Farming In The Inner City Without Acres Of Dirt

Bowen Harvest Farm's Entrepreneurship Instructor Joe Jones shows the students how to prepare salads. PHOTO COURTESY OF TASSI COMMUNICATIONS
Bowen Harvest Farm's Entrepreneurship Instructor Joe Jones shows the students how to prepare salads. PHOTO COURTESY OF TASSI COMMUNICATIONS

Farming In The Inner City Without Acres Of Dirt


By Citizen Staff Writer

Since October of 2023, Joe Jones has served as the Senior Director of Entrepreneurship overseeing the active entrepreneurship programing for both the Bowen Harvest site and the Austin Harvest site.   The Bowen Farms are Chicago’s only youth-led hydroponic container farms, located on the city’s south and west sides and are student ran and operated. 

The Altgeld Gardens community on the city’s south side is now home to a farm without acres of dirt.  The growing of produce takes place inside a 500-square-foot hydroponic container, (a transformed shipping container).  The work being performed by the students inside of the hydroponic container is changing the look of traditional farming. 

 At the Altgeld-Murray farm location nutrient dense produce such as lettuce, kale and collard greens are grown. The site alone is capable of producing more than four acres of produce annually and more than a ton of fresh food yearly.

The Bowen Harvest initiative is a Christ centered after school program structured inside of underserved communities.  “The program facilitators have a strong interest in social Justice”.   So, it was important for them to include in their programing an element where they could give back to the community, said Joe. 

Jones credits the success of the program to their funding sponsors and specifically, its name’s sake sponsors the ‘Bowen’ family and its family member Marco Bowen. 

Jones added that the Harvest Farms programs teach students entrepreneur skills and all aspects needed to run a successful business.  But it also teaches them how to use those skills to solve social justice issues. 

According to a press release, the students are assigned shifts and are given hands-on experience in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).   They are learning and earning money all in one day.

Vernel Daniel, a student participant in the program said that he became involved with the program through an introduction to Jones while attending a DEVO/ Bible Study session at the ‘By the Hands Club for Kids’.   Vernel said, “he was reluctant to get involved in the farming program at first because he viewed it as a lot of work.  Things changed for him once he got involved and took a sponsored trip to learn more about farming.   Upon his return he started to have more fun working and chilling with peers and co-workers”.

The organization has 20 students on their roster and 8 of them oversee the farming production at the Altgeld-Murray site.  Under the leadership of Jones and his team the entrepreneurs are reshaping the food desert landscape in communities of color both on the west and south sides of the city.

Now in its third year, the program expanded to include its “Freight to Plate’ initiative. This addition to the program is funded through a partnership with a local church.  The young farmers now provide freshly packaged ready-to-serve salad kits. The packaged salad kits contain a leafy produce coupled with ingredients like carrots, broccoli, onions and mushrooms.

According to the USDA, we should consume three or more servings of vegetables and fruits in our daily diets to promote healthier lifestyles.  Our daily meal consumptions not only consist of fruits and vegetables like those provided by the Harvest Organization. It is also necessary to include , poultry, beans, nuts, grains and other nutrients for our diets, especially for the older population.   Consumers can visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture/U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website to learn more. 

The student farmers at the Bowen Harvest site earn wages from $15 to $18 per hour.  Student participants are gaining much more than a paycheck through the programs.  The STEM academics are present throughout the entire learning process.  They are learning Science, Technology, Engineering and Math skills; from the lighting , watering, temperature control to harvesting they are all a part of a day’s work on the farm. 

In 2011, the food desert epidemic across the city heightened, leaving residents living in low-income communities without accessibility to grocery stores and food marts.   Although residents were able to purchase staple items in their communities like milk and bread from local gas stations, fresh produce was not readily available. 

In 2013, under former mayor Emanuel, a data report was released by the city that showed efforts being put forth to combat the food deserts dilemma.  However, to date many of the communities across the city are still struggling. 

Therefore, the answering of the clarion call by the Bowen Harvest organization certainly moves the needle for those residents surrounding their farms.  More governmental resources are needed in many countries around the world.  Unless the government begins to fund more programs like those offered at Bowen Harvest, access to healthier food choices will remain a huge struggle for low-income residents in communities of color. 

The majority of Harvest’s distribution is done through some of our partner food pantries.  The partner pantries are located at: CYC, Free Indeed and also Shelton Heights.    The Altgeld-Murray site operates Monday through Friday and is located at: 13015 South Ellis in the Altgeld Garden community. 

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