$10M Chicago Prize Awarded to Auburn Gresham Team to Build Health Hub, Urban Farm
Urban Growers Collective will manage the urban farm and plans to address local food insecurity by growing 14,000 to 26,000 pounds of food per year
By Patty Wetli
WTTW
August 6, 2020
Excerpt:
More than 80 teams applied for the inaugural Chicago Prize, and on Thursday it was announced that after a yearlong competition, a group from Auburn Gresham had nabbed the $10 million grant, with plans to use the funds to develop a healthy lifestyle hub and renewable energy and urban farming campus.
The Chicago Prize, sponsored by the Pritzker Traubert Foundation, sought to invest in collaborative initiatives developed by leaders within communities on the city’s South and West sides, rewarding ideas generated by people who’ve worked over the years, or even decades, to improve their neighborhoods.
Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation (GAGDC), Urban Growers Collective and Green Era Partners — headed by Carlos Nelson, Erika Allen and Jason Feldman, respectively — partnered on the winning submission, dubbed “Always Growing, Auburn Gresham,” which was selected from six finalists.
“Always Growing, Auburn Gresham is the kind of bold, innovative work, rooted in deep community partnerships that is needed to make our city more equitable and vibrant,” said Penny Pritzker, co-founder of the foundation, with her husband Bryan Traubert.
