CEDA Urban Farm
at God's Harbor for All Souls

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Mike's remote broadcast from Matteson, Illinois . . .

. . . had fun, farming, food, and information.

 

On September 20, we broadcast, at 1:00 p.m., a special presentation, “Chicago Urban Farm Harvest” from God's Harbor for All Souls Church, 4100 Maple Avenue in Matteson. It was a lovely celebration of local food and how CEDA is working to help create urban farms. These farms provide fresh, nutritious food for people who don't always have access to it, and they also provide work for young people.

People came from Park Forest, Bolingbrook, Chicago, and even the northern suburbs to talk about urban farming and community garden. A mother and daughter who want to start a garden in their community talked to dozens of people who gave then advice and contacts. Children darted in and out among adult legs to sample the food and help, carefully supervised, with a little radish and lettuce harvesting.


Farmer Manuel Applewhite talked about the long weeks of clearing brush to make a space for the garden. The farmer's wife, Leslie Applewhite, told about young workers who begged to be given work indoors because of the heat and later came to enjoy the challenge.

Robert L. Wharton, CEDA President & CEO was on hand, along with a number of other CEDA people, including Marsha Belcher, Jason Maymon, and Ira Williams. Bishop Odell McFarland, founder of God's Harbor gave a gracious welcome to Mike, the crew, and the CEDA workers and praised the program for teaching strong values to the young people who worked to create the farm. Because the University of Illinois Extension is a partner in this effort, two Master Gardeners were there to answer questions about growing food. They were the husband and wife team of Jennifer and Bill Tobin, Jennifer is an Illinois Extension Master Gardener, Bill is a Purdue Extension Master Gardener. So of course Mike had to make jokes about possible sitcoms.

It was a beautiful day, courtesy of Rick Di Maio and perhaps the bishop, who probably has a little clout upstairs. The sharing and fellowship were a joy to participate in. And, as a bonus, the show got out a lot of good information and great stories.