Summer Lettuce Project at JGTF
2024 Mini Grant Recipients
Cultivate KC is excited to announce the recipients of the Get Farming Mini Grant for the 2023-2024 award cycle!
Every year we offer mini grants of up to $3,500 to support urban farmers in the Kansas City metro area who want to expand production, grow their business, or feed their communities. Funding goes towards projects like building infrastructure and purchasing equipment or tools to improve food production. Since 2011, Get Farming Mini Grants have supported 143 farm and garden projects totaling $282,042! This year, with generous funding from Cargill, Inc. and the Hall Family Foundation, we were able to distribute $24,156 to 8 urban farmers within the Kansas City metro area.
Congratulations to the following recipients on their exciting projects:
The Righteous Roots Community Garden – Greenhouse project
Reggie and Theresa Moten, both Master Gardeners, have been growing fruits and veggies since 1997. Their community garden in Kansas City, Kansas has been in operation since 2019. They recently had a previously loved high tunnel donated, and their funding will help to get it reinstalled and operational. They are looking forward to holding workshops and community events in the space once the project is complete.
Theresa and Reggie Moten of The Righteous Roots Community Garden
The Adams Family Farm – Fruit tree expansion and irrigation
LaToya Adams, of the Adams Family Farm, is an entrepreneur and skilled farmer who is utilizing both of these skills with the implementation of her grant project. She will be purchasing a myriad of fruit trees and an irrigation system to ensure the trees establish properly and with ease. The sales from these fruits will allow for added income to further expand her business.
Peach tree at the Adams Family Farm
Precious Petals and Pepper Berries Urban Farm – Increased storage capacity
Christine Williams and her husband Bradford are the masterminds behind the ambitious endeavors at Precious Petals and Pepper Berries Urban Farm. After an unexpected move, their award funds will be used to establish much needed cold and dry storage in the form of a shipping container, CoolBot, and A/C Unit.
The new Precious Petals and Pepper Berries Farm site.
Hlu’s Family Farm – Mobile cooler
Hlu and Ling Thang are current farmers in our New Roots program. Their Mini Grant project is to purchase a used mobile cooler so they can keep fruits and veggies fresh post-harvest and on the way to market. As they look for more acreage and a home in KCK, this mobile cooler will be able to come with them as they transition from the Juniper Gardens Training Farm to their own permanent farm.
Pearl Family Farm – Plastic mulch lifter
Michael Pearl of Pearl Family Farm is a fourth-generation farmer on land that’s been in his family for 134 years. As such, his farming operation is robust and diverse, growing large quantities of a variety of different produce. This grant award will go towards an implement for his tractor that will make clearing and prepping beds for the next planting go smoothly and quickly, increasing overall efficiency and saving time!
Ki Koko Farm – Equipment storage
Beh Paw Gaw is an accomplished graduate of the New Roots program, farming on 3 acres with her sister, Pay Lay, for the last 12 years. Her farm is full of traditional Burmese and American produce, along with stunning flowers. This grant funding will go towards the purchasing and installation of a secure storage container for farm equipment. This will allow her to protect costly farm machinery from weather and theft.
Yaya Dah Farm – Increasing farm efficiency
Paw Wah Tamla has been growing in the US for about 15 years, but only recently acquired long-term access to land in Kansas City, KS. With this designated space, she is able to invest in sustainable efficiency solutions to weeding and watering. This award funding will go towards weed blocking fabric, irrigation supplies, and trellising, and help installing it all. By saving time on weeding and watering, she will be able to dedicate more time to other tasks that will allow her to grow her farm business.
Farmer Paw Wah Tamla surrounded by flowers grown from seeds she saves.
If our Get Farming Mini Grants sound like a program you would be interested in applying for, keep an eye on our webpage as our next funding cycle will open soon. We will be hosting an informational webinar on Monday, October 21st at 10 AM that you can register for here. The applications open on October 14th and are due by November 25th at 5 PM. Awards will be announced on December 16th.
