate urban agriculture and local food processing enterprises operating within Chicago, especially communities designated as low-income or food insecure. Objective #1: Build the systems necessary to expand food production and distribution capacity at Growing Power's Iron Street Urban Farm, which will provide stared infrastructure for emerging farmers to participate in wholesale markets. In addition to trainings, five new farmers developed urban farms at Growing Power's incubator site, the South Chicago Farm. Each farmer has approximately one-quarter to half an acre of land to develop their farm site and a unique farm plan specific to their business. Products include vegetables, fruit, eggs, native plants, and flowers. Farmers sold to a variety of sources in the local community including to neighbors, schools and churches. The farm site also included plots for 13 community gardeners to increase food security for folks living in the neighborhood. Other site improvements to the land include a storage shed and community tool share for the farmers on site. Additionally, two of the Chicago workshops were conducted on the site to demonstrate how to build a low cost hoop-house for year-round production. During the workshops, participants built 20' by 20' hoop-house for seed starting and a 20' by 96' hoop-house for bedding plants. Through a separate funder, Growing Power also secured resources to build a heated greenhouse on site, both for seedling production but also to serve as a space to conduct future workshops on the site for our Farmers for Chicago program. We've also contributed to site beautification through proper fencing and the addition of perennial flowers. Objective #2: Provide meaningful work experience in urban farming and nutrition and culinary literacy for at-risk youth. Growing Power's Youth Corps Program exposes teens to urban farming and community food system development. Teen learn how plant, harvest and maintain an urban farm through several hands-on activities. Teens learn the importance of composting, vermicomposting and soil fertility for densely growing in urban environments. They learn plant identification and care, with a focus on sustainable and organic methods. Teens also learn how to harvest and post-harvest handle produce for market and create added-value culinary and beauty items to preserve their harvest. Beyond growing, teens learn the importance of their work and how they contribute to food security initiatives in our communities. Teens explore the different between conventional and locally operated food systems. They understand the nutrition benefits of fresh vegetables and are taught how to prepare food using produce that they grow. They are connected to food justice movements happening in the city, and across the world, and are activated to think about their role in the local food system and how their work can transform their community. Ultimately, the goal of our youth program is that all teens develop critical thinking and leadership skills throughout the program, are exposed to career opportunities that exist within the urban agriculture sector, and are supported to continue work in the food system upon graduation. This program currently operates across 4 farms in Chicago and engages over 260 teens annually. Goal #3: To increase the number and variety of outlets providing local, healthy and affordable food year-round with a focus on food desert communities. We were able to offer the "Double Value" program that provides a 50% reduction in price for SNAP customers for sales up to $20. We will be offering prepared salads, sandwiches and smoothies in the future as well. By working with community partnerships and providing educational outreach, we believe that the project supports informed dietary choices, but also reliability and relationships via a loyal and consistently growing customer base. Fresh Moves has the renewed opportunity to support access to consistent good food, support and information and health and school partners to provide a web of support to reverse diet related diseases and health disparities.
Publications
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