Local Food Systems

Established in 2005, Promoting Empowerment and Enrichment Resources (P.E.E.R., Inc.) works to ensure that residents of Birmingham’s South East Lake community have access to the resources they need for healthy living, learning, and work.  The nonprofit runs a seasonal farmer’s market that includes cooking demonstrations and health screening events and has a mobile market to ensure all residents can access healthy, fresh produce.  Through P.E.E.R.’s commercial kitchen space, community residents can participate in a culinary training program, and products made by the “chef-apprentices” are sold to generate revenues to help support P.E.E.R.’s work.

Aiming to ensure area youth can learn, create, and grow a healthy future for themselves and their community, Jones Valley Teaching Farm builds student-centered teaching farms on local school campuses.  To date, the nonprofit has created 7 such farms through which it has engaged nearly 4,650 students who, collectively, have grown roughly 380 varieties of fruits and vegetables.  To foster youth entrepreneurship and promote access to fresh products, Jones Valley Teaching Farm also helps participants develop student farmer’s markets through which they sell harvested produce and flowers.

The Sweet Potato Project aims to restore economic activity in North St. Louis by providing paid training opportunities for area youth while creating new ways to grow and distribute local produce.  Each summer, youth learn agricultural and entrepreneurial skills while growing sweet potatoes, which in the fall and winter months they use to bake, market, and sell sweet potato cookies.  A long-term Sweet Potato Project goal is to encourage other city stakeholders to lease or purchase vacant properties on which they can grow produce, with the option of selling their yield to the Project so that it can create more food-based products.

Launched by a group of women frustrated by the lack of accessible grocery stores selling organic, local food in Southeast St. Louis, City Greens Market is a nonprofit small grocery aiming to support local agriculture and ensure all community members can buy affordable, good food.  The Market sells all items at cost to its members, who pay an annual membership fee based on their household income or join for free in exchange for volunteering at least an hour per week.  The nonprofit also offers classes and demonstrations focused on cooking nutritious, affordable meals.

Founded in 2010, Hilltop Urban Gardens (HUG) partners with the community to grow healthy food and people.  With a mission to foster food sovereignty and racial and economic justice, HUG is led by and centers its work on economically disadvantaged people and people of color.  Food is distributed at its seasonal Saturday produce stand, and those taking food are asked to give back to the community in some way—which could encompass volunteering in their gardens, making quilts for children, or contributing in some other way to the neighborhood.  The nonprofit also offers a range of social and educational programs including numerous workshops and youth internships.

Established in 2008 by Genesis Lutheran Church, Genesis Hope works to nurture a sustainable, local economy with community-based, urban agriculture businesses that ensure food security for all Detroit residents.  Through its Young Sprouts program, the nonprofit provides job and leadership training to area youth at its youth-operated urban farm and farmer’s market.  The farm produces about 1,000 pounds of produce a year, a third of which is distributed free to community members.