All posts in the topic Community Development (Short link)

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http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/20/9079/
Published on Tuesday, May 20, 2008 by The New York Times
Where Industry Once Hummed, Urban Garden Finds Success
by Jon Hurdle

PHILADELPHIA - Amid the tightly packed row houses of North
Philadelphia, a pioneering urban farm is providing fresh local food
for a community that often lacks it, and making money in the process.

Greensgrow, a one-acre plot of raised beds and greenhouses on the
site of a former steel-galvanizing factory, is turning a profit by
selling its own vegetables and herbs as well as a range of produce
from local growers, and by running a nursery selling plants and
seedlings.

The farm earned about $10,000 on revenue of $450,000 in 2007, and
hopes to make a profit of 5 percent on $650,000 in revenue in this,
its 10th year, so it can open another operation elsewhere in
Philadelphia.

In season, it sells its own hydroponically grown vegetables, as well
as peaches from New Jersey, tomatoes from Lancaster County, and
breads, meats and cheeses from small local growers within a couple of
hours of Philadelphia.

The farm, in the low-income Kensington section, about three miles
from the skyscrapers of downtown Philadelphia, also makes its own
honey - marketed as Honey From the Hood - from a colony of bees
that produce about 80 pounds a year. And it makes biodiesel for its
vehicles from the waste oil produced by the restaurants that buy its
vegetables.

Among urban farms, Greensgrow distinguishes itself by being a bridge
between rural producers and urban consumers, and by having
revitalized a derelict industrial site, said Ian Marvy, executive
director of Added Value, an urban farm in the Red Hook section of
Brooklyn.

It has also become a model for others by showing that it is possible
to become self-supporting in a universe where many rely on outside
financial support, Mr. Marvy said.

Mary Seton Corboy, 50, a former chef with a masters degree in
political science, co-founded Greensgrow in 1998 with the idea of
growing lettuce for the restaurants in downtown Philadelphia.

Looking for cheap land close to their customers, Ms. Corboy and her
business partner at the time, Tom Sereduk, found the site and
persuaded the local Community Development Corporation to buy it and
then rent it to them for $150 a month, a sum they still pay.

They made an initial investment of $25,000 and have spent about
$100,000 over the years on items that included the plastic-covered
greenhouses and the soil that had to be trucked in to cover the steel-
and-concrete foundation of the old factory site.

The mission was: How do you take postindustrial land and turn it
into some kind of green business? said Ms. Corboy, an elfin woman
with the ruddy cheeks of someone who works long hours out of doors.

She approached her early lettuce-growing operation with conventional
business goals and little thought for what an urban farm could achieve.

I thought you didnt have to have a relationship with the
community, she said. You would just be a business person.

Customers said the farm was a breath of fresh air in a gritty
neighborhood.

Its a little piece of heaven, said Janet McGinnis, 47, who lives
on nearby Girard Avenue. We live in the city, and it makes me feel
good to wake up and see flowers.

Ms. McGinnis said she could buy herbs, bread and produce elsewhere
but did so at Greensgrow because it is part of the community. Weve
got to keep it in the community, she said. We have to give back.

Despite the community goodwill, the farm lives with urban problems
like theft and violence. I have gone through every tool in the box
eight or nine times, Ms. Corboy said.

Although no one at Greensgrow is getting rich from the operation -
after 10 years work, Ms. Corboy is making an annual salary of
$65,000 - there is a sense that their time has come.

Ten years ago when I said we were going green, people thought we
were out of our minds, Ms. Corboy said. Now we are top of the party
list.

