Know Your Farmer: Detroit Urban Growers
Detroit has a thriving urban agriculture community, where residents use available vacant land to grow food, feed their families and neighbors, and run successful farm businesses. Keep reading to learn about a few urban growers activating vacant land, supporting the natural ecosystem, and strengthening the local food system!
Kiss the Ground: 5 with a Farmer
Did you know that Detroit is one of the top cities in the U.S. for urban agriculture, with over 2,200 gardens and farms? Detroit's Sanctuary Farms is bringing food to the people, helping build supportive food systems, and giving their community the opportunity to see how things are grown. They're also teaching us that farming can be wholesome, connected, and diverse.
Seed Award Spotlight: Sanctuary Farms
n early 2024, 11 Seed Award winners were chosen to receive seed funding totaling almost $150,000, based on their businesses’ commitment to promoting racial equity, enhancing healthy food access, fostering job creation, and embracing resilient climate practices.
Among these deserving winners is Sanctuary Farms, an organic farm in Detroit’s lower east side that has transformed city blocks into an urban oasis, providing fresh, affordable produce to the community.
Reflections on Mutual Aid: Mother Earth’s Call to Action for Regeneration by jøn kent
Living cooperatively is no easy task. As humans, we are all one species but we all have distinct fingerprints. This duality between self and group based identities might lead one to paralysis when analyzing human social life if we believe in the false narratives of the bootstrapping mentality. . However, for those who see mutual aid in all we do, we are able more readily to see our differences as the beauty of life.
Introducing Urban Farm & Composting Site Sanctuary Farms, Detroit
Sanctuary Farms is an urban farm in Detroit, building a community-based produce and composting operation.
Small Business Spotlight: Sanctuary Farms
When thinking about Detroit, farming probably doesn’t come to mind. Two locals, Jon Kent and Parker Jean, are working to change that narrative, while improving their community in the process.
Young Farmers Can Help the US Meet Its Climate Goals. Is Washington Listening?
A new survey shows that 86% of US farmers under 40 practice regenerative agriculture. But many — especially farmers of color — struggle to access land and capital.
Jøn Kent I Sanctuary Farms
"I wanted to do something I was passionate about that spoke to me,” Jøn explains. “For me, everything aligned with farming. The beauty of the work is that all you need is the grit to do it. Parker and I are lifelong friends, and the pandemic became the push we needed to do this endeavor together.”