Chicago
Chapter Leaders: Dr. Shemuel B. Israel and Lora Lode
Location: Chicago, Illinois
About Our Chapter: What makes our chapter unique is most of our growing spaces are small farms in an urban setting, small farms, and urban community gardens. Although I have most spoken of the gardens and small farms in North Lawndale there are some 130 NeighborSpace protected small farms and community gardens across the Chicagoland area.
The work expanded last year when we used six of our community gardens to grow food for our community. We received a Bernard Tyson grant from the American Heart Association to begin a local Garden to Table project. This year we received additional funding to continue our work. We now have seventeen community gardens and about 6500 square feet of growing space. Additionally, I am working with the Advocates for Urban Agriculture (AUA) to facilitate the NRCS Soil Program in Illinois.
