Why Do We Need the Five-Year Growth Plan?
In 2022, WCG opened its new Campus, a 1.2 acre hub for Urban Agriculture in downtown Salt Lake City. This has led to dramatically increased interest and demand from the community and to interest from new partners.
Out of the pandemic, we saw a large community shift toward local resources and a quest for more self-sufficiency. We are consistently approached by individuals and groups about expanding our programming into their community, outside of our footprint. We feel their urgency as well as a responsibility to share our best practices and resources.
We were required to "transplant" our farm because of urban development: that move, ultimately to a permanent space, was leveraged as the catalyst to offer opportunities to broaden our services to benefit the public, local growers, and our food systems.
Dwindling contiguous green space is creating an urgency to plan further ahead, anticipating community needs and resources. Preserving productive green space is imperative during a period of robust development in Salt Lake City and County.
This five-year, $5 million growth proposal represents a new chapter in WCG's ability to adapt to the evolving and growing needs of its community. With our headquarters firmly rooted in the Central City neighborhood of downtown Salt Lake City, and a thriving presence in our traditional spheres of interest, our attention must turn to less well resourced communities and neighborhoods, and how best to meet their needs. Your investment in this sustainable, equitable, intentional future is vital.