Growing cooperative promotes urban gardening

Edible Flint is collaborative food growing cooperative in Flint, Mich., made up of growers and institutional and community partners to support urban farming and to increase access of city residents to healthy food. About 20 growers currently participate. The co-op sold produce at the Flint Farmer’s Market in 2010 and will be doing so again in July 2011. The co-op is exploring establishing relationships with local school districts.
The city’s largest urban farm, Flint River Farm, has been planted this spring with 35 different types of fruits and vegetables and sits on 16 vacant lots (nearly 2 acres of land). The farm is part of the Edible Flint network and is one of two in the city that are leasing the land from the Genesee County Land Bank in a lease-to-own option.
Another part of co-op’s mission is to support Flint residents in growing and accessing healthy food. The co-op’s sold hundreds of Garden Starters kits in May (seeds and transplants) that were designed for a 1,400 sq. ft. garden. The Garden Starters program also coordinated services for up to 100 city growers which included lot tilling and compost.