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Check out the New Roots For Refugees Blog to learn more about this project!

 JUNIPER GARDENS TRAINING FARM AND COMMUNITY GARDENS

KCCUA’s latest project is turning 6 acres in the middle of Juniper Gardens low income housing project into a Training Farm and Community Gardens that will yield new farmers and fresh produce for Kansas City.

KCCUA works with farmers and would-be farmers to help them get farms started and to help them become better farmers.  The new Training Farm and Community Gardens is a more intensive model of farmer development that will “incubate” new farm businesses for Kansas City, with a particular focus on helping limited-resource people become urban food producers.

The Juniper Gardens project will serve:

  • Participants in the Catholic Charities’ New Roots for Refugees Program, the youth and adults in the new Third Street Church of God Youth Market Garden and other limited-resource farmers.  We’ll provide business development support, training and supplies for these startup farm businesses;
  • Juniper Gardens residents who will be able to grow and have access to fresh produce;
  • The surrounding Oak Grove neighborhood, which will have ready access to affordable produce, greenspace, and training for other new urban farmers in the neighborhood; and
  • Consumers across the metropolitan area who will be able to buy fresh fruits and vegetables from these new farm businesses.

The Farm will feature:

  • Ľ acre training plots for market gardeners who want to start their own market gardens growing and selling produce (9 plots in 2008, more to be added next year);
  • Community Gardens for residents who want to grow for their families (and who may want to sell their extra produce to their neighbors);
  • An on-site Juniper Gardens Farmers’ Market to be developed with the KCK Greenmarket;
  • Walking Paths for residents to promote healthy exercise and a fun way to see what is growing in the gardens (to be developed in 2008-09);
  • A Play Area for children (to be developed in partnership with the KCK Housing Authority and the Juniper Gardens Residents’ Council); and
  • Related health and nutritional programming to be offered by other organizations (partnerships to be developed over 2008-09).

In 2008, we’ve prepared 9 training plots and 58 community garden plots.  We’re providing training in farming and marketing, seeds, transplants and supplies to 9 refugee women from the Catholic Charities’ New Roots for Refugees program.  We’re actively working with the Third Street Church of God coordinator to help them develop their new Market Garden.   We’re providing seeds, tools, transplants and support to 28 community gardeners.  We’ll provide water and annual tillage for all of the plots.
This year, the farmers will sell their produce at the Farmers’ Community Market at Brookside, the Juniper Gardens Farmers Market and through a small CSA sponsored by the St. Pius X Church.  As the farms develop over the coming years, we anticipate that their marketing channels will expand and diversify as the farmers learn more about what they like to grow and how they like to sell.

Program Location

Juniper Gardens is in northeast Kansas City, KS, in the historic Oak Grove neighborhood.  This neighborhood has a long history of producing leaders and entrepreneurs, but it is also one of the poorest communities in the metropolitan area and struggles with problems of crime, housing deterioration and population loss.

The Juniper Gardens Training Farm and Community Gardens is a great project because it grows a healthier community.  A vacant lot is turned to beautiful, productive green space.  Community residents have a place they can go to be active and to grow their own food.  A neighborhood with no nearby grocery store has its own source of fresh, healthy and affordable produce.  And Kansas City gets new urban farmers growing local fruits and vegetables.

Program Partners

Catholic Charities

Kansas City, Kansas Housing Authority

Juniper Gardens Residents’ Council

Third Street Church of God

Kansas City Community Gardens

K-State Research & Extension

Youth Build

Funders

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Refugee Agricultural Partnership Program (through Catholic Charities)

Wellspring Foundation

Seed Savers’ Exchange (in-kind)

Seeds of Change (in-kind)

Morgan County Seeds (in-kind)

Junior League of Wyandotte and Johnson Counties