Urban Growers Collective, The Conservation Fund Close Deal for Forever Farm

CHICAGO, IL — A deal has been finalized to put a South Chicago farm, known as Z Farm, into the hands of a local farm business.

Urban Growers Collective, a Chicago-based non-profit committed to strengthening community-based food systems, now owns the property they previously leased with The Conservation Fund’s Chicago Metro Farms Fund. Additionally, this property is permanently protected for agricultural use — meaning it will stay a farm forever.

In 2024, The Conservation Fund purchased the farmland on behalf of Urban Growers Collective, where they gained immediate access to under a flexible lease. Now, the 30-acre Z Farm is theirs to own, where they’ll scale their operations. The expansion into Z Farm over the past two years helped the organization achieve record food production numbers, growing 31,800lbs of food in 2025. With this farm property in their hands, this impact will only grow, potentially producing 400,000lbs of crops annually in the future.

“For years, Urban Growers Collective has grown on publicly owned lands for the public good, collaborating with the Chicago Park District, the Chicago Housing Authority and privately stewarded spaces, and we will continue to do so,” said Erika Allen, CEO of Urban Growers Collective, “However, ownership allows us to do far more than just expand crop yields; it gives us the physical and economic ground to nurture deep soil fertility, restore ecosystem health, and pioneer cooperative models that invite everyone to be active participants in our food system. With Z Farm as our forever farm, we have the opportunity to demonstrate as a not-for-profit, the impacts that scaled urban agriculture can have on wholesale procurement supply chains and food security in our region, while proving that community-rooted enterprise can measurably contribute to food system inequities, drive local economic resilience, and guarantee a steady, reliable supply of high-quality produce for Chicagoland!”

Urban Growers Collective is founded on farming, committed to both crop production and community building. Using urban agriculture as a tool, the organization addresses food system inequities while fostering economic development. In addition to regularly supplying high quality, affordable food to Chicago’s South and West Sides, they offer education and job training for young people and aspiring farmers.

The success of this project is critical as America is losing farmland at a rapid rate, and Chicago is no exception. The metro area lost 58% of its farmland used to grow food between 1995 and the mid-2010s, according to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. If trends around the state of Illinois continue, over 360,000 acres of farmland will be lost by 2040. Additionally, farm businesses are disappearing around the country due to rising costs and older generations of farmers aging out of the profession.

The Farms Fund program was founded to help address these problems. The model of the program is to buy at-risk farmland, connect skilled farming organizations like Urban Growers Collective to that land, permanently protect that land for agricultural use, and provide a patient pathway to ownership. The Farms Fund program was originally founded in Atlanta and has since expanded to Chicago, Charlotte, and Northwest Arkansas. Since launch, the Farms Fund secured seven farms and over 340 acres of farmland throughout metro Chicago.

“This partnership proves that local farming has a future in Chicago,” said Kelly Larsen, Chicago Metro Farms Fund Manager, “Our team is committed to saving at-risk farmland, supporting local farmers, and strengthening the region’s food systems – and this project checks all three of those boxes. For over 25 years, Urban Growers Collective has been a strong community leader and farming powerhouse working on scattered sites on leased land. We can only imagine what they’ll do with a forever farm.”

This forever farm helps preserve natural areas that have faced increased development pressure while allowing for sustainable working lands. Permanent protection for Z Farm also means permanent protection for land within the Deer Creek Corridor — resulting in a larger, more connected greenway in the region. Additionally, Z Farm will engage in species protection activities like beekeeping and developing habitat for native pollinators.

This project was made possible with generous support from the Prairie State Conservation Coalition, Feeding Illinois via Feeding America, and AMARA – formerly Grand Victoria Foundation.

About Urban Growers Collective
Urban Growers Collective is a 501(c)(3) non-profit farm in Chicago, working to build a more just and equitable local food system. Rooted in growing food, UGC cultivates nourishing environments which support health, economic development, healing, and creativity through urban agriculture. Its mission is to cultivate community-led urban agriculture in Chicago, advancing food sovereignty, dismantling systemic inequities, and fostering economic mobility through land stewardship, structural healing, and climate resilience.

UGC manages over 50 acres of land across urban and peri-urban sites, while simultaneously equipping 70+ growers annually through incubator programs and employing 180+ youth via STEAM-based leadership pathways. The over 31,000lbs of produce grown annually increases food access on Chicago’s South and West Sides through market pathways (Fresh Moves mobile market, farm stands, Collective Supported Agriculture Shares) and reduced financial barriers to nutrient dense and diverse produce. UGC is a partner of the 9-acre Green Era clean energy campus that transforms food waste into renewable energy and compost, creating a holistic, circular model for urban health and environmental equity. To learn more, visit: https://www.urbangrowerscollective.org.

About The Conservation Fund
The Conservation Fund protects the land that sustains us all. It is in the business of conservation, creating innovative solutions that drive nature-based action in all 50 states for climate protection, vibrant communities, and sustainable economies. It applies effective strategies, efficient financing approaches, and enduring government, community and private partnerships to protect millions of acres of America’s natural land, cultural sites, recreation areas and working forests and farms. To learn more, visit www.conservationfund.org.