BFRDP Projects

ECO City Farms’ Empowering Emerging, Historically-Underserved Urban Farmers in the DC Metro Area 2022-5 is a multi-pronged program to counter the epidemic of food insecurity and diet-related illnesses in our communities by increasing agricultural opportunities and economic growth through developing new and expanded markets, increasing competition and proliferating locally grown food, farms and farmers. We specialize in preparing new and emerging urban farmers with fewer than three-years of experience in farming. Our pool of potential urban farmers is drawn from the diverse populations of the Washington, DC metropolitan area, particularly Prince George’s County, where ECO City Farms has established and run a Certified-Naturally Grown non-profit urban commercial teaching and learning farm on two sites for the past 12 years, and in 2022, launched an incubator farm for new farmers at the County’s Watkins Regional Park. 

In year one of the project, 80% of our trainees met the criteria of limited resource and/or socially-disadvantaged participants from historically underserved populations. We commenced a program that offers our trainees substantial classroom and hands-on learning opportunities; access to a wide network of local farmers, farm educators, and resources for beginning farmers; and everything they needed to ready them for a successful start in the practice of just, resilient and sustainable urban agriculture.