Urban farming is not a well known method for growing produce in the United States. However, in Roxbury, Massachusetts -- only three miles from downtown Boston -- 165 urban gardens are growing corn, collard greens, and tomatoes. Growing up in the city, one rarely gets to see the way vegetables and fruit grow. Urban youth are more likely to connect produce with a refrigerated truck! However, this unconventional way of growing food has been harnessed by The Food Project of Boston. With a core of volunteers and paid youth that live in the city and nearby suburbs, this non-profit feeds the needy, sells to city neighbors, re-connects youth with the land and in the process, deepens the links between the communities.
Founded in 1991 by Ward Cheney, the organization connects youth of diverse backgrounds with their community through agriculture. They began farming organically on a small plot of land leased from the town of Lincoln, a wealthy suburb of Boston. Four years later, The Food Project located a vacant lot in Roxbury, one of Boston's lowest income neighborhoods and began the process of transforming lead-filled and toxic soil into a safe and productive growing space.
Colleen O'Brien, a community outreach worker for The Food Project explains why urban farming here is so popular. "The population in Roxbury is made up in part by immigrants from Cape Verde and the Caribbean Islands like Haiti and Jamaica. They already have an interest in growing their own food. Within the city limits of Boston, there are approximately 1,300 abandoned lots that could be available for farming. Many abandoned lots were taken back by this community, without obtaining leases or paying rent. They just began farming it for themselves, like squatters. Unfortunately this is not safe. The soil contains lead and toxic materials like old tires and scrap building materials, in addition to more dangerous chemicals that have accumulated over the years through illegal dumping."
O'Brien explains the process of getting the land ready to grow produce. "First, haul away what can be safely removed. Then bury any remaining debris and cover it with a deep layer of earth and compost." Each plot requires a large amount of manpower in order to prepare, grow and harvest the crops. A body of over 1,000 volunteers and 100 youth crew members work the fields, while neighbors embrace the land and protect it as their own from possible vandals. Patricia Gray, Executive Director of The Food Project, says unfortunately that vandalism is included in the cost of running the organization. Teens that work with the Project find it upsetting to see their work destroyed, especially when they are trying to do some good for the community, but feel valued when they sell their healthy food to neighbors at their farmers' market.
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