What Happened?
The city of Chicago is teaming up with Growing Power to create the Farmers For Chicago program that will train up to 20 individuals on the basics of establishing urban food enterprises to support local grocers with fresh, locally grown produce.
So What?
The training program will provide five acres of city-owned property to nonprofit organizations looking to launch urban farms and expand the supply chain to neighborhood food suppliers. The goal of the collaboration is to spur agribusiness within city limits and equip residents with the resources to build their own food-based enterprise. The city will locate available land to be used for farm training through the land’s transfer to a land trust or a lease with a community-based organization.
Farmers For Chicago is the result of cooperation between the city of Chicago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Growing Home, Heartland Human Care Services and other local nonprofit organizations. Participating trainees will be provided technical assistance to launch a small business on top of hands-on farming instruction, as well as help acquiring General Agricultural Practices certification required to distribute food to the public. The training includes:
- Building a farm operation
- Constructing a hoop house
- Defining a distribution plan
- Acquiring tools, space and compost
- Learning basic financials to sustain a business
Iron Street Urban Farm
The Farmers For Chicago Program will create new economic opportunities within the city, as well as support urban farming initiatives already in place. The Iron Street Urban Farm in the Bridgeport neighborhood, for example, operates on seven acres and supports 10 hoop houses growing fresh produce for the community year-round. The goal of the program is to use closed loop ecological practices to enable a sustainable source of food production through advanced use of compost, renewable energy sources and aquaponics systems. The project is involved in a work development strategy as well, already training and employing more than 40 youth in the community.
Texas High Tunnels
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Seasonal High Tunnel Initiative provides communities such as Conroe, Texas, with funding to support the construction of high tunnels on farming lands. The high tunnels, part of the USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program, allows local farmers to offer fresh produce to residents year-round through protective equipment. Farmers can build a tent-like structure around crops during off-season months to enable longer growing seasons, lining the tunnel with landscape fabric to reduce water use and retain soil moisture levels. The structure can also support drip irrigation systems for plants when rainfall is unavailable.
In working with the USDA’s initiative, local farmers can take advantage of both technical and financial assistance programs. The financial aid measures help support growers looking to implement eco-friendly, conservation-based sustainable farming practices. The technical assistance aims to:
- Improve management and maintenance of private land
- Enact more eco-friendly land management technologies
- Boost water quality and quantity available to farmers
- Maintain wildlife and fish habitats across the country
- Increase recreational opportunities in various communities
- Diversify agricultural operations and resources available
- Develop sustainable agricultural systems in urbanized regions
Grants
Numerous grants in support of urban economic development are available from multiple federal agencies as well as state agencies, foundations and corporations. You can access these grants through EfficientGov’s Grantfinder app.