Garden Beetroot Soup
Our month long tour of community garden initiatives concluded this week when Meg visited the dedicated garden space for the Julie and Michael Tracy Foundation (JMTF) Urban Garden Program. The purpose of Meg’s visit was to finalize the details for our cooking class for a group of adults with autism through our social initiative we call the “Drishti Donation” – where insight and action meet.
We asked founder Julie Tracy and Master Gardener Gwenne Godwin questions about the garden, now in its first growing season following a successful pilot.
Why did you decide to start the garden?
The project began 2 years ago, working in urban agricultural spaces has always been a part of our larger goal to build community and support workforce and job development skill for adults with autism and related disabilities.
How did you choose the land, or did it choose you?
The land is a donation from the Illinois Medical District
How do you staff the garden?
The farm is staffed with a full time seasonal farmer as well as a part-time seasonal job coach. The agencies with whom we work bring their teachers and support staff to the site with their participants
What do you grow?
- 3 sisters (corn, bean, pumpkin)
- tomatoes
- peppers (sweet & hot)
- pole beans
- carrots
- onions
- summer squash
- cucumbers
- watermelon
- melon
- lettuce
- kale
- swiss chard
- collard greens
- eggplant
- blueberries
- strawberries
- variety of herbs and edible flowers
What will you do with the produce?
The produce will be –
- sold at our weekly farm stand
- offered at monthly farm stands we are conducting at Rush and other nearby hospitals
- sold to a distributor
- donated to Grace Seeds Ministries, an organization that supplies food pantries in need.
How has this garden impacted yours’ and others lives?
The garden gives purpose and employment skills to over 30 young adults with autism and developmental disabilities and offers program opportunities to others in need of meaningful daytime occupation. We are also converting unused space within the IMD to purposeful space while growing a high quality product that will address food insecurity as well as fill a demand for area restaurants for high quality, locally grown and sustainable food products.
What are you harvesting right now?
- collard greens
- kale
- swiss chard
- variety of herbs
The zen of slow cooking is partnering with another branch of the JMTF, Project 1212, a shared residence for young autistic adults in downtown Chicago. The bond between JMTF founder Julie Tracy and Meg is their shared experience of bringing up a child with complex learning challenges. Project 1212 is creating and enhancing “community” for a group of young adults within both private and public space, indoor and out, promoting a degree of independence with assistance. The Urban Garden Program is one such space.
If the soul of the zen of slow cooking lies in our desire to help the home cook find success and a little more zen in the kitchen then our heart lies in the dream of helping adults, with developmental challenges or other barriers to cooking a whole food meal, find independence in the kitchen through slow cooking and our Drishti Donation.
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Prep Time 10 minutes |
1 cup / 1 medium red onion, roughly chopped
1 cup / 2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, whole
1/2 tsp salt
5 cups / 32 fl oz vegetable or chicken broth
to serve
plenty of black pepper, sour cream, dill, horseradish sauce or orange zest at feta cheese crumbles
Pour the broth over the vegetables and cover. Cook on LOW for 8 hours.
Remove the lid and blend to a puree with an immersion blender.
Top with either sour cream, horseradish and dill or feta crumbles and orange zest. Season to taste.
