A venerable Philadelphia community-gardening nonprofit, the Urban Tree Connection, got some national press recently. David Karas, a reporter for the Christian Science Monitor, wrote about how the group, founded in 1989, has overseen the conversion of 29 vacant lots into community gardens, pocket parks, and green space, mostly in West Philadelphia’s Haddington neighborhood where UTC focuses its efforts.
One of its most ambitious projects is Neighborhood Foods Farm, created in 2009, which has turned underutilized land in the interior of a block into “a thriving food source.” As Karas notes:
Produce that is harvested from the farm and other gardens is distributed to members of the community. The distribution takes place at neighborhood farm stands, which are manned by members of the community.
“It’s a pretty different approach–not only having farm stands where there is very limited food access, but having them operated and run by people who live in the neighborhood,” Warford says.
Noelle Warford has been UTC’s executive director since 2016.