6.29.20 — For Immediate Release

Advocates for Urban Agriculture (AUA), Food:Land:Opportunity (FLO), and Slow Food Chicago (SFC) announced on Monday the names of 67 farms, gardens, and collaborative projects awarded funding through two rounds of the COVID-19 Farmer Support Grant (see bottom of the page for full list).  

AUA and partner organizations launched the COVID-19 Farmer Support Grant in April to provide Chicagoland food producers with immediate financial support to cover operating expenses and provide emergency food relief to their communities. Through both rounds of funding, 67 grants were awarded totaling over $120,000.

The first round of the COVID-19 Farmer Support Grant, which was only open to farms operating in Chicagoland communities, awarded funding to 32 businesses, totaling $31,500. The second round of the grant was open to a wider pool of applicants, including community gardens, IL farm businesses serving Chicagoland communities, and collaborative projects. The maximum award amount for each category was $1,000, $2,500, and $10,000 respectively, and 35 grants were awarded, totaling $92,500.  

“Being a recipient of the AUA Grant has been of great help for us,” said Dulce Cedillo, Co-Founder/Owner of Cedillo’s Fresh Produce, an urban farm on Chicago’s southwest side. “…without the grant we would not have been able to survive this pandemic. We are truly grateful for the help we have received from AUA.” 

Of the many organizations who received funding through the grant, 63% are owned, led, or founded by BIPOC individuals. AUA recognizes that the effects of the pandemic have disproportionately impacted communities of color, with 77.4% of all Chicago cases affecting Black and Latinx communities. The pandemic has exacerbated chronic health disparities in these communities, which are often directly connected to issues of food security. This funding will support local food producers actively working to create a healthier future for Chicagoans by creating greater access to healthy food.   

Later this summer, AUA will be opening an application for a capacity building grant, which will provide Chicagoland farm businesses with the opportunity to receive funding to scale up their operations. 

“We are really excited to launch our capacity building grant later this summer,” said Sean Ruane, Executive Director of Advocates for Urban Agriculture. “The grant was designed by and for Chicagoland farmers, and is going to provide local farmers with an opportunity to make significant investments in their business, scale up their operations, and ultimately strengthen our local food system”

AUA will be releasing the capacity building grant application in early August and funds will be awarded in November. For more information about the COVID-19 Farmer Support grants or the capacity building grant, visit AUA’s Farmer Support Grant page. 

Grant recipients from both rounds of the COVID-19 Farmer Support Grant

Collaborative projects (6): Chicago Bread Club, Fresher Together, Getting Grown Collective, Patchwork Farms, Stein Learning Gardens, Un Nuevo Despertar

Farm Businesses (52): A&P Paradise Garden, B.S.S.R Youth Center/Academy Farm, Bike A Bee, Broadview Farms and Gardens, Bronzeville Community Garden, Catatumbo Cooperative Farm (2), Cedillo’s Fresh Produce (2), Chanticlare Farm, Chicago Indoor Garden, Chicago Patchwork Farms (2), Dusable Ancestry Winery & Vineyards, Earnest Earth (2), Fresher Together, Full Circle Fungi, Gardeneers, Getting Grown Collective, Global Garden Refugee Training Farm, Good Vibes Farm (2), Grow and Thrive, Growing Solutions (2), Iyabo Farms, M’s Organic Sustainable Farm, Middleton Preserves, Mint Creek Farm, Mother Carr’s Farm, Multiple Harvest LLC, Nodding Onion Farm, Orchard Village Farm, Otis Fresh Farm, Prairie Earth Farms, Purewater Aquaponics, Run-Away Buckers Club, Shavon L. Dean Memorial Garden, Smooth & Social Roots, Star Farm Chicago (2), Stein Learning Garden, The Urban Canopy, Von Bergen’s Country Market, Three Bees, Wash Tub Farms (2), Windy Acres Farm, Your Bountiful Harvest Family Farm (2)

Community Gardens (9): Altgeld Sawyer Comer Garden, El Jardín De Las Mariposas, Heartland Alliance Chicago Farmworks, Lemon Balm Community Permaculture Garden, North Lawndale Greening Committee, Otis Fresh Market, Park 540 Community Garden, Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation Community Garden, Trickster Cultural Center