Local Food & Gardens

University City District (UCD), in partnership with Farm to City, is pleased to announce the inaugural Farmers’ Market at The Porch at 30th Street Station every Wednesday from 11am to 2pm beginning May 16. Adjacent to the second busiest train station in the country, between two magnificent historic buildings and within 1,200 feet of over 16,000 jobs, The Porch now features a fun and convenient opportunity to buy fresh produce and healthy foods from local farmers. At least eight unique vendors will participate. Read on for details.

This summer, the Kelly Writers House is partnering with LFFC to bring you a new CSA site at 3805 Locust Walk. Full shares and half shares available.

A Philadelphia Master Gardener Second Saturday workshop that will give you tips on community garden planning and how to organize your plot.

A few weeks ago, we told you that the Lea School, at 47th & Locust, was selected as one of Recyclebank's Green Schools, eligible to receive funds to build six new raised bed gardens for students, parents, and teachers, greening their asphalt schoolyard. With your help, the Lea School was the first school in the country to reach its fundraising goal of $550! This is a clear indication of University City neighbors' commitment to sustainability, and thanks to everyone who donated their points to Lea for this wonderful project.

Urban Farming is the topic of the timely documentary film by Tree Media, Urban Roots, which explores the urban farming phenomenon in Detroit, Michigan. The Westphal College at Drexel University will host the Philadelphia theatrical premiere of Urban Roots on Tuesday, February 7th at 7:30 PM in the Bossone Research Center (3140 Market St.).

The Mill Creek Farm, at 49th & Brown Streets, is an amazing urban farm that supplies sustainably grown local food to its immediate community, as well as offering farm based educational opportunities for students, community workshops, and more. Thanks to a very generous donor, donations to support the farm will not just be matched, but will be doubled if the farm can reach its fundraising goal by the end of the year.

What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than by cooking and serving locally grown and produced food, everthing from squash and sweet potatoes to fresh apple cider? You have three opportunities to pick up all that and more at three different University City markets on Wednesday:

This evening, the Henry C. Lea School will host a forum about where school food comes from, how it is prepared, and efforts to bring farm-fresh food to our neighborhood schools. If you have a child in one of our neighborhood's schools, are a teacher, or are just interested in learning what you can do to help those efforts, this is a great opportunity to take part in a discussion.

Gardening doesn't need to end with the onset of winter. The Penn State Extension Master Gardeners continue their wonderful horticulture series this weekend with a workshop titled "Houseplants, the forgotten gardening experience." Master gardener Kim Labno (and former compost workshop presenter at Sustainable Saturdays) will talk about planting and caring for diverse houseplants, and how they can be incorporated into the home and office to yield physical and emotional benefits. In particular, Kim will discuss integrating plants into vertical green walls.