Netter Center farm to bring affordable produce to West Philadelphia

Tucked away on the corner of 54th Street and Lindbergh Boulevard in West Philadelphia is a 3.5-acre plot of land that once included an abandoned baseball field and a worn-down tennis court. Now, however, the Netter Center’s Agatston Urban Nutrition Initiative — in partnership with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Bartram’s Garden and Philadelphia Parks & Recreation — is helping transform the land into a farm and community garden where local residents can get fresh fruits and vegetables.

“Bartram’s Garden is a really magical place and not a lot of people know about it,” said Tyler Holmberg, the project director at the garden. “It’s a really peaceful amazing space to come out to and just knowing that it’s so close to campus is pretty great.”

“I’m really pushing for Friday afternoons to be volunteer days for Penn students or anyone to come out to work on the farm from like 2 to 5 on a Friday,” he added.

The Community Farm and Food Resource Center at Bartram’s Garden officially broke ground on Oct. 27, and by the spring it will include a crop field for vegetables, a community garden where local residents can maintain their own plots, an orchard with over 50 fruit trees, a 1,000-foot-long berry patch and a greenhouse. An empty parking lot will be turned into a food-education center, with a kitchen and classroom for teaching healthy cooking practices to community members.

The goal of The Community Farm and Food Resource Center is to bring local, affordable and nutritious food to the local community. “There is a huge need for access to healthy affordable … food, fruits and vegetables and there’s such a dearth all over Philadelphia,” Holmberg said. “This will hopefully provide that access but also will help be a place for people to build a relationship with their food.”

“It’s been a really exciting month at the farm. We planted some garlic over there and then we put some [plant] beds over there,” said Chinala Odu, a sophomore at Bartram High School. She is one of eleven high school students who works on the farm planting, growing and selling the produce as part of AUNI’s youth development program.

“My favorite thing about working down here is … building a team together because a lot of people don’t do that,” said Maliya Miller, also a sophomore at Bartram High School. “I also learned how to push wheelbarrows — I didn’t even know what a wheelbarrow was before this … It’s all a learning experience.”

The students also learn about healthy cooking and nutritional education. “I like being able to grow our own food and also pick our own food,” Bartram High School sophomore Dwayne Draper said. “Not only do we do that, but we also help others eat healthy and pick better choices.”

“[AUNI’s] been doing this and has been doing this for the last ten years — not at this scale but all throughout West Philly,” Holmberg said. “There are so many ways for Penn students to get involved.”

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