Grow Southeast
Who We Are
Grow Southeast is an independent initiative between the Office of Commissioner Roy Charles Brooks, The Healthy Tarrant County Collaboration, and CoAct, aimed at addressing food and economic inequities in Southeast Fort Worth.
The Challenge
Many of the neighborhoods within East Fort Worth lie within an identified USDA food desert. The region is 72 square miles and counts for 20% of Fort Worth's population. Within this area are 3 supermarkets and 5 discount grocery stores. High poverty, lack of economic opportunity contribute to food access and basic needs insecurity issues. Within urban agriculture there is a widening race and age gap of farm owners and managers. The average age of a farmer in Texas is 59 years old and 64 in Tarrant County. Most of the active farms do not have a succession plan, leaving them vulnerable to redevelopment, reducing localized food access and resiliency. Collectively, Latino and Black farmers represent less that 15% of the producers in the entire state of Texas.
Project Mission
Grow Southeast addresses the gap in food access and food resiliency in Fort Worth by developing community owned and operated urban farms.
“Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much”
Helen Keller
Project Objectives
1) Incubate successful community owned and operated urban farms.
2) Increase food access & resiliency in Southeast Fort Worth.
3) Increase the number of emerging farmers representing communities of color in the greater Fort Worth Area.
4) Design policies and resources to reduce the threshold for developing urban farms in Fort Worth.
Project Vision
Southeast Fort Worth as the renowned community for food, culture, and well-being for everyone, everywhere