Urban Farming as a Sustainable Business

Project Overview

YENC18-127
Project Type: Youth Educator
Funds awarded in 2018: $2,000.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2020
Grant Recipient: Asbury Community Development Corporation
Region: North Central
State: Michigan
Project Manager:

Commodities

Not commodity specific

Practices

  • Education and Training: youth education
  • Sustainable Communities: community development

    Abstract:

    Our project will be a combination of in the classroom and on the farm workshops that will highlight new trends in urban agriculture and introduce youth to successful urban farming projects and entrepreneurs.


    Our goal is to help youth discover that urban farming is profitable and show them how empty city lots can quickly be transformed into local food that is good for the community but also profitable. Therefore, we will focus on soil quality improvement and crop planning techniques provided by leaders in the industry such as The Market Gardener and The Urban Farmer.

    Project objectives:

    1) Increase sustainable farming skills of high school students through hands-on work sessions with local farmers at our urban farming campus.
    2) Introduce youth to sustainable urban farming career opportunities through meetings with local farmers and introducing them to all the support partners in Flint.
    3) Provide students with the know how to turn vacant lots into producing market gardens with nutrient rich soil.
    4) Give youth an introduction to crop planning that can maximize yields and in doing so showcase how market gardens can provide a large amount of local food for the community while creating a sustainable business.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.