Building a More Just, Equitable Food System
At Urban Growers Collective, local agriculture is at the root of health, healing & community
Urban Growers Collective is a Black- and women-led agriculture nonprofit in Chicago. We aim to address inequities and structural racism in the food system and in communities of color by:
Providing jobs and job training to create economic opportunities for youth and beginner BIPOC farmers
Mitigating food insecurity
Increasing access to affordable, culturally affirming and nutritionally dense food
The UGC team cultivates eight urban farms on 11 acres of land, predominantly on Chicago’s South Side. These farms are production-oriented, and offer opportunities for staff-led education, training, and leadership development. Our produce is available at farmers markets, in our Collective Supported Agriculture program, and via our Fresh Moves Mobile Market buses.
Pathways to Health
At Urban Growers Collective we are cultivating new pathways to health that empower neighbors and communities to shape their own wellbeing.
We connect our neighbors to local, nutritious, affordable, and culturally affirming food.
We invest in developing local food economies through urban farming, job training, and education.
We join eaters, growers and marketplaces, building long-term resilience to further divestment in Chicago’s communities of color.
Our Fresh Moves Mobile Market, a bus-turned-mobile farmers market, brings affordable produce to schools, community centers, churches, and health clinics. We’re helping make good food accessible to Chicago’s communities of color.
Pathways to Household Wealth
Urban Growers Collective cultivates nourishing environments where the passion for growing food in Chicago thrives from generation to generation. Our pathways to household wealth allow local families to grow together and connect through urban agriculture and the food system.
We spark a passion for gardening through our Educare Preschool Farm
We educate and empower teens through our Youth Corps program, internships and apprentice programs
CSW’s Youth Corps program engages 150+ youth each year on our farms. Teens expand their understanding of urban farming and deepen their personal development through an inquiry-based STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) curriculum. All participants receive a work stipend.
Pathways to Community Wealth
Urban Growers Collective uses urban agriculture to develop local markets and cultivate pathways for historically disinvested Chicago communities to build economic wealth.
We foster a holistic local food system by and for our communities.
We emphasize the important role of growers through programs like our Fresh Moves Mobile Market.
UGC’s Grower Apprenticeship Program empowers emerging growers with foundational farm skills to work toward financially, environmentally, and socially sustainable farm operations. This three-year program includes hands-on training in urban agriculture production and cooperative business models.
Pathways to Healing & Creativity
Urban Growers Collective creates pathways to healing and creativity by engaging Chicagoans in ancestral and cultural spiritual practices on land stewarded with those practices in mind.
As a Black-led organization, we provide safe spaces for building mutually beneficial relationships founded on trust
We foster a multigenerational, multicultural, community devoted to the support of everyone’s healing
The Urban Growers Collective Community Herbalism Apprenticeship offers the opportunity for participants to engage and build a relationship with plants to ultimately use them for personal, family, and community healing.
Help UGC Support Our Communities
Your generous contribution educates teens, provides land and training for new BIPOC farmers, and provides our communities with affordable, nutritionally dense, and equitably grown food.
$19,300
in need-based stipends for participants in our internship program in 2023
23,000
pounds of produce harvested from our farms and distributed to the community in 2023
270,000
pounds of produce distributed via our Fresh Moves Mobile Market in 2023
742
RSVPs to public events and workshops in 2023
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Visit one of our onsite farm stands or farmers’ markets; find a Fresh Moves Mobile Market partner site; or sign up for a Collective Supported Agriculture membership!