Building Agricultural Relationships in Pittsburgh

View the project report

Commodities

Practices

• Crop Production: seed saving
• Education and Training: demonstration, farmer to farmer, participatory research
• Farm Business Management: community-supported agriculture, new enterprise development
• Sustainable Communities: community development, local and regional food systems, urban agriculture, urban/rural integration

Building on the success of Chatham University's Bio-Intensive, Regenerative Market Garden Project (BIRM) and the previously funded SARE Partnership Grant Growing Growers (ONE22-425), the BRIDGES project aims to cultivate equitable local food systems in Pittsburgh by deepening connections between Chatham's Eden Hall Campus Farm and a group of intersectional, diverse urban farmers. BRIDGES will establish a pilot, multi-farm community supported agriculture (CSA) program and a collaborative seed saving hub focused on culturally-relevant crops.

The project objectives are to:

1. Develop a cooperative CSA model that aggregates produce from urban farms, increasing market access and providing an affordable share for customers.
2. Create a seed saving initiative to preserve and share culturally-significant plant varieties, foster knowledge exchange, and strengthen relationships among farmers.

Key components of the plan of work include:

• Convening community of practice meetings for participating farmer partners
• Developing crop planning guides and marketing strategies for the CSA
• Conducting seed saving workshops and coordinating a shared seed library at Chatham University’s Eden Hall Campus Farm
• Assessing financial viability and true cost accounting of the CSA and seed saving initiatives
• Evaluating project impact on farmer relationships and regional food sovereignty

Outreach will engage the broader community through CSA marketing, workshops, and dissemination of project findings via conferences and publications. By centering the experiences of diverse urban farmers and fostering collaboration, BRIDGES seeks to create a more vibrant, just, and resilient local food system in Pittsburgh.

Objective 1: Establish a cooperative multi-farm CSA model that aggregates produce from at least 3 farms in Pittsburgh, including Oasis Farm and Fishery, Eden Hall Farm, Farmer Girl Eb. The project expects to have at least 20 customers by the end of the 2-year project period. 

Objective 2: Create a collaborative seed saving initiative that engages at least 6 urban farmers in the preservation, sharing, and propagation of at least 10 culturally-relevant crop varieties. This initiative will include the establishment of a shared seed library at Chatham University, 3 hands-on workshops, and participatory variety trials over the course of the project.

Objective 3: Develop a vibrant community of practice that brings together at least 12 urban farmers, including women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ growers, through at least 10 meetings. These meetings will include knowledge-sharing, collaborative problem-solving, and collective action to promote a more equitable and resilient local food system in Pittsburgh. There will be two main community of practice groups that are led by three farmers in stipend positions and coordinated by Murakami. 

Objective 4: Assess the economic viability and social impact of the cooperative CSA model and seed saving initiative through participatory evaluation methods, including surveys, focus groups, and sales data analysis, to demonstrate the benefits and challenges of these collaborative approaches for at least 3 participating urban farms and 20 CSA customers.

Objective 5: Disseminate project findings and lessons learned to the broader community through at least 2 on-farm workshops, 1 conference presentation, and 2 publications (e.g., SARE Bulletins, fact sheets, case studies) to inspire and inform the adoption of cooperative CSA models and collaborative seed saving initiatives among urban farmers, community organizations, and local food advocates in Pittsburgh and beyond.