Seed St. Louis breaks ground on food demonstration garden

Seed St. Louis broke ground on Oct. 4, on a new 26,000-square-foot food demonstration garden at 5575 Enright Ave, just north of Delmar Divine.

Once completed, the garden will be a dynamic educational resource that partners with local organizations and the Delmar Divine to offer various programs for students, families, and adults. 

“The demonstration garden will be a hub for hands-on food education, community engagement, and sustainable urban agriculture”

Construction begins in early 2025 and the first phase of planting will start in the fall of 2025, followed by the grand opening in spring 2026.

“We are excited to see this vision come to life and to create a space where people of all ages can learn about growing food, sustainable practices, and community resilience,” said Matt Schindler, CEO of Seed St. Louis. “This project represents the next chapter in our mission to cultivate healthy, vibrant communities.”

The demonstration garden will be a hub for hands-on food education, community engagement, and sustainable urban agriculture. The garden will feature a 7,500-square-foot food demonstration area, orchard trees and bushes, pollinator and native plant zones, chickens, a solar greenhouse, a pavilion, and an indoor-outdoor classroom and meeting space.

This is a project of passion for Seed St. Louis – a project of dedication, a place where the community can come to learn how to grow food.

“Gardens bring communities together,” said 10th Ward Alderwoman Shameem Clark-Hubbard. 

For over 40 years, Seed St. Louis has supported community gardens, school gardens, community orchards, and urban farms across the St. Louis region. By providing the resources and education needed to grow food locally, Seed St. Louis empowers communities to build stronger, healthier, and more resilient neighborhoods. 

Hubbard-Clark grew up on the westside of St. Louis City and hopes the demonstration garden will not just educate and empower the community but create access to fresh healthy foods for kids in the neighborhood.

“I’m glad to be in a position to help and support community projects like Seed St. Louis,” the alderwoman said.

Over the years she has noticed how investing in her community has helped turn back years of disinvestment that has impacted those in her ward. 

The garden is designed to inspire and educate, offering workshops on topics like sustainable gardening and cooking with fresh produce. Its long-term goal is to serve as a model for urban food systems that improve food security, promote environmental stewardship, and strengthen community connections.

Seed St. Louis demonstration garden is located in the West End, near low-income and moderated housing. Around the corner is a senior facility and housing for disabled individuals. Just across the street is the Delmar Divine. 

“This project has the capacity to change this neighborhood in more positive ways than we have seen before,” said Mayor Tishaura Jones. “Nothing says health like fresh food.”

Urban gardening can also foster community, and encourage people to connect with others in their neighborhood, writes Leah Hudson Leva in a May 20204 article for The Urbanist.

“Shared gardening activities, investment in a collective project, and gatherings that arise as a result of urban garden events can all help people to make connections in the city,” she contends.

“The mental health benefits of community interaction have also been touted by researchers as one way of combating the “loneliness epidemic” that many urban areas are facing.”

The use and maintenance of green spaces for urban farming also contributes to permeable surfaces in the city. These surfaces can absorb water during times of rainfall, and release the moisture later (a concept known as a “sponge city” when applied widely across the urban space), and can help to reduce the urban heat island effect.

In the United States, around 54 million people were food insecure and 23.5 million lived in food deserts in 2022, according to the USDA.

Food deserts disproportionately affect urban communities, and are also racially distributed, with Black communities the most affected by food deserts and food insecurity.

 

Ashley Winters is a Report for America reporter for the St. Louis American.