Poverty Solutions - Urban Farming

Carla is a pre-nursing student at Madonna University.



Amber working to fulfill her service learning requirement for one of her classes.



Dominic harvesting beans. He has been urban farming since he was six years old and serving at Gleaners' since he was five years old.



A Picture of the Urban Farm



Madonna University students serve at Gleaners' Community Food Bank once a month.The Madonna University community have a food drive every semester.

A lot of the poverty pockets in the United States are located in our cities such as Detroit. Even in the best of times, hunger continue to prevail among the urban population. The majority of the urban population lack access to healthy life supporting food to nourish their bodies. These leads to susceptibility to various illnesses.

Large supermarkets have fled from the city, leaving small Mom and Pop operations and liquor stores in the neighborhoods. The inventory selections of these enterprises is very meager and narrow, devoid of healthy food especially fresh fruits and vegetables. The Capuchins and Gleaners' Community Food Bank are the main sources of food security not only in the city of Detroit but also in Southeast Michigan.

In 1999, Brother Rick Samyn, a Capuchin friar had a vision of farming vacant lots in the city. He started Earth Works. Earth Works provides some of the much needed fresh produce for people living in the city.

Madonna University students continue to serve and work with both organizations. Their service help raise awareness of the hunger issues confronting the poor among us. Students and other young people have become part of the solution.