Philadelphia did well in this category in SustainLane’s ranking of the greenest American cities. Philadelphia has the potential to supply locally grown food all year. Currently the city has 40,00 vacant lots..think of the possibilities! There are also more than 700 vancant factories in the city. All of these could be used to grow food for Philadelphia and surrounding areas.
The following groups are making Philadelphia greener as we speak. In case any of you kind souls would like to help them, I’ll include the necessary information.
Mill Creek Farm
photo from http://millcreekurbanfarm.org
This urban garden is located in what used to be a vacant lot in West Philadelphia. For 15 years Mill Creek Farm has been commited to improving food security and improving consumer’s access to food. The are also an urban educational garden that hosts field trips, tours, and community-skills workshops. To learn more, visit thier website, http://millcreekurbanfarm.org
GreensGrow
photo from http://greensgrow.org
Located in Kensington, Greensgrow is recognized nationally as the leader in urban farming. Greensgrow is located on what used to be a galvanized steel plant, but today is growing the highest quality heirloom vegetables from raised beds containing organic soil. Visit their site: http://greensgrow.org
Weaver’s Way Co-Op Farm
photo from http://weaversway.org
There are two locations in Mt. Airy and West Oak Lane. The Co-op started selling vegetables in 1973. Today they have their own farm located on 3/4 of an acre in East Mt. Airy. They grow peas, beets, carrots, eggplants, squash, tomotos, broccoli, and so much more. Even with only one full time employee and one part time employee, Weaver’s Way Co-op is able to successfully grow and sell produce in local markets because each member is required to volunteer with some aspect of the operation. That may be planting, harvesting, administrative work, slicing meats and cheese, or ringing up customers. Like Mill Creek Farm, they offer educational programs for local students to learn the importance of locally-grown food in a community. http://weaversway.org
The City Harvest Program is an amazing collaboration between the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society, the Philadelphia Prison System, the Health Promotion Council of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and SHARE, which is a food distribution network. The Horticulture Society works with inmates to grow seedlings in a greenhouse at the prison on the northeast. These seedlings are transported to either a garden at the prison, or one of 35 community gardens throughout the city where volunteers finish growing them. Once the vegetables are harvested they are distributed to Philadelphians in need.
These 4 groups represent a small fraction of those out there in Philadelphia right now working towards food security and sustainability. Others include the Philadelphia Orchard Project, Neighborhood Garden Association, Community IPM Partnership, and the Philadelphia Urban Farm Network
