Mill City Grows, you’ve heard us talking about them nonstop and here’s why. Mill City Grows (MCG) is one of our first partners who have helped us in making the Farm Share Program. If you are a member of the Farm Share Program, all of your delicious vegetables that you receive on a weekly is grown and harvested by Mill City Grows. MCG harvests all of the produce in the Farm Share bins either the morning of or night before deliveries. They are dedicated to providing our Farm Share members with fresh locally grown produce that was grown using sustainable practices.
Mission and Values
Mill City Grows is a non-profit organization that fosters food justice by improving physical health, economic independence and environmental sustainability in Lowell through increased access to land, locally-grown food and education. MCG utilizes four locations throughout the city: the UML Urban Agriculture Greenhouse on East Campus, the Rooftop Garden at UCrossing, the Mill No. 5 Urban Farm on Middlesex Street and the ‘Big Farm’ by the Cross Rivers Building off Pawktucket Blvd.
“We envision that Lowell will be known for its innovative approach to food production and food justice where residents are engaged actors in creating a food secure community that promotes the ability to grow, consume, and distribute healthy, locally produced food on land that is seen as a vital resource for the community and is protected for food production” – Mill City Grows
What They Do
In addition to providing fresh produce for the Farm Share program, Mill City Grows also runs daily Mobile Markets around the city of Lowell. The goal of Mobile Markets is to increase food access to Lowell community members including access to fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition, they run the School Garden program which partners with Lowell public school to create and support gardens across the city of Lowell. Since 2013, they have built and created 14 working school gardens around Lowell. MCG also have a multitude of educational programs such as The Gardener Training Program, Farm to Table cooking classes and Summer Youth Food Justice Squad Program. MCG truly is an amazing organization that has aided in food justice around the city. We are very lucky to be partnered with such committed and experienced MCG staff.
Click here to visit their website to learn more and to gather information on their events!