Growing Home, Inc.

During these online times, NURF has been raising awareness about food justice and environmental issues. One group we featured in our weekly Instagram posts was Growing Home, Inc. Growing Home is a Chicago urban farming organization whose mission centers around “inspiring healthy living, economic opportunity, and community empowerment in Englewood.” Founded by Janelle St. John in 2002, their farms are the only USDA-certified organic high-productions farms in Chicago. St. John claims she was driven by the need to partner food justice with economic opportunity in her community.

Growing Home is located on Chicago’s Southside in Englewood, a historical neighborhood centered around an amazing community of families, strong local organization leaders, and traditions. Unfortunately, due to the historic segregation and systemic racism that permeates Chicago’s neighborhoods to this day, Englewood is an economically disinvested neighborhood. Roughly 30% of households struggle with food insecurity and a third of residents are unemployed.

Empowered by their belief that everyone deserves a good job and to eat well, Growing Home seeks to help people find meaningful careers through skills developed through farming. Growing Homes employment-training model is a 12-week program that focuses on developing job readiness, leadership, and communication skills through an emotional-resilience and green economy curriculum. Through this program, they help local residents onto a path of self-sufficiency while helping to transform the community.

Growing Home’s urban farms support over 150 types of vegetables, many of which are shared with the community. In 2020, over half of Growing Home’s produce was donated or distributed in Englewood. Over 1,000 people were reached through their food access events. Growing Home also sells their produce at farmers markets throughout the Chicagoland area but reserves special discounts for Englewood residents: produce is sold at 50% off the market rate, SNAP/WIC public assistance are honored, and Senior Coupons are doubled.

For more information or ways to get involved, visit their website! NURF looks forward to enriching our relationship with Growing Home and volunteering at their farms in the post-COVID future.

Written by Grace Hauser.