Agatston Urban Nutrition initiative Dubious cafeteria meatloaf doesn’t cut it anymore, at least not according to the Urban Nutrition Initiative. As part of Penn’s Netter Center for Community Partnership, UNI focuses on a combination of healthy lifestyle and sustainability. This includes six community gardens at West Philly elementary, middle, and high schools and programs to educate students and parents about healthy food. The gardens also provide the community with fresh, affordable produce.
Penn Garden 3901 Locust Walk You don’t need to go further than Locust to find an urban garden: just west of Rodin College House, the Penn Garden sprung up in 2010 to educate the Penn community and support an environmental friendliness. A Garden Manager and student interns maintain the space, but the garden is open to the Penn community and volunteers get to take home some of the tasty results.
Greensgrow Farm 2501 E. Cumberland St. The original Philly urban farm, founded in 1998, Greensgrow now operates a fertile garden as well as a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, a farmers' market, a community kitchen and workshops.
Why You Should Care: Urban farms such as these are one way the city is addressing its food desert problem. A food desert is an area where people have limited access to fresh produce and other nutritious foods. It's a problem if there are only corner stores instead of fully–stocked grocery stores, or if healthy foods are too expensive for low–income families. Communities living in food deserts face higher rates of obesity and diabetes, and Philadelphia definitely is plagued by food desert problems.
