Mission Statement

We are an urban farm located in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. We grow microgreens indoors, year-round, as well as edible flowers, herbs, baby greens, and produce on our quarter acre outdoor farm from April through December. Our farm operates with the following core principles at our forefront…

Waste as Opportunity

  • More than 99% of on-farm waste composted to be used as fertilizer on our outdoor farm

  • Preserving/drying herbs and flowers and pickling produce to extend shelf-life

  • Bartering surplus with neighbors and creating value from overproduction

  • Donations of all unsold perishables to our local food bank, Casa Catalina, and other neighborhood food programs including Food, Farm, Familias and more

Environmental Stewardship

  • Building soil and regenerative farming

  • Green space in the city

  • Pollinator habitat

  • Reusable packaging program

  • Fully organic, no-till farming practices

  • Sourcing partnership with dozens of sustainable small farms and food producers

Local Hiring and Ethical Labor Practices

  • Living wages as well as health care, PTO, and sick leave for full time employees

  • 80% of team lives within 5 miles of farm

  • Internship Programs: Have worked with and subsequently hired interns from After School Matters, Windy City Harvest

  • Retained our full staff even after losing all of our restaurant customers amid the Stay-At-Home Order

  • Used covid pivots to learn with and train staff on new transferable skills such as marketing, inventory tracking, and accounting