Bundles of fresh watercress and curly kale; just-picked baby beets and edible nasturtium flowers; chickens pecking at the ground and bees buzzing around a hive.
Iron Street Farm is both a working farm on Chicago’s South Side and the new Chicago headquarters of Growing Power, a Milwaukee-based company whose vision is to eradicate food deserts while simultaneously giving local residents a reason to work in, and appreciate, their neighborhoods. Their mission says it best; “Our goal is a simple one: to grow food, to grow minds, and to grow community.”
Iron Street Farm is one of five Growing Power sites in Chicago and, as is the case at all their locations, the farm hires local residents to work the land and reap the rewards of growing fresh food. Residents who work on the farm learn about sustainability, nutrition and agriculture, while also acquiring general business skills, such as marketing and customer service. The farm also sells its produce to local restaurants and at farmers’ markets, thereby bringing the fruits of their labor to the local community.
Erika Allen runs Iron Street Farm, which, according to her, cultivates much more than produce. “We are growing people here too! Folks from all walks of life become active agents in creating a locally operated food system.” Allen has also set up a for-profit entity—GreenERA—that will expand the farm’s ability to invest in renewable energy initiatives and in turn enable Allen to offer permanent full-time jobs at living wages to some of her farm workers. The wider goal of Growing Power is to make urban farming ubiquitous across city neighborhoods, empowering everyone to grow their own food.
Growing Power’s Chief Executive Farmer (and Erika Allen’s father) Will Allen says, “If people can grow safe, healthy, affordable food, and if they have access to land and clean water, then this is transformative on every level in a community. I believe we cannot have healthy communities without a healthy food system.”
It is an inspiring vision and one that has garnered a lot of attention for the Allens, Time Magazine recently named him one of the World’s Most Influential People. And daughter Erika served on Mayor Emanuel’s transition team to advise on how urban farming cross-cuts with economic development to create jobs and help alleviate social problems.
In addition to working with global companies, World Business Chicago supports smaller neighborhood initiatives and recognizes the creative services and solutions they provide to the local economy. Growing Power is an excellent example of how community businesses are a great asset to Chicago.
More info:
- About the work and vision of Growing Power
- About where to buy Iron Street Farm’s produce
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Image: Growing Power Chicago Advisory Board memeber, Jason Feldman in an Iron Street Farm greenhouse, early spring.
