Visit Growing Home's First And Largest Farm May 19

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Apr 30, 2013 9:10PM

Photo via Growing Home's website.

Growing Home has, um, grown to become one of the most recognizable farms in the Chicago area thanks to all the publicity on their urban farms in Englewood. But their first farm was founded in 2002 in Marseilles, Ill., on the site of an old weather station.

Today, the Les Brown Memorial Farm (named after Growing Home's Founder, the late Chicago Coalition for the Homeless policy director Les Brown) encompasses 10 acres of certified organic farm land, a farmer's residence, a native habitat for wildlife and other organisms and two large hoophouses. Graduates of their training program often stay with Growing Home and work on the farm and their Wood Street Urban farm.

Growing Home is hosting a field day at their Marseilles farm May 19 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. While there, guests can meet the farm team, learn about their community sponsored agriculture (CSA) program, see the vegetables they're currently growing, buy seedlings and get gardening advice for your own garden.

Growing Home's Les Brown Memorial Farm is located at 2539 N. 30th Road in Marseilles.