Belmont Cragin residents have a new gathering place on a two‑acre plot of Hanson Park: the Chicago Farm Lab. Since its humble start in 2014, the farm has grown from a dozen garden beds into a bustling outdoor classroom that serves three nearby Chicago Public Schools and dozens of families.
From Fenced‑Off Field to Living Laboratory
Biology teacher Marnie Ware, who co‑directs the Farm Lab, spent a year securing access to an unused soccer field adjacent to Prosser Career Academy. In the spring of 2014 she and a crew of volunteers broke ground, built raised beds, and planted the first crops. Today the site at 2148 N. Long Ave. boasts rows of corn, eggplants in straw bales, a small orchard, a tidy henhouse, and a newly‑added greenhouse funded by a $50,000 grant from the Chicago Region Food System Fund.
Education at the Heart of the Farm
Students from Prosser Career Academy, Prieto Math and Science Academy, and Hanson Park Elementary regularly visit the farm. Ware uses the garden to illustrate scientific concepts, biodiversity, and sustainable agriculture. Culinary‑program students harvest herbs and vegetables for classroom recipes, while Prieto’s science classes incubate chicken eggs that later join the farm’s flock.
During the school year, a weekly garden club brings students onto the grounds for hands‑on projects. In the summer, Chicago Youth Works employs young people from across the city to work the beds, reinforcing both job skills and community pride.
Volunteer‑Driven Community Hub
More than 1,000 volunteers have contributed their time over the past twelve years, and the farm now supports a free community garden with roughly 70 families tending individual plots. Co‑director Jim Lichon notes that the farm’s success hinges on neighborhood ownership: “There’s hundreds and hundreds of people’s hands in this place,” he says.
The farm’s volunteers also help expand programming. Lichon hopes to hire a paid staff member to increase educational offerings and to develop a “food forest” of nut‑bearing trees. Plans include adding ten more community garden beds next year, eventually capping at about 100 garden families within the next eight years.
Looking Ahead
With the greenhouse now operational, the Farm Lab can extend the growing season and use the structure as an indoor classroom, allowing students to study plant science year‑round. The farm’s next public event is a harvest‑festival fundraiser on October 3, featuring dishes prepared by Prosser students using produce grown on site.
Ware emphasizes that the farm will remain free and open to all: “We say we’re growing people here because the farm gives people the opportunity to connect with the earth, connect with the land and connect with each other.” The Chicago Farm Lab stands as a testament to how faith‑rooted families, schools, and volunteers can work together to nurture both food and community.
Original reporting: Block Club Chicago — read the source article.
