Supporters from across Chicago and Illinois joined us on September 26th to celebrate the groundbreaking of Angelic Organic Learning Center's Eat-to-Live Urban Incubator Farm in Englewood. It was a beautiful night filled with tours of the gardens and incubator space, a ribbon cutting ceremony, farm fresh food, and a lovely group of people from diverse backgrounds and locations who mingled like family.
We were honored to have the first lady of Chicago and wife of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Amy Rule, as our special guest. Rule is passionate about clean healthy food access, and we were thrilled to have her in Englewood on this special day. We were also honored to have so many folks from The City of Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development, the Pastor and his wife from the neighboring church, numerous partners & supporters, and multiple families from surrounding areas.
Eat to Live's Princeton Garden and Urban Incubator Farm are conveniently located, just a few blocks west of 90/94, off 71st st. The neighborhood is nothing like Englewood is portrayed in media reports. The area was well kept, the community was welcoming, and murals covered the walls of the adjacent railway. The gorgeous weather and enthusiastic people created a feel of vibrancy and excitement. People left the event with a feeling of hope, not only for what has been done to revitalize Englewood thus far, but for the immense potential that this neighborhood and the good food movement holds for future generations. We'd like to also share trader/angel investor, Jeff Carter's blog post about the event. The post offers interesting insight from a longtime insider of the good food movement.
Once fully built, the Eat-to-Live Urban Incubator Farm will provide a space where new farmers can improve farming skills, learn how to sell and promote their products, and establish sustainable farming businesses for themselves and their communities. There is still work to be done. The incubator requires funding for hoophouses so farmers can grow year-round, and Eat-to-Live needs an indoor space for people to congregate and store tools.
Please contact our resilient and tenacious Eat-to-Live program director, Martha Boyd (martha@learngrowconnect.org) if you are interested in getting involved. You can also learn more about the project at www.EverythingGood.org or DONATE to support our work in Englewood and across Midwest.
