Chicago Urban Ag Crawl
A celebration of community, green spaces and urban agriculture in Chicago
Sunday, September 8, 2024
2:00 - 8:00 pm
South Side Chicago
Urban agriculture is one of the fastest growing trends in Chicago and cities around the world for community development, fresh food, green spaces and even workforce development.
Back for its third year, the Annual Chicago Urban Ag Crawl & Backyard BBQ brings together organizations, residents, businesses, and professionals to celebrate and support local urban agriculture in Chicago.
The Ag Crawl features an exciting multi-stop event across Greater Englewood featuring delicious food and drinks from local chefs and caterers, live music, South Side urban farm and garden trolley tours, garden activities, raffles, games, and more!
The current Chicago Urban Ag Crawl brings together urban farms, community gardens and neighborhood block gardens in one festival on Chicago’s South Side. As we continue to connect urban agriculture networks, we look forward to expanding and inviting Urban Ag Crawls into more Chicago communities!
Event proceeds benefit organizational hosts Growing Home, Grow Greater Englewood, Urban Growers Collective and local urban farmers and gardeners.
Growing Home's Backyard BBQ: 2–4 pm
Held on Growing Home's own urban farm, the Backyard BBQ starts at 2:00 pm and features chef-prepared farm-to-table dishes, local drinks, music, farm tours, raffle, and more!
Farm Site Tours: Trolleys Leave from Growing Home at 3 pm sharp!
Three different urban farm and garden Trolley Tours leave Growing Home at 3:00 pm and travel across Englewood, Auburn Gresham and Back of the Yards with a first stop at Urban Growers Collective's Green Era Campus & Digester, multiple stops at featured farm sites, and a final stop at the Englewood Village Plaza for the Night Bazaar.
Complimentary trolley seats are first come, first served for ticket holders, but never fear – you’re welcome to walk, bike, or drive yourself to any of the farm and garden stops!
Grow Greater Englewood's Night Bazaar: 6–8 pm
The final event of the Ag Crawl is GGE's Night Bazaar, hosted at the newly redesigned Englwood Village Plaza, starting at 6 pm. The Night Bazaar features small bites from local chefs and caterers, live music, and shopping at a "mini" version of the Englewood Village Market with fresh produce and retail goods from local farms and Black owned businesses.
Greater Englewood | Auburn Gresham | Back of the Yards
Urban Growers Collective Green Era Campus
Green Era Campus, stewarded by Urban Growers Collective, is located at 650 West 83rd St. The campus is transforming a 9-acre vacant brownfield on the South Side of Chicago into a renewable energy facility and green oasis for economic empowerment, clean energy, fresh produce, and vibrant communities.
Locations
Growing Home Urban Farm & Training Center
Growing Home Urban Farm, located at 5814 S Wood St, has been a leader in urban agriculture in Englewood since 2006 with their job training & fresh food programs. Their farms are used as a job training site, market site, public resource center and farm-to-table events.
Grow Greater Englewood
Village Plaza
A non-profit land and food sovereignty leader in Englewood, GGE works with residents and developers to create sustainable local food economies and green businesses. GGE manages the Englewood Village Plaza at this beautiful urban agriculture event space at 5822 S. Halsted Street.
2024 Featured Farms
Casey Family Garden
The Hammond's Promise Land
2024 Sponsors
Growing Home | Grow Greater Englewood | Urban Growers Collective
Janelle St. John
Executive Director Growing
Home
Janelle St. John (she/her) is the Executive Director of Growing Home and a dynamic senior level professional with over 20 years of superior performance within the nonprofit industry in community health, mental health and wellness. Committed to equity among food, land and employment opportunities, she is a part of Governor JB Pritzker Agriculture Equity Commission and a member of the Chicago Region Food System Steering Committee. She holds a master’s degree in Public Service Administration from DePaul University and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Chicago.
Leadership
Anton Seals Jr.
Executive Director
Grow Greater Englewood
L. Anton Seals Jr., a South Shore Chicago native, is a strong cultural voice of his generation. Organizer, entrepreneur, educator, community connector, Impact producer. Anton’s work is dedicated to service and active engagement through the use of media arts, community organizing, and empowerment to dismantle oppressive systems impacting divested and oppressed communities. Anton is currently the Lead Steward (Executive Director) of Grow Greater Englewood a social enterprise focusing on building an equitable and resilient local food system.
Erika Allen
Co-Founder & CEO
Urban Growers Collective
Erika Allen (she/her) is the Founder and CEO for Urban Growers Collective and the President of Green ERA Educational NFP and Co-Owner of Green Era Sustainability Partners. Previously, Allen founded and was the Director of Growing Power – Chicago for 15 years from 2002 to 2017. Allen is the co-founder of the Chicago Food Policy Action Council, serves on the board of Grow Greater Englewood and Leadership Council for Growing Home, and is an advisor for the Community Food Navigator project, among serving on many other food equity councils in Chicago and Illinois.