Seattle leaders are celebrating the opening of a new urban farm. The plot of land itself is relatively small, but it can produce acres of freshly grown food.
Cherry Street Farm and Lab features raised beds, solar panels that power the site, a youth food education "lab" featuring a large kitchen, and an outdoor plaza.
Its centerpiece is a hydroponic trailer that can grow up to two acres of fresh food at a time, using just five to six gallons of water per day.
Located in the heart of the Central District, the city’s historically Black neighborhood, between 19th and 20th avenues, the farm was the dream of Keith Tucker and the nonprofit he directs, Hip Hop is Green.
The property was once owned by his grandparents, and Tucker grew up next door. He has long been an advocate for plant-based food education and introducing kids to urban farming.
Once, Tucker said, while working with a group of Black kids, he held up a potato and asked if they knew where it came from. One kid thought it came from a fast food restaurant.
“What that kid didn’t know is that his ancestors were the masters of growing food. He comes from that. We come from the soil and growing food,” Tucker said. “It’s just a lack of information and so I have to fix that.”
The trailer's suspended walls host hundreds of leafy plants, vegetables, and flowers. Tucker’s team has already been growing produce there. Last year, he said, they were able to supply a local food bank with 100 pounds of freshly grown greens. Now, they can do more.
Tucker got support from local and state government grants and private donors to develop the site.
The farm’s youth programs are part of what inspired the City of Seattle to contribute more than $600,000 to the project. Rico Quirindongo, who directs Seattle’s Office of Planning and Community Development, said the farm has much to offer the region’s kids.
“Showing our BIPOC families and our Black and Brown kids you can be in control of your own destiny, you can grow your own food, and you don’t need to have a huge amount of resources to do that,” Quirindongo said. He added that Cherry Street Farm may become a model for the city to support fresh food production in urban areas.
Hip Hop is Green’s Youth Excellence Program will be front and center in the new food education lab. It recently kicked off. “We're going to cook in the kitchen with the kids,” said Tina Petrusha, one of the program's instructors. “It’s just so beautiful.”
Speaking at the farm's opening, Seattle City Council President Joy Hollingsworth said this was a big deal for the community and the kids who live here.
“Now they get to come and see what it is to farm, and what we need to do to grow and to be sustainable and have that green footprint for our planet,” Hollingsworth said. She noted that world food production needs to grow dramatically. “So what are we starting to do? Hydroponics, vertical growing, and farming. This is going to be the pathway.”
Youth member DJ Canales, a high school junior, has been taking courses offered by Hip Hop is Green since she was in the 7th grade. She was serving treats she helped make to the Cherry Street Farm guests.
“I’m so proud of this place," Canales said. "I first saw it in construction. It ended up looking really good."
