You would be remiss to let the off season fool you. I am glad we had the chance to see the farm, a 40,000 square foot space featuring over a hundred raised beds, two greenhouses, four rice paddies and a fruit tree orchard. Even in the present season, it was impressive to sense/envision the emerging transformation as we come into spring. Beyond the annual output of 3,500 pounds of food, the prudent consideration of the Park Alliance to design the farm to foster parallel learning along with growing filled me with satisfaction. It is perhaps easy for some to overlook the value of outdoor classrooms but it is precisely these sorts of supplemental learning environments especially in cities that incite meaningful, lasting implicit connections and a more personal relationship with the nature of our consumption. As we become increasingly detached from the realities and paradoxically reliant on a complex global food network, programs like Edible Education hosted by the farm alliance that addresses fundamental concepts like soil biodiversity, urban ecosystems, resilient agricultural strategy, composting even healthy eating will inhabit the front lines towards reclaiming a sense of ownership over our nutrition and better stewardship of our miracle planet.

It was a blessing to hear that the program persevered over COVID. The first harvest of the 2021 season yielded, “50 pounds of produce including carrots, chives, spinach…” Ciara Sidwell. Looking forward on March 25 @ 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm the alliance is putting up an exciting event featuring an award-winning Venezuelan Chef and three-time winning contestant of Chopped (Food Network), Adrina Urbina who will be hosting an interactive cooking demo to make a Shaved Veggies Salad comprised of ingredients harvested from the Urban Farm. The farm clearly has a promising future, I wish the alliance decades of success to come.

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