Growing Justice in Chicago: How Urban Growers Collective Cultivates Health, Wealth & Healing

Urban Growers Collective (UGC) is more than a network of urban farms—it’s a Black- and women-led movement rooted in Chicago’s South and West Sides, working to dismantle structural racism and food inequity through community-grown produce, job training, and shared healing .

A Legacy Reimagined: From Growing Power to UGC

UGC was co-founded in 2017 by Erika Allen and Laurell Sims, extending the vision of Growing Power, the pioneering urban food justice organization founded by Erika’s father, Will Allen. After Growing Power closed, Erika carried forward its legacy—preserving food sovereignty and building on past impact by launching UGC from the former Iron Street farm property in South Chicago, now the city’s largest urban farm under UGC.

Erika Allen—an artist, teacher, and Chicago Park District former commissioner—uses her multidisciplinary background to center resilience, creativity, and healing within UGC’s mission, blending activism and agriculture into a regenerative movement.

What UGC Offers: Food, Jobs, Education & Healing

1. Food Access & Health Pathways

• UGC operates eight farms across 11 acres on Chicago’s South Side, producing over 25,000 pounds of fresh produce in 2023, distributed through mobile markets, CSA programs, and community sites.

  The Fresh Moves Mobile Market—a CTA bus converted into a farmers market—brings affordable, culturally affirming produce directly to health centers, schools, churches, and neighborhoods. SNAP and WIC vouchers are accepted, often doubled to boost purchasing power.

2. Job Training & Economic Opportunities

• UGC’s Youth Corps engages over 150 teens yearly in STEAM-based, farm-to-table learning, providing stipends and hands‑on experience in agriculture, leadership, and advocacy.

• The Grower Apprenticeship is a three-year, paid training program that supports BIPOC farmers to build commercially viable, sustainable farms—complete with cooperative learning and business skills. Tuition is $1,700 with scholarship access prioritized for South Side residents and Opportunity Zone neighborhoods.

• Farmers for Chicago and the Grounds for Peace partnership offer workforce training, especially for formerly incarcerated adults and young men at risk—transforming vacant lots into dignified green spaces while teaching property maintenance and violence prevention skills.

3. Wellness, Healing, & Community Wealth

• The Herbalism Apprenticeship connects participants to ancestral plant knowledge and healing practices, producing not just food—but culturally embedded pathways to well-being.

• UGC’s holistic values prioritize staff wellness, equity (racial, economic, gender, LGBTQ), and collective leadership—backed by benefits like insurance, retirement plans with match, PTO, and professional development support.

4. Community & Financial Impact

• In 2023: over 270,000 pounds of produce distributed, $19,300 in need-based internship stipends, and more than 740 RSVPs to public workshops and events—a sign of deep community reach.

• Rated four stars (92%) by Charity Navigator, UGC maintains transparency, effectiveness, and responsible stewardship of funding and mission-driven outcomes.

Why It Matters to Chicago

UGC is turning formerly vacant land into thriving gardens and learning centers that nourish residents across generations. From the South Chicago Farm to the emerging Green Era Campus (an eco‑innovation hub for renewable energy and compost-driven healing), this work is revitalizing disinvested neighborhoods with sustainable food systems and locally led economic power.

In Erika Allen’s Words

Erika Allen blends creative expression with social justice: as CEO and co-founder, she frames farming as a form of freedom-building. Through UGC, she fosters spaces where food becomes healing, and growth becomes generational—reflecting her background in art therapy and community leadership.

Why Bronzecomm Readers Should Know About UGC

• Job pathways for teens, adults, and aspiring growers in an organization that trusts and invests in South Side talent.

• Fresh, affordable produce delivered right to neighborhoods—cutting through food deserts and supporting health.

• Healing spaces and herbal training that affirm cultural identity and ancestral wisdom.

• An inspiring example of a Black- and women-led nonprofit turning city investments into justice-rooted impact.

From food distribution to youth employment to land stewardship, Urban Growers Collective is planting seeds of equity, health, and economic empowerment in Chicago’s communities.

Click here to learn more on their website