DETROIT (WXYZ) — Detroit's urban farmers are getting a financial boost thanks to new grants from the city and Eastern Market, helping them grow more food and strengthen communities across the Motor City.
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From rooftop greenhouses to community gardens, Detroit's urban farms are thriving in neighborhoods where access to fresh produce can be hard to find. Now, these dedicated farmers will have the chance to apply for grants to keep their gardens flourishing.
"They provide all kinds of eco-services and food and nutrition to our communities. So it's important that the city step up and support when we can," said Tepfirah Rushdan, director of sustainability for the city of Detroit.
The city of Detroit and Eastern Market are partnering on the new grant program, which will give five collectives and three individual farmers a total of $225,000. The funding will support projects that help local farmers grow more, sell more and feed more families.
"In addition to the types of educational programming that we're encouraging farmers to apply for, it's really important to us as the market to be a source for those farmers to grow their businesses," said Katy Trudeau, president and CEO of the Eastern Market Partnership.
More than half a million Detroiters are facing food insecurity. It's something Wendy Casey with Earthworks Urban Farm says they are trying to change.
"They benefit by having access to locally grown food that didn't travel thousands of miles to get there. So it's fresher and they're also supporting the local community by purchasing from local growers," Casey said.
For those at Keep Growing Detroit like Danielle Daguio, the impact goes beyond the dinner table.
"People can have their own autonomy, their own agency to be able to grow their own food, know how it's being grown, where it's being grown, what they're able to grow," Daguio said.
When food is grown locally, the benefits stay local too.
"Sometimes, it's really difficult for people to put food on the table, right? And so this is a way in which people can do that for themselves," Daguio said.
Daguio says these grants aren't just investments in urban agriculture; they're investments in the health, economy and resilience of Detroit's neighborhoods.
"That's dollars that's staying within the city, that's food that's being grown here that's supporting people that's here," Daguio said.
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