The Mill Creek Farm is a non-profit urban educational farm dedicated to improving access to fresh food in the West Philadelphia community. In addition to using sustainable agricultural practices to grow fresh produce on formerly vacant land, the farm is also an education center, offering opportunities for visitors and volunteers. The farm demonstrates green building and urban sustainability practices including compost, beekeeping, cob construction, solar electric, living roof, material reuse, biodiesel, and a graywater system.

The Mill Creek Farm was founded in 2005 in West Philadelphia, transforming a vacant lot into an urban farm through the Philadelphia Water Department and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Stormwater Management program. The farm and adjacent community garden are located in the Mill Creek neighborhood, which is predominantly low-income and African-American.

Minority and low-income populations are disproportionately affected by rising obesity rates and nutrition-related diseases. This is attributed in part to lack of access to affordable, healthy foods in inner-city neighborhoods, an issue of environmental and social justice. The Mill Creek Farm helps to expand access to fresh produce in West Philadelphia by growing vegetables, fruits, and herbs without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides.

The fresh produce is sold affordably directly to community residents at the farm site and at a neighborhood farmers’ market operated by the Food Trust. At these markets, seniors and WIC recipients can use Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program coupons and food stamp recipients can use EBT cards to purchase produce. Additionally, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s City Harvest program, Mill Creek Farm donates produce to nearby shelters and cupboards that do not otherwise receive fresh produce.

Our community education program is a critical component of our work fostering environmental stewardship and sustainability among urban residents. The farm features a variety of innovative demonstration projects such as a living roof, a compost toilet, use of salvaged and recycled materials for construction and art, cob construction, a solar electric system, composting food and farm waste, and this season we will be working on completing a graywater project and fueling our truck with waste vegetable oil.

Our strategy includes supporting community gardeners, hosting workshops, welcoming visitors of all ages, and engaging volunteers in active learning. We also offer field trips to help connect people with where their food comes from. These activities will develop a sustainable, accessible, and healthful food supply, increase the self-reliance of communities in providing for their own food needs, and encourage caring for the health of the environment.

Mill Creek Farm partners with many organizations to broaden our community impact. We work with Saul Agricultural High School to offer a 6-week summer internship program for students providing paid summer jobs, allowing for deeper learning and leadership development. Our partnership with the Mariposa Food Co-op in West Philadelphia includes the opportunity for co-op members to fulfill their work-shifts by working at the farm and we provide produce to the co-op weekly during the harvest season.

Neighborhood Bikeworks brings youth groups to visit and volunteer at the farm regularly during their summer program. The farm also promotes biking both as the primary mode of transportation for the staff and by hosting bike tours during the season. The farm is an urban oasis and has quickly gained recognition and widespread support, becoming a model. Our unique combination of programs allows us to address a range of issues including local food, sustainable farming, vacant land, nutrition, environmental stewardship, ecological diversity, reuse, recycling, and conservation of resources.

During 2008, Mill Creek Farm reached over 1700 visitors, volunteers, and customers. As an educational center, the farm's constituency is broad, hosting visitors of all ages and from all walks of life. Over 500 volunteers took part in service learning opportunities and nearly a thousand visitors toured the farm including over 50 groups.

The Mill Creek Farm directly serves its neighborhood, as well as adjacent communities in West Philadelphia through its biweekly farm-stand, wholesale distribution, and donation of fresh produce to food cupboards.

In 2008, over 100 seniors used their Farmer’s Market Nutrition Coupons to pay for fresh produce grown in their neighborhood and over 1600 pounds of produce were donated to food cupboards and shelters. In its third growing season, the Mill Creek Farm program far exceeded expectations of growth in the educational, sales, and outreach areas.

The direct success of the Mill Creek Farm project can in part be measured quantitatively by the number of participants in educational programs and the quantity of produce grown, sold and donated. The community is also solicited for qualitative measures of the project's success. The positive feedback we receive via letters and comments from community residents, school programs, and other visitors indicates the impacts of our work.

“…This garden is important to me because we grow a lot of good things for your heart and for your body. I really love this farm, this farm is like a farm and a house to me that’s how much I love it.” – Devin Phillips, age 9 1/2, neighbor

“…Thanks for one of the most enlightening and life changing experiences I have ever been through. I’m so excited to tell people, ‘Hey Yo, I ate straight from the ground, man! And it was good!’” – CR Robinson, PHS staff

The widespread support for our program was also demonstrated at a fundraising event we held in December where we raised over $11,300. This support, along with additional individual donations, farm income, and grant funding, help to sustain our work.