General Info

Windy City Harvest

PHOTO: in the classroom PHOTO: working in the greenhouse PHOTO: tending lettuce

Windy City Harvest is an organic vegetable and plant production enterprise that provides instruction in sustainable horticulture and urban agriculture to residents of Chicago’s North Lawndale and West Side neighborhoods.

Windy City Harvest creates jobs, opportunity, and hope by training participants to produce high-value, organic produce, which is sold at retail outlets and made available and accessible to local residents.

Download the fact sheet about Windy City Harvest

Who participates?
Young adults from Chicago’s North Lawndale and West Side neighborhoods.

What do the students learn?
Participants acquire hands-on experience with sustainable vegetable production and learn essential business skills, including planning, pricing, sales, and marketing.

Students receive six months of hands-on instruction in greenhouse and outdoor growing practices, followed by a three-month paid internship. Students can also opt for a five-month certificate in cool-weather growing techniques for hoophouses and greenhouses. After satisfactory completion of the curriculum and training requirements, students achieve certification in sustainable urban horticulture and urban agriculture. The certificate includes credit hours from the City Colleges of Chicago and readies participants for permanent employment in the new “green collar” jobs sector.

Where does it take place?
Windy City Harvest participants study at the City Colleges of Chicago’s Arturo Velasquez West Side Technical Institute at 28th and Western Avenue in Chicago and at the Garfield Park Conservatory. The two locations provide state-of-the-art greenhouses, fully equipped classrooms and high-quality outside plant production spaces.

Instructors are certified and trained by Chicago Botanic Garden staff.

What is the future of the permanent site?
The growing demand from individuals, commercial establishments, and educational and healthcare institutions for locally grown, affordable produce holds the promise of a bright future for Windy City Harvest and its graduates. As necessary funds are raised, Windy City Harvest will relocate to a multi-acre site on Chicago’s West Side, creating one of America’s largest urban agricultural enterprises.

The landscaped campus will provide ample room for growth in raised bed vegetable production, educational opportunities, and community involvement. The site will also house a food and natural products market, open to the community year-round.

Where is Windy City harvest produce sold?
• The Green Grocer on Grand Avenue
• Soy Organics in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood
• The North Lawndale Farmers’ Market
• The Chicago Botanic Garden Farmers’ Market
• The Century Public House in the Rogers Park neighborhood

support environmentally sustainable practices
Windy City Harvest’s built facilities and landscape elements will be accessible to both public and work groups and will feature innovative design and a business model that can be emulated by other urban projects. Windy City Harvest programs and services reflect the partnership of the Chicago Botanic Garden, the City of Chicago, and regional and state agencies committed to leadership in environmentally sustainable practices.

Support for Windy City Harvest has come from neighborhood, community and civic organizations; educational institutions; governmental agencies; and charitable organizations throughout the Chicago area, the Midwest, and nationally. Leading funders include the Steans Family Foundation, the Searle Funds of the Chicago Community Trust, the USDA’s CSREES program, and the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

For additional information, contact Angela Mason, Director of Community Gardening, at windycityharvest@chicagobotanic.org, or by calling (847) 835-6970.