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The future of farming is going to get local.  According to the United Nations, 2008 was the first year in human history that more of the human beings on the planet live in cities versus in rural areas.  This coincides with the beinging of an era where the price oil and concerns about climate change are creating a new demand for locally grown food. 

In Chicago, a city that in 2008 was named the greenest city in America by Fast Company magazine, this new era of urban agriculture is well under way.   At the former heart of Cabrini Green, one of the most notorious housing projects in the United States, you will find City Farm.  City Farm was founded in the late 1990′s by long time sociall activist Ken Dunn as an initiative of the Resource Center and environmental education organization.  

What is remarkable and inspiring about City Farm, is that it completes the entire food cycle within the city limits of Chicago.   All of the food produced is organically grown in various vacant lots across the city. The food is then in turn sold to local restaurants and residents at the Clyborn and Division location.  City Farm grows thirty varieties of tomatoes as well as  potatoes, beets, carrots,  herbs, and other vegtables. All the produce is grown in composted soil that when the vacant lots are sold is transported to new locations.It is estimated that if all of the vacant land in the city of Chicago was under cultivation, it would provide over 42,000 full time jobs.  

If you would like more information on City Farm you can email: cityfarm@resourcecenterchicago.org

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