Berea Urban Farm Nourishes Its Neighbors

Located in the center of Berea, Kentucky, several urban lots with dilapidated buildings have been transformed by the community nonprofit Sustainable Berea into a 1.4-acre educational market garden: Berea Urban Farm. Affectionately referred to by its initials, the BUF grows more than 50 varieties of vegetables along with assorted fruits, flowers and herbs for sale to the community. But its main crop is education, and BUF’s production beds, greenhouses and orchard are used to teach members of the community how to grow some of their own food.

In 2019, more than 1,000 people visited the urban farm for tours, workshops and other educational events or to volunteer. During the pandemic, much of the teaching has shifted on-line, but the farm continues to back up its teaching with material support for gardeners.

In the past seven years, Sustainable Berea’s annual Berea Victory Garden Blitz event has installed about 900 raised garden beds, mostly for low-income households at low or no cost. The Berea Urban Farm has also distributed 170 (25-gallon) planter tubs and soil to households lacking space for a raised bed.

Other ways BUF supports urban agriculture include:

• The Neighborhood Perennials Project distributes fruit trees and bushes to households that have received instruction on tree planting and care.
• The Backyard Bees Program provides training and basic beekeeping equipment to people who want to become urban beekeepers.
• The Pollinator Patch Project grows and plants pollinator- friendly flowers throughout the city.

The work of the Berea Urban Farm has evolved as new opportunities and challenges have arisen. When the opioid crisis struck eastern Kentucky, BUF staff wondered how the farm might help. The health benefits of urban agriculture—improved nutrition, food security, exercise and a spiritual connection to the land—are well known. Could the farm help people in recovery from addiction?

The Berea Urban Farm’s response was Harvesting Hope, a program that brings women in recovery from substance use disorder to the urban farm.

Working on all aspects of production and harvest, the women learn gardening skills and gain self-confidence, an important element in maintaining sobriety.

Much of BUF’s success is due to its relationships with other organizations. The Madison County Conservation District, Grow Appalachia, and Berea Tourism have all been partners. The Berea Urban Agriculture District was established to foster relationships between the urban farm and its neighborhood.

Consisting of 82 acres of mixed residential and business use, the District is an experiment in the development of a neighborhood food system.

The Berea Urban Farm is one of a growing list of Kentucky urban farms such as Iroquois Urban Farm in Louisville and FoodChain in Lexington. Urban agriculture—whether farms, community gardens, school programs or household plots—plays a unique role in increasing food security, health and community well-being.

The Berea Urban Farm is a program of Sustainable Berea.

Berea Urban Farm
Location: 201 Adams St.
Berea, KY 40403
Office: 107 Grant St.
859-985-1689
Sustainableberea.org
Facebook/urbanfarmberea