I visited the Brother Nature urban farm in the city of Detroit.  We toured the acre lot situated in a neighborhood most would be wary of driving through.  While the area consisted mostly of boarded up houses and buildings, a common landscape in Detroit, there is a strong sense of community for the few left and it seems these gardens are helping to plant the seeds of change.

Brother Nature produce is a for profit urban farm selling at farmers’ markets and to local restaurants.  They offer an alternative to the mass-produced corporate food crops that lack flavor and represent an unfortunate and dismal future for our food system.  We tasted a few goodies picked right out of the ground.  Different varieties of lettuces, all that I’d never heard of, and they were so amazingly flavorful.  The difference between fresh organic produce is miles away from your typical grocery store produce.  They even had edible flowers. They were both a beautiful addition to the garden and a surprising burst of flavor. I don’t know how you can go back to ordinary run of the mill produce after tasting the true potential that is possible without the use of pesticides and GMOs.

Over the next two months I plan on visiting a few urban farms in Detroit.  In addition to the true organic produce experience, urban farming in Detroit is also part of a bigger plan to help restore the city to it’s roots. Once a thriving city with gleaming success in the automotive and music industry, it now is a fallen empire hosting the skeleton of lost hopes and dreams. Urban farms bring a new hope to the city.  They provide food to communities, jobs for a city with the leading unemployment rate, and a system of sustainability. There is a lot to explore and I’ll be reporting it all to you!

It’s also Monday, so find some tasty organic greens and have a happy Meatless Monday!

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