Collaborations between nonprofit Evanston Grows and the city’s academic institutions have enabled students to get involved in agricultural sustainability efforts. 

Evanston Grows, which aims to combat food insecurity through locally grown produce, creates impact through their urban farms, partnerships and educational programs, Executive Director Laurell Simms said. Its support for students provides a pathway for the next generation to engage with urban farms.

“(Urban farms) help us connect to our food and know that food doesn’t just come from the grocery store,” Simms said. “When kids see carrots pulled out of the ground, their eyes just are like ‘What?’ It’s so much fun to be able to experience that and see that kind of wonder for kids who don’t always have the opportunity.”

Evanston Township High School’s garden produces 40 to 50 varieties of fruits, vegetables and flowers and yields 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of fresh produce annually, Matthew Ryan, the farm operations director at Evanston Grows, said. 

Ryan has managed the garden, which he said has been spearheaded by ETHS Director of Nutritional Services Kim Minestra, since 2012. This year, when Ryan passed the torch to Assistant Farm Manager Emily Blanquera, jurisdiction over the garden also transitioned to Evanston Grows. 

The school garden is tended by students in one of ETHS’ science elective courses, which has expanded from one class section to four over the past few years, Ryan said. During the summer, about seven students work part time maintaining the garden as part of the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program, Ryan said.

“As the garden expanded, the high school came alongside us and developed a horticultural urban agriculture class,” Ryan said.

The ETHS partnership is just a piece of the puzzle. Simms said Evanston Grows extends its reach by connecting with elementary and middle school gardens, offering seedlings and garden tools each spring and creating a pipeline for gardening education.

Ryan said the ability for students to gain hands-on experience in the garden is crucial, and that their increased exposure and awareness to the food system is just as important to the curriculum.

“As you begin to dive into the reasons why sustainable agriculture is important, it opens up a can of worms that has far reaching implications for our whole society,” Ryan said. “It’s a really deep, robust and important topic that goes way beyond just people experientially learning how to garden.”

Evanston Grows involvement also extends to the Northwestern campus. Led by Simms, the nonprofit supports the Garden of Eatin’ which supplies fresh produce to Purple Pantry.

Reverend Julie Windsor Mitchell, a campus minister at the University Christian Ministry, founded a food pantry that transformed into Purple Pantry to combat food insecurity on campus. 

The pantry initially provided food for students on break and has since evolved to adapt to student needs. As the pantry expanded, Mitchell said Northwestern Dining took over the initiative from the University Christian Ministry. 

The Garden of Eatin’ has an interconnected system. Evanston Grows provides crucial expertise to grow a flourishing garden, Mithcell said. The South Residential Area harvests produce right before Purple Pantry is open, and the University Christian Ministry supplies the land and water resources. 

“During our harvesting season, we had 425 people use Purple Pantry,” Mitchell said. “So that means that there were 425 people that had access to our organic, fresh, healthy grown produce that we just grew right here on campus.”

Simms said she is excited that undergraduates are involved with both the organization and their food source.

Beyond education and community support, cultivating these programs is also about connecting through passion and curiosity, Simms said.

“It’s not just food access, it’s not just education,” Simms said. “It’s really trying to create a community space that’s inclusive and comprehensive and allows folks to come out and be curious and wonder.”

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