Growing interest in horticulture helps Philadelphia urban farm thrive
PHILADELPHIA - In the dense urban landscape of Kensington lies a modest, but inspired urban city farm and plant oasis.
"We grow so many things in such a small amount of space," Olivia Gamber said. She is the farm manager at Greensgrow and responsible for all aspects of growing produce.
"We’re growing lettuce, greens, spinach, we’ll have corn here, we’re going to do a three sisters garden, corn, squash and beans," Gamber said.
They're adding four new growing categories and they've hired additional staff to keep up with demand from customers. Gamber believes that rising inflation has motivated people to start their own personal gardens.
From January to February, nearly every category of goods and services got pricier. Grocery costs jumped 1.4%, the sharpest one-month increase since 1990, other than during a pandemic-induced price surge two years ago. The collective price of fruits and vegetables rose 2.3%, the largest monthly increase since 2010. Gas prices spiked 6.6%, clothing 0.7%.
Oliva Gamber runs GreensGrow, an urban farm in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood. She said they're adding four new growing categories and they've hired additional staff to keep up with demand from customers.
"We have seen and are expecting an increase in interest in growing your own food," Gamber said. "Especially with the pandemic, it was a really big interest and people had time on their hands and were really excited about it and here to encourage people and empower people."
FOX 29's Marcus Espinoza caught up with two shoppers at Greensgrow who are trying to get into the gardening game.
"Interested in cultivating some kind of vegetables, something or another, but we kill a lot of stuff," Kyle Killian said.
Gamber said don't be intimidated by the idea of growing your own sustainable food, it's not only healthy but can also save you money.
"If you come here, you’re going to get a person that you can talk to that’s really educated and can help you start small and get your first steps," Gramber said.
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