Proceeds from the FM@SELMA breakfasts have allowed us to help create new local hoop-houses, adding 8000 sf of four-season production to our food-shed. Each of the projects was financed with a small loan package that will allow the proceeds of this new food production to feed back into the fund and finance additional hoops for more farmers down the road.
The first went to Greg Willerer of Brother Nature Produce on Rosa Parks in Detroit on August 1, 2009. Greg is one of a number of urban farmers re-creating farm production in what has become a food desert in inner-city Detroit. Besides taking produce to Eastern Market each Saturday and supplying several restaurants, Greg has established a u-pick food source for his neighbors that he thinks he can now extend to every month of the year with this latest hoop. Greg was recently featured as one of the “Big Eight” in Time magazine, as one of the individuals (along with Kym Worthy, L. Brooks Patterson and others) in “The Committee To Save Detroit”.
Two weeks later on August 15th we were building off Joy Road, just north of Ann Arbor. Tomm and Trilby Becker have established SunSeed Farm. Their 30×96 hoop sits in front of a giant oak tree in the middle of one of their newly plowed fields. Tomm has been the resident farmer for the MSU Student Organic Farm, which among many other programs has created a 100 member, four-season CSA program. SunSeed may be the first 12 month CSA in the Ann Arbor area and will surely be a great addition to the choices we have available to feed ourselves. On May 22nd we helped Sunseed build its second hoop. You can read about the build in our blog.
On May 8, 2010 we built a 21×48 hoop for Spirit Farm in Detroit. Kate Devlin and her crew will use this hoop to support the giving mission of the organization. The day proved to be a challenge both in the Spring weather that delivered one squall after another, and as we discovered lots of Detroit housing history just below the surface of this now open space. The strength of our amazing volunteer crew again was up to the task and we improvised our way to completion. You can read about the build and see the assembly procedure documented by Lisa in the Repasts blog.
We hope to build additional hoops as a regular part of our community agricultural development, both for new and expanding farmers as well as integral parts of area school garden programs. Stay tuned for our next build dates and let us know if you wish to add hoops to your food cultivation plans.