When you pull up to Massachusetts Avenue Project's (MAP) farm-stand on the city's West Side, remember that you are just scratching the surface of the inspirational enterprise. The farm-stand might be a quick and easy way to get fresh, organic vegetables grown right here in the city, but it's a simple walk throughout the complex that will allow you to truly understand what it is that is that makes MAP so special. Visiting the MAP Growing Green garden is a chance to see chickens, geese, a gigantic rain barrel, a worm farm, countless tilapia, and an assortments of edible plants that will make you hunger to be healthy.
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This is the first week that the MAP Farmstand is open for the season. Starting today the medley of goodies to be found includes spinach, mustard greens, kale, turnip greens, beet greens, encore lettuce salad mix, garlic scapes, Chinese cabbage, red fire head lettuce, asparagus, and green garlic. There are also plenty of seedlings to purchase including tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, etc.
While you're at the site, take a self guided tour throughout the outdoor educational classroom and learn about sustainable agricultural practices featuring topics such as enhance biodiversity, water, nutrients and sunlight, recycling biomass, ways to facilitate beneficial biological interactions... everywhere you look you will see Small Farm practices in the works. The MAP Farmstand is an excellent way to get your kids to understand the importance of small, organic farming operations. The fact that this is all in the city is mind-boggling. MAP has figured out a way to make eating organically fun and flavorful. America is an obese country. Thankfully there are organizations out there such as MAP that are attempting to change the way we look at food. A chicken McNugget is not real food (see why). Vegetables that are harvested from the earth in a sustainable manner? Now that's real food!
From MAP:
MAP Farmstand is open every Tuesday from 3:30pm-6:30pm and Saturdays 10am-1pm we will be selling delicious local and organic food from our farm at 389 Massachusetts Ave. Saturdays are also open to volunteers between the hours of 11AM and 1 PM, rain or shine. A tour of our farm will also be held every Saturday at 10:30am and every Tuesday at 4pm. No need to call ahead, just try and show up on time! :)
Can we take tours of this place?
Absolutely!