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PROGRAMS
AT KCCUA
The
Kansas City
Center for Urban Agriculture has three programs to promote urban
agriculture across the metropolitan area.
Kansas City
Community Farm: KCCUA's working demonstration farm produces some
30,000 pounds of certified organic vegetables each year on 2.25 acres of
land. The farm is financially self-sustaining; annual sales of over
$100,000 make the farm one of the area's larger vegetable producers. All
aspects of the farm's production and management are shared with other
farmers as a way to promote the learning and knowledge exchange.
KCCUA runs research projects on our own and in cooperation with extension
services. The farm attracts many visitors, from agricultural
professionals, to farmers, to school groups.
Urban Farmer Development: KCCUA works with new and experienced
farmers on starting, running, and improving their farm businesses.
We do this by providing technical assistance, networking, and creating
collaborative projects. We educate the public and share resources
with other nonprofits. We advocate at local and regional levels for
policies and practices that help urban farming grow. The Kansas City
Urban Farms and Gardens Tour 2009 will showcase vegetable production
across the metropolitan area, introducing the public to the many ways that
food is being grown in the city [more...].
Juniper
Gardens
Farm Business Development Program: This is a program to support
limited resource people and refugees in
Northeast Kansas City
,
KS
in starting independent farm businesses. The program is centered at
the Juniper Gardens Housing Project at
N. 1st Street
and
Richmond Avenue
, on a six acre field that used to be covered by housing units. The
site has 14 quarter-acre training plots for new farm businesses and 3/4 of
an acre of community garden plots for home gardeners. The program
will extend out into the community in partnership with the Oak Grove and
the
Walnut Boulevard
Neighborhood Associations by developing empty lots as Affiliate Farms for
new farmers and as permanent sites for program graduates.
Additionally, KCCUA is working with K-State Research and Extension and
neighborhood agencies to develop complementary programming on health,
nutrition, and gardening education. [more...]
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