Week 2 at KGD

Hello, everyone! This is Peace, and as I mentioned in my first post, I’m working with Keep Growing Detroit (KGD) this summer. KGD’s mission is to promote a food sovereign city of Detroit where all fruits and vegetables consumed by residents are grown by residents. To meet this goal, KGD operates an urban farm and various programs that work to create sustainable change in Detroit’s food system. One of these programs is the Garden Resource Program (GRP). The GRP supports 2,300 urban farms and gardens in Detroit by providing them with seeds, transplants, gardening classes, and a network of growers they can connect with. KGD also operates the Grown in Detroit (GID) program, which provides urban growers low-barrier opportunities to sell their produce at the Eastern Market on Saturdays.

For my research project, I’m helping develop and implement KGD’s Summer Youth Apprenticeship. This program is a partnership with Grow Detroit’s Young Talent that provides 14 to 19-year-olds an opportunity to gain various skills related to gardening, financial literacy, farmers markets, etc., while learning about food sovereignty and land stewardship. Currently, I’m working on developing some of the sessions for the youth before they start in July, such as the team-building activities. I also help out on the farm and work Eastern Market shifts on Saturdays.

The DCERP program experience has been engaging so far. I’ve enjoyed getting to know the other DCERP fellows. It’s been fun hanging out with each other outside of work and exploring the city together. I’ve also enjoyed collaborating with the other fellows to plan our future Tuesday/Thursday night meetings. We’re planning to explore more of downtown Detroit and Southwest Detroit together, so I’m looking forward to that. I’m also excited to learn more about Detroit’s history with the other fellows.