 2008 The New York Times
--------------------

Lee

Patricia A. Leahan wrote:
> Hey Folks,
>
> This brief article describes a model community farm in an urban
> setting. They convinced their Community Development Corporation (CDC)
> to buy the land, and they lease it from the CDC for $150/month. The
> farm is self-sustaining, bringing in enough income to thrive and to
> actually pay folks a salary. And, most importantly, they're feeding
> their community with local food.
>
> Wouldn't it be great if our Las Vegas/San Miguel County Economic
> Development Corporation would see the value in a business like this?
> If one focuses their priorities on COMMUNITY development, rather than
> exclusively on just economic development, the whole community would
> get much more out of it. It would be win-win for everyone.
>
> For those of you who are active with the Local Food Matters group,
> what do you think about us drafting a proposal to the local powers
> that be, asking for support for such a project? Is anyone working on
> something similar already?
>
> pat leahan
> -----------------------
> http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/20/9079/
> Published on Tuesday, May 20, 2008 by The New York Times
> Where Industry Once Hummed, Urban Garden Finds Success
> by Jon Hurdle
>
> PHILADELPHIA - Amid the tightly packed row houses of North
> Philadelphia, a pioneering urban farm is providing fresh local food
> for a community that often lacks it, and making money in the process.
>
> Greensgrow, a one-acre plot of raised beds and greenhouses on the
> site of a former steel-galvanizing factory, is turning a profit by
> selling its own vegetables and herbs as well as a range of produce
> from local growers, and by running a nursery selling plants and
> seedlings.
>
> The farm earned about $10,000 on revenue of $450,000 in 2007, and
> hopes to make a profit of 5 percent on $650,000 in revenue in this,
> its 10th year, so it can open another operation elsewhere in
> Philadelphia.
>
> In season, it sells its own hydroponically grown vegetables, as well
> as peaches from New Jersey, tomatoes from Lancaster County, and
> breads, meats and cheeses from small local growers within a couple of
> hours of Philadelphia.
>
> The farm, in the low-income Kensington section, about three miles
> from the skyscrapers of downtown Philadelphia, also makes its own
> honey - marketed as Honey From the Hood - from a colony of bees
> that produce about 80 pounds a year. And it makes biodiesel for its
> vehicles from the waste oil produced by the restaurants that buy its
> vegetables.
>
> Among urban farms, Greensgrow distinguishes itself by being a bridge
> between rural producers and urban consumers, and by having
> revitalized a derelict industrial site, said Ian Marvy, executive
> director of Added Value, an urban farm in the Red Hook section of
> Brooklyn.
>
> It has also become a model for others by showing that it is possible
> to become self-supporting in a universe where many rely on outside
> financial support, Mr. Marvy said.
>
> Mary Seton Corboy, 50, a former chef with a masters degree in
> political science, co-founded Greensgrow in 1998 with the idea of
> growing lettuce for the restaurants in downtown Philadelphia.
>
> Looking for cheap land close to their customers, Ms. Corboy and her
> business partner at the time, Tom Sereduk, found the site and
> persuaded the local Community Development Corporation to buy it and
> then rent it to them for $150 a month, a sum they still pay.
>
> They made an initial investment of $25,000 and have spent about
> $100,000 over the years on items that included the plastic-covered
> greenhouses and the soil that had to be trucked in to cover the steel-
> and-concrete foundation of the old factory site.
>
> The mission was: How do you take postindustrial land and turn it
> into some kind of green business? said Ms. Corboy, an elfin woman
> with the ruddy cheeks of someone who works long hours out of doors.
>
> She approached her early lettuce-growing operation with conventional
> business goals and little thought for what an urban farm could achieve.
>
> I thought you didnt have to have a relationship with the
> community, she said. You would just be a business person.
>
> Customers said the farm was a breath of fresh air in a gritty
> neighborhood.
>
> Its a little piece of heaven, said Janet McGinnis, 47, who lives
> on nearby Girard Avenue. We live in the city, and it makes me feel
> good to wake up and see flowers.
>
> Ms. McGinnis said she could buy herbs, bread and produce elsewhere
> but did so at Greensgrow because it is part of the community. Weve
> got to keep it in the community, she said. We have to give back.
>
> Despite the community goodwill, the farm lives with urban problems
> like theft and violence. I have gone through every tool in the box
> eight or nine times, Ms. Corboy said.
>
> Although no one at Greensgrow is getting rich from the operation -
> after 10 years work, Ms. Corboy is making an annual salary of
> $65,000 - there is a sense that their time has come.
>
> Ten years ago when I said we were going green, people thought we
> were out of our minds, Ms. Corboy said. Now we are top of the party
> list.
>
>  2008 The New York Times
> --------------------
>
>
> Pat Leahan
>
> Info about Pat Leahan: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/patleahan
>
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--

Lee

If you would be unloved and forgotten, be reasonable. - Kurt Vonnegut