Urban Farm DB
← Back to cases
Vacant lotActiveSince 2002

Growing Home

Chicago, United States · Operator: Growing Home Inc.

Overview

Growing Home runs USDA-certified organic urban farms on vacant Chicago lots and offers a 14-week paid job-training program to people with barriers to employment, using agriculture as a vehicle for personal and community renewal.

Citizen participation

Job-seekers facing multiple barriers to employment, such as criminal records, histories of homelessness or low education, are taken on as paid 'production assistants' in a 14-week program combining farm work and classroom learning to prepare them for work.

Operating model

A nonprofit using USDA-certified organic urban agriculture as a vehicle for job training, employment and community development, combining produce sales with grants and donations.

Impact

It has helped many participants with employment barriers find jobs while its two farms produce roughly 30,000 pounds of food a year, improving access to fresh produce in a food-desert neighborhood.

Crops

  • mixed organic vegetables
  • leafy greens
  • herbs

Scale

シカゴのイングルウッド地区とバック・オブ・ザ・ヤーズ地区にUSDA有機認証の都市農園を運営。2農園で年間約30,000ポンドの農産物を生産。

Sources(2)

Related cases

Growing Home — Urban Farm DB