DETROIT — In 1997, Capuchin Friar Brother Rick Samyn felt a calling to start a garden at his workplace, the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. 

Inspired by his relationship with neighborhood youth (whom he witnessed getting their groceries from the gas station), he decided the youth of the neighborhood needed to understand what good food was, and where it came from. The garden was created to connect people to each other, the land, and their food.

Over time, this simple, humble garden greatly expanded. A large plot was added behind Gleaners Community Food Bank; an apiary; a greenhouse for transplant production; a hoop house for year round production; a community orchard; and lots of community plots.

The garden now hosts at least 12 interns each growing season and countless volunteers. It provides tons of produce to the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, hosts a weekly market stand, and grows transplants for thousands of community gardens throughout the city.

Video produced by Andrew Kleczek, Paul Duda and Emily McElhone; description courtesy of Earthworks Urban Farm’s website