2021 Capacity Building Grant Recipients
December 9th, 2021Advocates for Urban Agriculture Announces Capacity Building Grant
Advocates for Urban Agriculture (AUA), in partnership with Food:Land:Opportunity (FLO) is excited to announce the awardees of the 2021 Capacity Building Grant.This is a continuation of the series of grant opportunities AUA launched since 2020 at the offset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, AUA awarded over $200,000 in grant funds to over 80 Chicagoland growing operations through the COVID-19 Farmer Support Grant and the first round of Capacity Building Grant. While the COVID-19 Farmer Support Grant addressed the immediate financial needs of urban growers in the midst of the pandemic, the Capacity Building Grant continues to support Chicagoland urban farm businesses working to expand and scale up their operations and work toward sustainability. This is a continuation of the series of grant opportunities AUA launched since 2020 at the offset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, AUA awarded over $200,000 in grant funds to over 80 Chicagoland growing operations through the COVID-19 Farmer Support Grant and the first round of Capacity Building Grant. While the COVID-19 Farmer Support Grant addressed the immediate financial needs of urban growers in the midst of the pandemic, the Capacity Building Grant continues to support Chicagoland urban farm businesses working to expand and scale up their operations and work toward sustainability. “The AUA team is humbled to have the opportunity to continue to support the growers who are nourishing our communities,” said Bea Fry, Development Coordinator of Advocates for Urban Agriculture. “At the center of our team values and the values that guide our Capacity Building Grant is the understanding that justice and reparations are necessary to reimagine our current food system - with respect for the earth as our guide. We are excited to announce this round of grantees who embody these values throughout the work they do in our communities.”The Capacity Building Grant program is funded through AUA’s partnership with FLO and reflects a set of values that were established by a cohort of Chicago urban farmers. The grant continues to serve farm operations which are:
Small Operations — less than 5 acres and/or have an operating budget of less than $250,000
Owned and/or led by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), trans, non-binary, and/or gender non conforming people.
Providing food and other services for low-income communities
The Capacity Building Grant provided grant awards ranging between $2,500-$20,000, with applications being reviewed by a wonderful group of food systems educators, growers, and advocates, including:
Jesse Schaffer of The Talking Farm
Gina Roxas of Trickster Cultural Center
Azizah Ali-Ashraf of A&P Paradise Farm
Erin Kwiatkowski of a national nonprofit
Nora Bryne of a nonprofit health center
Erana Jackson Taylor of Ujamaa Co-op
2021 Capacity Building Grant Recipients:
$20,000 Awardees: Obodo Farms, La Villita Park Community Farm
$10,000 Awardees: Cicero Community Farm, Growing Solutions Farm, Sistas In The Village, Reclaiming Our Roots
$5,000 Awardees: Ever Favor Farms, Global Garden Refugee Training Farm, Sunflower Soule Farm, City Farm Chicago
$2,500 Awardee: Hinata Farm
Press Contact: Bea Fry, Development Coordinator, bea@auachicago.org
