Project Management: Urban Farm – Growing Healthy Food in Baltimore City

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Many Southwest Baltimore residents lack both access and sufficient resources to purchase fresh vegetables.  Access to fresh and nutritious vegetables in this low-income neighborhood’s is complicated by the physical environment where there is only one grocery store, there are significant transportation barriers, and there is limited knowledge of the importance of healthy eating to manage chronic healthcare conditions.

Bon Secours Community Works (BSCW) goal was to convert a 1⁄4 acre of land into a functional urban farm to provide ready access to fresh vegetables for the community.

CHALLENGES

Requity worked with BSCW to address five primary challenges to project implementation.  These challenges included: 

sufficient funding: aligning multiple funders was key in ensuring program success.  Requity developed a multi-pronged food access strategy to define production, distribution, and education components of a food system. Additional funders championed new components while supporting initial production. 

community engagement: initiated monthly Anchor Group meetings, organized by community leadership and hosted by Bon Secours. Trust was gained through transparency and communicating progress, and hiring local talent.

 navigating Baltimore City permitting and inspection process: It took over 3 months for Right of Entry documentation to be approved and permits to access water from the Baltimore City took almost one year to receive approval. 

managing ongoing staffing and organizational change: the project experienced significant staff and organizational changes during the implementation process, however Requity was able to identify alternative solutions and alter the original timelines to adapt to this change and ensure program implementation. 

​construction challenges: The identified open space had house foundations beneath the surface that forced construction to veer from the original design layout. Excessive overgrown foliage on an electric pole delayed electrical installation.

PROGRAM SUCCESS

The ¼ acre of identified land now supports two production houses, outdoor growing beds, irrigation, electricity​​, and a nursery with an aquaponic system.  In addition, there is a renovated community garden where residents are able to grow their own produce in addition to food washing and refrigerated storage stations.  A planned and funded serenity space will be developed in 2020 to serve as a community respite.

The Community Sustainable Agriculture (CSA) program launched in 2018.  This program delivers a weekly 13 pound to 18 pound bag of fresh produce to 75 families, reaching over 300 people. At the end of 2019, the Bon Secours Community Farm has grown and distributed 3,203 pounds of fresh food which translates to $15,145 in market value.

Continued community engagement has resulted in the Fayette Street Outreach (FSO), a neighborhood association and Anchor Group member, building a production house on the center grounds. The house supplements production of BSCW main farm site and can serve as a host site for garden clubs.