Turns Out Food Deserts Have Land
First, from the Heartland Alliance:
“We are so excited about one of our newest projects, Chicago FarmWorks which will break ground on a 2.6 acre urban farm in East Garfield Park today.
“As Chicago families look forward to Thanksgiving, Heartland Alliance’s Chicago FarmWorks reminds everyone of the importance of community and how we all must work together to eradicate hunger and poverty in our city.
“We estimate that 24,000 pounds of produce will be grown in the first year, which will be distributed to low-income families by the Greater Chicago Food Depository. The project will create 90 transitional jobs in the first three years, allowing hard-to-employ people to get the training they need to re-enter the workforce on a full-time basis.”
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Now, the rest of the story.
* City of Chicago FAQ.
* “The Chicago Lights Urban Farm empowers youth and community residents in the Cabrini-Green neighborhood to have increased economic opportunities through access to organic produce, nutritional education, work force training, and microenterprise development. It also provides a safe sanctuary and programs for children and youth to learn about urban agriculture.”
* Urban Farming Thrives In Old Chicago Meat Plant.
* Chicago Urban Agriculture Directory.
* How Can Urban Agriculture Go From Niche To Food System?
* “[Dyett High School] collaborates with the Chicago Botanic Garden on a year-round ‘youth farm‘ where students grow spinach, sweet peas and strawberries.”
Said youth farm:
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Also:
* 1992: Schools Leader Says Racism Stalls City Agriculture School Expansion.
* 1993: ACLU Sues To Start Expansion Of City Agricultural High School.
* 1995: “Ironically, the Ag School is the kind that most Chicago neighborhoods would love to have: A 90 percent attendance rate and a 77 percent graduation rate, with 74 percent of its graduates going on to four-year colleges.”
* 1995: “The Chicago Board of Education has agreed to try to enroll ‘the optimal number of students‘ at its highly touted Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences to settle a federal lawsuit over the crowded school’s expansion plans.”
* 2010: “High School Harvest: Agriculture, gardening yield a bumper crop of benefits for these teens from Chicago, suburbs.”
* 2010: “CPS Won’t Let Kids Eat Their Vegetables: More than 40 Chicago schools have gardens, but the produce can’t be served in lunchrooms.”
* 2011: “The enrollment at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences may be increasing, depending on Gov. Pat Quinn’s signature.
“Illinois lawmakers on Tuesday approved a measure that would expand enrollment at the school from 600 to 720 pupils. The measure sailed through the House this month, and the Senate approved it on Tuesday.
“CHSAS, the only one of its kind in the Midwest, offers students who are talented in math and science a unique opportunity to gain education in agriculture, business and science.”
He signed it – with the support of a new alderman.
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And:
Urban Ag Projects in Chicago by the Chicago Botanic Garden.
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Urban Farming in Englewood.
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Comments welcome.
Posted on November 13, 2012