Urban Farming

Guests: Chris Bolden-Newsome, Jenny Greenberg, Eric Ellestad

Rows of cabbage, eggplant, and sweet potatoes are growing at the Farm at Bartram’s Garden, a hidden gem in Southwest Philadelphia. CHRIS BOLDEN-NEWSOME, farm co-director at the garden, employs youth, plants cultural produce and feeds communities living in food deserts. In this hour, Mary Cummings-Jordan talks with Newsome about the success and challenges of urban farming in Philadelphia. JENNY GREENBERG, executive director of the Neighborhood Gardens Trust, discusses how her group preserves community gardens which often feel pressures from developers wanting to take over the land. Then, ERIC ELLESTAD — chief executive of Local Roots Farm, an indoor farming company, discusses his innovative ways of using technology and 40-foot shipping containers to plant produce in urban environments.