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Farmers pass on more to their children than their name. They pass on their cultural legacy, in the form of agricultural tradition. Their greatest fortune is the soil they cultivate. By helping their children till this soil and plant seeds, farmers pass along the tips and tricks that their ancestors had left to them. Years later, their children inherit [...] Located in a food desert in the Midwest, The Troostwood Youth Garden is growing fresh food and a community where no one else will. Listen to urban farmer Ericka Wright and youth Jessica Baker discuss Troostwood’s origins, how fresh food can work in the city and the importance of knowing where your food comes from in [...] Farming no longer has to be about fields and barns. Right in middle of an urban district, on a plot of land next to a storefront or parking lot, an urban garden can sprout and bring a new source of food and sense of community. The saying in real-estate is location, location, location, but urban [...] We constantly hear that youth are our future, but what will that future look like with the ever-increasing disconnect between our food and ourselves? A number of local, urban farmers are fighting that future, by providing youth an opportunity to relearn our food. During the summer you’ll find youth working the fields, rows, and greenhouse at J-14 [...] Reconnect with the Land… My grandparents were in their 20s when FDR asked them and the rest of the nation to pick up the food slack through Victory Gardens. WWII had started, and while our troops received the fruits of our commercial farms, my grandparents and their peers were at home, learning the ways of self-sustainability and conservation as they [...] Victory Gardens are a hot topic right now. As Angela Greene, creator of the Salt of the Earth Youth Garden, puts it, “they’re definitely in vogue.” Vintage Vogue Magazine Cover As the days get warmer and the price of everything gets higher, many people decide to do more than just consume. They create. A Victory Garden can [...] The Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture is an example of how one business can have a positive impact by supporting local farmers and providing fresh food and economic viability to the Kansas City community. Listen to co-founder Katherine Kelly and farm manager Alicia Ellingsworth explain the inner workings of urban farming by clicking on the link [...] Nestled in the yard of a house on a busy street of downtown Kansas City, MO is the Troostwood Youth Garden. Ericka Wright started Troostwood in 1999 with help from neighboring Rockhurst University. Kids from the neighborhood do much of the work in the garden, growing, managing and selling vegetables A to Z. Troostwood has become an important in the community and one of the few places to get fresh vegetables in the area. Because the kids working there learn the value of hard work and dedication as well as an appreciation for where food comes from, Troostwood acts as an outdoor classroom. [...] Drumm Farm in Independence, Mo., isn’t just home to organic fruits and vegetables, it’s home to foster parents and children and a golf course, too. The hundreds of acres owned by the Andrew Drumm Institute used to all be a conventional farm, but now the farm here is only about three acres, “with the goal being to keep the home for the children,” says farmer Maureen Branstetter. Foster parents and children who live here can avail themselves to as much fresh produce as they’d like, and the children often work or volunteer on the farm themselves. [...] Blue Door Farm Though located in the bustling heart of Kansas City, Kansas, you can hear the birds singing and the wind rustling through the leaves that shelter Blue Door Farm. A long gravel road winds off of 55th Street to a quintessential country home, framed by shed and barn. The homemade greenhouse that is Blue [...] |
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