Shipping container farm - Urban farming
Founded in 2011, Grow Dat Youth Farm wants to do much more than grow delicious chemical-free
food. The nonprofit farm’s central mission is to bring local youth and adults from different
backgrounds together in a safe collaborative environment where they can learn how to grow
their own food and develop personal, social, and environmental change. Most of the educational
workshops take place within the Eco-Campus, a simple low-energy structure with an open-air
classroom, two climate-controlled offices, kitchen, bathroom with composting toilets,
and storage. A bioswale under the front timber walkway prevents flooding and manages water
sustainably. The City Park birding corridor runs along the side of farm and provides a
more wild contrast to the farmed environment. Grow Dat Youth Farm has a long-term lease
for seven acres of land in New Orlean’s City Park and is currently growing on two
acres with plans for expansion. Formerly a golf course that had been uninhabited before
Katrina, the site comprised very sandy or mostly clay soils—poor conditions for farming.
The team remediated the soil with lots of organic matter—mainly a mixture of coffee
grounds, processed dried sugar cane, and chicken manure—and use crop rotations to add minerals
back into the earth. Today, the diversified farm grows over 50 varieties of fruits and
vegetables, from avocados and satsuma to beets and kale.
“Food justice is a big part of who we are,” said Michael Kantor, Interim Director at Grow
Dat Youth Farm, who stressed the program’s primary purpose to develop youth leadership
skills. “Black farmers in particular have historically been marginalized so we create
opportunities here to give young people of different races the chance to take control
of food production, either here or in their neighborhoods, and increase access to fresh
healthy produce—something many New Orleans neighborhoods do not have.”
“Our farm is pretty active from September to June,” said Michael. “That’s when
we’re harvesting crops for the CSA, our main distribution channel that starts in October,
or for the Crescent City Farmers Market or farm stand. We’ve also sold to restaurants
and have been in Whole Foods too. We donate 30% of our food to households without access
through our Shared Harvest program.” Grow Dat Youth Farm has donated over 26,000 pounds
of food.