Eden Place Farms Feeds Mind, Body and Spirit on Chicago’s South Side

Inspired by their deep love for the natural world – and a desire to improve the quality of life in their community – Michael and Amelia Howard created a sanctuary of sorts on Chicago’s South Side: Eden Place Farms, a place where healthy food grows alongside hope.

Feeding a Need

It all began with Eden Place Nature Center, one of several environmental sustainability programs the Howards launched through their nonprofit Fuller Park Community Development Corporation. There, the Howards planted a small demonstration farm to teach kids where their food comes from.

“The food that we produced at the nature center was so popular and so in demand that we knew we had to grow that portion of our program into Eden Place Farms,” Michael says. And that’s exactly what they did in 2014 on a 3-acre site near the nature center.

From asparagus to zucchini, Eden Place Farms produces a bounty of fresh vegetables. The Howards focus on organically grown “living foods” that pack a punch of nutrition to benefit their community, where health problems such as heart disease and obesity can be connected to a shortage of healthy food options in the area.

“We encourage people to grow in their own backyards, so they know what they’re eating,” says Amelia, a former preschool teacher. “I think the greatest pleasure really is for a person to put their hands in the soil and grow something nutritious to feed their family.”

More than a nicety, Eden Place Farms feeds a serious need in Fuller Park.

“There are no grocery stores here. Half of our community was lost to urban planning back in the 1960s when they made way for I-94,” says Michael, also noting a lack of public transportation to grocery stores in neighboring communities. “We are the preeminent definition of a food desert.”

Eden Place Farms offers an oasis in that desert and a place where future farmers grow.

See more: Urban Gardens Flourish in Chicago

Feeding the Mind

Taking the “teach a man to fish” philosophy from the water to the soil, the Howards share sustainable growing practices with audiences of all ages.

“Education is the foundation of our mission. We believe that a well-educated person can overcome many obstacles,” Michael says. “Our goal is to train as many urban people as we can to reconnect to the soil and learn how to grow their own food.”

Classes at the farm dig into various agricultural topics, including earth sciences, soil and plant health, proper planting techniques and more. The Howards also take their curriculum into local schools and churches helping them start gardening programs.

“Our classes center around the entire growing process, from seed germination to harvest,” Michael says. They also offer helpful how-to workshops on canning, raising backyard chickens and other practical matters.

Thanks to the education and encouragement they found at Eden Place Farms, dozens of the Howards’ students now operate their own successful urban farms. Countless others have become backyard growers.

Along with community workshops, the Howards work with several colleges, including DePaul University, Roosevelt University and Illinois Institute of Technology, to co-teach college classes in environmental sustainability at both the farm and the nature center.

“These college students get to experience farm life in the city,” Amelia says. “We introduce them to the trials and tribulations we go through just to get the farm going and to try to find a natural way to combat problems on the farm.”

Avid outdoor enthusiasts, the Howards also teach a popular camping class for local children and their parents. The class culminates in a real camping trip where participants learn to set up their own tent, fish, build a campfire and maybe even savor their first s’mores.

“The kids are just bubbling over when you take them camping. There’s nothing like seeing a child or even an adult catch their first fish. They can’t believe what they’ve just done,” Amelia says. “It’s very rewarding to introduce people to something they never would have thought is available to them.”

See more: Discover Gardening Workshops in the Windy City

Feeding the Spirit

Across America, urban farms promote food security by providing access to affordable, healthy produce. Beyond fighting hunger and health issues, Eden Place Farms grows the confidence needed for the next generation of urban farmers to create a ripple effect in communities like Fuller Park.

See more: Google Earth Helps Track Chicago Gardens

In a landscape dominated by concrete and steel, the farm offers a green sanctuary where visitors can experience the calming effect of nature.

“The inner city is a stressful place, but when you get your hands in the soil, it helps you release some of that stress,” Amelia says. “We always say Eden Place Farms is a little bit of peace on Earth.”

Like so many other small organizations, the pandemic dealt a serious blow to Eden Place Farms. The Howards were forced to lay off their few workers and rehome their farm animals. The farmers market reopened in 2021, but recovery has been slow. Today, the Howards rely on donations, a host of volunteers and a healthy dose of faith to keep the doors open.

“We are a faith-based organization, and we approach our work that way,” says Michael, quoting another dynamic duo from Chicago, the Blues Brothers: “We’re on a mission from God.”

Having devoted their lives to helping people and the planet, the Howards have hope to spare and to share.

“We supply faith and hope to people by changing the vision of what they can have for their life,” Amelia says. “We plant the seed, and then everything else determines how it’s going to grow – whether that be in the garden or in a classroom.”

But when conditions are right, as the Howards say: “One little seed can change the landscape of your life.”

Listen to a podcast featuring the Howards:

Listen to “Fruits, Vegetables & Hope” on Spreaker.