Category: Community Farms

Urban Edge Farm

Southside Community Land Trust  109 Somerset St. Providence, RI 02907  401-273-9419
Contact: Executive Director, Margaret DeVos
Email  Website  Facebook

For 30 years Southside Community Land Trust has supported urban food producers. We currently manage 16 community gardens in South Providence and provide resources and support to over 700 food gardeners through our Community Growers Network.

Urban Edge Farm is a 50-acre farm in Cranston where seven new farmers grow. On Urban Edge Farm, Southside Community Land Trust manages a unique program that ‘grows’ a new generation of farmers.

In 2002, as part of the State of Rhode Island’s Open Space Preservation Act, the was purchased and preserved by the Rhode Island Division of Agriculture. SCLT is managing the property for the State and restoring 35 of its acres to active farmland.

Just 8 miles from our south Providence office, Urban Edge Farm is an ideal site for growing produce, educating new farmers and the public. Urban Edge Farm is a model farm demonstrating environmentally sound land stewardship and farming practices.

The farm hosts new farmers who collaboratively manage the farm’s operation and maintenance.  The farm also offers opportunities for volunteers to work alongside the farmers and hosts farm-related public events. The food grown by farmers at Urban Edge Farm feeds Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shareholders, Farmers’ Market customers, and diners at local restaurants, soup kitchens and food pantries.

Providence Community Growers Network

Southside Community Land Trust  109 Somerset St. Providence, RI 02907  401-273-9419
Contact: Executive Director, Margaret DeVos
Email  Website  Facebook

For 30 years Southside Community Land Trust has supported urban food producers. We currently manage 16 community gardens in South Providence and provide resources and support to over 700 food gardeners through our Community Growers Network.

Do you grow food in a community garden, a home garden, a school garden, or a market garden? This network is for you! The Providence Community Growers Network (PCGN) provides access to gardening resources, education, and community building for its members, helping gardeners in Providence grow more food!

We’re working with community leaders to establish six Hubs in different Providence neighborhoods. Hubs may be community gardens or other community centers, serving as a distribution center for gardening materials and a host site for workshops and community events. We currently have Hubs in

• Southside: Davey Lopes Recreation Center (227 Dudley St.)

• West End: Groundwork Providence Community Garden (14-18 Ring St.)

• Olneyville: Manton Avenue Community Garden (40 Florence St.)

• Eastside: Sessions Street Community Garden (160 Sessions St.)

Children’s Garden

southside2bSouthside Community Land Trust  109 Somerset St. Providence, RI 02907  401-273-9419
Contact: Executive Director, Margaret DeVos
Email  Website  Facebook

The Children’s Garden is a 20 year old program that brings 200 elementary and middle school students to City Farm for an engaging, hands-on summer-long gardening and education enrichment.

During the summer, City Farm is green, beautiful, and full of fruits and vegetables – the perfect time for neighborhood children to learn how to grow food.

Southside Community Land Trust partners with youth summer programs at community centers and schools for the Children’s Garden. Each partner brings groups of 15-30 youth each week to tend to a special corner of City Farm – complete with fun, kid-friendly themes like a “bean teepee” and a salsa garden with tomatoes and cilantro.

Youth participants learn how to grow food – from seed to fruit! They learn about the importance of healthy soil, what compost is and how to make it, and why certain garden bugs are good for plants. They harvest salad greens, fruits, and vegetables and make delicious snacks with the foods they’ve grown.

The 8-week program integrates lessons about nutrition, the environment, and gardening into its curriculum. Each lesson is taught by the Children’s Garden Coordinator, a seasonal employee of Southside Community Land Trust and a current or future school teacher.

Children’s Garden culminates with an end-of-summer Block Party, City Fest, at City Farm. City Fest gives youth participants the chance to celebrate the end of their successful growing season and share the fruits of their labor with parents, siblings, and neighbors. City Fest’s guests enjoy music, games, and snacks – made with ingredients that the kids have grown themselves!

City Farm

cityfarmbSouthside Community Land Trust  109 Somerset St. Providence, RI 02907  401-273-9419
Contact: Executive Director, Margaret DeVos
Email  Website  Facebook

Created in 1986, City Farm is a 3/4-acre urban farm in the heart of South Providence. It is a commercial farm, a unique “outdoor classroom” for food-growing education, and an inspiring example of how to foster a vibrant ecosystem in a city.

Often referred to as an urban oasis, City Farm is a thriving center of biodiversity in the midst of the city landscape. City Farm is home to a wide array of living things. Fruit and vegetable plants are grown, including flowers, healthy soil, trees, and shrubs. Bees, birds, insects, and animals are another part of the City Farm ecosystem.

The farm is a thriving demonstration of bio-intensive farming methods, raising tons of food in a small space using environmentally sustainable methods. City Farm sells its produce to customers at several Providence farmers’ markets and at local restaurants, and regularly donates to soup kitchens and food pantries.

City Farm is also a living resource for food growers of all ages and experience levels. Food Growing workshops, youth and adult education programming, and neighborhood celebrations take place at City Farm throughout the year.

Franklin Farm

logofoodbankRhode Island Community Food Bank
200  Niantic Avenue, Providence, RI 02907  401.942.6325
Contact: Chief Executive Officer,  Andrew Schiff 
Website

142 Abbot Run Valley Road, Cumberland
Coordinator: Denise Mudge (401) 334-0133
Email | Website

Organized for charitable and educational purposes including, but not limited to preserving, maintaining and improving the eighteenth and nineteenth century homestead of the Metcalf-Franklin Farm.
Franklin Farm, in Cumberland, RI, is a town-owned historic farm. Recently added to the National Register of Historic Places, Franklin Farm encompasses over 65 acres of land and includes a mid-19th century Greek Revival-style farmhouse; an early-19th century timber-framed barn; a ca. 1903 dairy barn; and a 20th-century garage.

Used for many years as a dairy farm, the land and buildings now belong to the public, under the direction of the Historic Metcalf-Franklin Farm Preservation Association. Many town programs are run on the site, and the farm is home to a community garden and farm stand.

Charlestown Community Garden

logofoodbankRhode Island Community Food Bank
200  Niantic Avenue, Providence, RI 02907  401.942.6325
Contact: Chief Executive Officer,  Andrew Schiff 
Website

100 Park Lane, Ninigret Park Charlestown, RI 02813
Coordinators: Susie Fehrmann and Steve Symonds (845) 559-4561 or (401) 742-7625 Email

In Charlestown, volunteers are doing their part to reduce these staggering numbers and create a healthier, hunger-free community by putting in some time at the Charlestown Community Garden. With the help of its new fiscal sponsor, the Jonnycake Center of Westerly, the efforts are paying off. The garden produced 6,062 pounds of produce in 2014, up from roughly 3,300 pounds the year before.

Located at Ninigret Park, the garden sits on a 15,000-square-foot parcel of land dedicated to growing a variety of crops such as kale, tomatoes and green beans. The garden was originally sponsored by the Town of Charlestown, but about a year ago the Southern Rhode Island Volunteers took over that role. Most recently, the Jonnycake Center of Westerly has assumed the sponsorship position, and both parties could not be happier with the arrangement.