We imagine a community in which all youth and families have access to fresh, healthy and culturally appropriate food, where people of all incomes have economic opportunities to enrich their lives and support their communities, where vacant lots are transformed into productive green spaces, growing food to supply local residents and beautify neighborhoods, where youth and their families are engaged in policy development and planning for the restoration of land and their communities.
Massachusetts Avenue Project proudly hosts the Growing Green Program, a youth development and urban agriculture program about increasing healthy food access and improving our communities. Our program and policy work is all about making our food system more local and inclusive. We focus on employing youth to work in the areas of Urban Farming and Aquaponics, Healthy Eating & Accessing fresh local food, Supporting local farms and businesses, Sustainable food production and Social Enterprise.
Growing Green’s urban farm consists of 13 lots, covering over an acre of reclaimed vacant lots in a residential neighborhood on Buffalo’s West Side. At the farm youth work together to grow, market and distribute organic produce for communities, restaurants and retail establishments in Buffalo, learning valuable skills. The farm features: a 1000 gallon rain water catchment system, floral and perennial garden beds, 2 greenhouses, urban chickens, a vermiculture composting system, and multiple aquaponics systems raising fish and plants in a symbiotic system.
Source: mass-ave.org