Last updated: October 2024
Earthworks Urban Farm, located on Detroit's east side, is a pioneering initiative of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen that integrates sustainable agriculture, social justice, and community development. The Capuchin Soup Kitchen is a religiously affiliated soup kitchen and non-profit organization located in Detroit, Michigan. It was founded by the Capuchin friars to provide food for the poor during the Great Depression and is sponsored by the Capuchin Franciscan Province of St. Joseph. The farm was founded in 1998 by Brother Rick Samyn, and began as a small garden focused on educating local youth about healthy food and its origins. Over time, this modest garden expanded into a 2.5-acre urban farm, including 1.5 certified organic acres—making it Detroit's only certified organic farm. The farm’s growth included adding a large plot behind its partner, Gleaners Community Food Bank, as well as establishing an apiary with up to 40 hives, a greenhouse for transplant production, a hoop house for year-round crops, and a community orchard. Earthworks' work has evolved along with its physical space, significantly extending its reach. A wide variety of vegetables are cultivated here without herbicides or pesticides, with harvests distributed to local residents and included in meals at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, ensuring fresh, nutritious food for those in need. Beyond agriculture, Earthworks serves as a community hub, engaging volunteers, offering educational tours, and supporting thousands of community gardens across Detroit with transplants and expertise. Committed to evolving its programs, Earthworks has experimented with mobile markets, community-supported agriculture (CSA), and local market stands, demonstrating its dedication to meeting community needs through sustainable practices. (Ref.1,2)
Capuchin friar leading workshop
Ref.2
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Community gardens and allotments
- Community gardens
- Horticulture
Key challenges
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Social justice and equity
- Environmental education
- Sense of community and community engagement
- Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
- Sustainable consumption
- Sustainable production
- Food scarcity / security
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Land use and Socio-economic change
- Unequal availability and access to public green spaces
- Health, Well-being and Social cohesion
- Disconnection from nature
- Poor community engagement
- Resource Scarcity and Competition
- Food insecurity due to disruptions in food production and distribution
Key priorities
Social Justice and community
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Creation of areas for food production (community gardens, allotments), Transformation of previously derelict areas, Brownfield redevelopment, Transformation of vacant land into green spaces, Knowledge creation and awareness raising, Educational and awareness raising programs
Project objectives
To foster environmentally responsible farming methods through organic practices that avoid herbicides and pesticides.
To address food insecurity by growing and distributing fresh, organic produce to local residents and incorporating harvests into meals served by the Capuchin Soup Kitchen.
To provide educational opportunities to the community, especially youth, about food origins and the importance of healthy eating, inspiring a broader understanding of food systems and sustainability through tours, workshops, and volunteer engagement.
To strengthen community ties by creating inclusive spaces for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and collective contribution to common goals.
To support a just and equitable food system where access to healthy food is recognized as a basic right, and where both people and the environment are respected and cared for.
(Ref.1,2)
Implementation activities
The Earthworks Urban Farm project began with the establishment of a small garden at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, primarily aimed at educating neighborhood youth about healthy food and its origins. Over time, the farm expanded its cultivated land by acquiring a large plot behind Gleaners Community Food Bank, allowing for the growth of a diverse range of vegetables through organic practices.
To support year-round production and sustainability, Earthworks invested in essential infrastructure, including a greenhouse for transplant production, a hoop house for winter farming, and a community orchard to increase their produce variety. Additionally, the farm developed an apiary that grew to include up to 40 hives, which contributed both to pollination and to local honey production. Volunteers from the local community assist with preparing germination trays by mixing soil or making soil blocks, and they help maintain compost by regularly flipping it to ensure proper decomposition. Volunteers also participate in planting, seeding, and thinning out seedlings, as well as pricking out and transplanting young plants as they grow.
As part of its mission to enhance food access, Earthworks launched a seasonal market stand to distribute fresh produce directly to the community. (Ref. 1, 2)
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
- Young people and children
- Marginalized groups: Children, young people or youth groups , Socio-economically disadvantaged populations (e.g. low-income households, unemployed), Homeless people & people living in informal settlements
Governance
Management set-up
- Led by non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Non-government organisation/civil society
- Other
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
- Crowd-sourcing/Crowd-funding/Participatory budget
- Dissemination of information and education
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The Capuchin Soup Kitchen and brother Rick Samyn, as the founding organization of Earthworks Urban Farm, play a central role by providing strategic oversight and incorporating the farm’s produce into meals served to the community. Their team manages the daily operations of the farm, focusing on education and outreach to engage and support local residents. Gleaners Community Food Bank (NGO), a key partner organization, has supported Earthworks by providing adjacent land for cultivation, expanding the farm’s capacity to grow diverse crops. Volunteers from the local community assist with planting, seeding, and thinning out seedlings, as well as pricking out and transplanting young plants as they grow.
The farm’s operations and growth are also sustained by the contributions of numerous unnamed donors, private companies, and foundations who provide financial and material support.
(Ref.1,2,4)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(ISLAND VIEW GREATER VILLAGES Neighborhood Framework Plan- City of Detroit (Ref. 3))
Type of enablers
NGOs/Community groups driving the implementation, Change agents (individual with major role influence on launching)
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- Corporate investment
- Funds provided by non-governmental organization (NGO)
- Crowdfunding
- Private Foundation/Trust
Type of funding
- Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
- Donations
Non-financial contribution
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of goods
- Provision of labour
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
- Private sector (businesses, financial institution)
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Achieved increased green space area
- Increased number of species present
- Achieved increased number of species present
- Enhanced support of pollination
- Achieved enhanced support of pollination
- Restoration of derelict areas
- Achieved restoration of derelict areas
Economic impacts
- Increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)
- Achieved increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)
- Generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation)
- Achieved generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation)
- More sustainable tourism
- Achieved more sustainable tourism
- Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
- Achieved increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
- Generation of income from NBS
- Achieved generation of income from NBS
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved access to urban green space
- Achieved improved access to urban green space
- Increased visibility and opportunity for marginalised groups or indigenous peoples
- Achieved increased visibility and opportunity for marginalised groups or indigenous peoples
- Increased opportunities for social interaction
- Achieved increased opportunities for social interaction
- Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Achieved increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Increased access to healthy/affordable food
- Achieved increased access to healthy/affordable food
- Education
- Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Expected increased knowledge of locals about local nature
Type of reported impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs
Unknown
References
1.
Capuchin soup Kitchen (n.d.). Earthworks Urban Farm - About us. [Source link];
2.
Benefit on the bay (n.d.). Earthworks Urban Farm. Accessed on August 30, 2024, [Source link];
3.
Detroit Planning and Development Department (2020). ISLANDVIEW GREATER VILLAGES. p. 40 Accessed on August 30, 2024, [Source link];
4.
Kleczek, C. (2024). Earthworks Urban Farm. Plough, Accessed on August 30, 2024, [Source link];
5.
Richtr, J. and Potteiger, M. (2015). FARMING AS A TOOL OF URBAN REBIRTH? URBAN AGRICULTURE IN DETROIT 2015: A CASE STUDY. Accessed on August 30, 2024, [Source link];
6.
Taste the local differebce (n.d.). Earthworks Urban Farm. Accessed on August 30, 2024, [Source link];
7.
United Way for Southeastern Michigan (n.d.). General Garden Maintenance. Accessed on August 30, 2024, [Source link];
Earthworks Agriculture Training students
Ref.4
Earthworks urban farm
Ref.1
EarthWorks farm
https://www.plough.com/en/topics/justice/environment/earthworks-urban-farm
EarthWorks farm
https://www.plough.com/en/topics/justice/environment/earthworks-urban-farm
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.