Chicago’s Community Growers Program:

This program is funded by the City of Chicago under the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).

The Community Grower’s Program is excited to announce its first round of Awardees! See press release here.

The Community Growers Program is closed to new applications, but continue to this link to express interest in future program rounds.

If you would like to preview the potential questions of future applications please refer to this document. Please note, this document is only for you to preview.

For background and information about applying for this program, please watch info videos and slide shows below. (Slide Show in Spanish available below, also.)

or watch a more detailed session on the grant and its requirements here.

For background on this project, please visit- https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/bacp-recovery-plan/home/community-growers-food-equity.html

If interested in this opportunity, please fill out the application form below. The deadline for the complete application is April 1.

This project is specifically for growers in communities that have traditionally experienced barriers and have had disinvestment. The Community Growers Project is specifically intended for projects that:

  1. have experienced growers as leads,
  2. prioritizes growing edibles, and
  3. is based in and for community members on the South, Southwest, and West Sides of Chicago.

Specifically, the neighborhoods include:

Albany Park, Lower West Side, Archer Heights, McKinley Park, Avalon Park, Montclare, Belmont Cragin, Morgan Park, Bridgeport, North Park, Brighton Park, O’Hare, Calumet Heights, Pullman, Clearing, Rogers Park, East Side, Roseland, Edgewater, Uptown, Gage Park, Washington Heights, Hegewisch, West Elsdon, Hermosa, West Lawn, Hyde Park, West Pullman, Kenwood, and West Ridge

Armour Square, New City, Auburn Gresham, North Lawndale, Austin, Oakland, Burnside, Riverdale, Chatham, South Chicago, Chicago Lawn, South Deering, Douglas, South Lawndale, East Garfield Park, South Shore, Englewood, Washington Park, Fuller Park, West Englewood, Grand Boulevard, West Garfield Park, Greater Grand Crossing, Woodlawn, and Humboldt Park

This project is an outcome of the 2022 Food Equity Council. See information about the history of this project here.

The Community Grower’s Program is a collaborative urban agriculture project that supports development and implementation of 25-30 urban agriculture new and existing sites by providing access to land, and financial and technical assistance to urban growers.  This support will kick off in spring of 2023 and continue through 2024 on a rolling basis. 

Timeline (may be subject to change):

Timeline:

March 1: Application for Community Growers Program Will Open and available here.

April 1, Midnight: Application Closed

End of April: First Round of Recipients Notified

We anticipate that there will be future rounds of funding in the fall, and if you applied in the spring, your application will be eligible for the next round, if you don’t make the cut this time.

PROJECT PARTNERS OF THIS PROGRAM INCLUDE: