Cultivate KC Teams Up with Longfellow Farm for Public Engagement

Cultivate KC is partnering with Longfellow Farm for the 2025 growing season! As part of our Urban Agriculture Innovation Project, Building Urban Agriculture Community and Capacity in Kansas City’s Urban Core, Cultivate KC staff will provide production support to the farm, host monthly hands-on workshops for the community, and complete infrastructure projects.

Cultivate KC’s mission to grow food, farms, and community, and our partners at Longfellow are doing just that! Longfellow Farm is a community-run farm in the heart of the city focused on engaging neighbors to learn about growing food and freely sharing the harvest with those who participate.

Through September, Cultivate KC will provide on-farm production support, host monthly hands-on workshops for the wider community, and facilitate building a washstand and chicken coop at the farm. The surplus harvest made possible by this extra support will be donated to our community partners.

Scott Holmberg of Holmberg Family Homestead delivers chickens to Longfellow Farm!

Upcoming Community Workshops hosted by Cultivate KC at Longfellow Farm

• Thursday, July 31, 7-8:30 pm: Chicken Care 101 with Emily Kovar
  Are you curious about backyard chickens? Do you think you might like to keep chickens but don’t know where to start? Come to our Chicken Care 101 workshop and learn about what chickens need to thrive including coop basics, nutrition, common health issues, and city regulations. Discover what you will need to care for chickens and what it will cost. We’ll also touch on how to keep nuisance issues to a minimum through proper sanitation and care.
• Thursday, August 14, 7-8:30 pm: Season Extension with Low Tunnels with Mark Gawron
  Come learn about different models of low tunnels and how they can be used to extend your growing season, protect from pests, and grow healthier plants. We will also discuss the Natural Resources Conservation Service EQIP program that can provide cost-share payments to assist with this important growing practice.
• Wednesday, September 10, 6-7:30 pm: Strawberry Production with Mark Gawron
  Did you know fall is an ideal time to plant strawberries for a successful harvest the next spring? This workshop will cover various aspects of growing strawberries, from initial planning to successful harvesting. During the hands-on workshop, participants will plant strawberries while also learning about different production systems using organic growing methods. 

Longfellow Farm is also hosting a Honey Harvest Event in partnership with Bee KC on Sunday, July 27, 10-11:30 am. All are welcome to come for a hands-on demonstration of harvesting honey and to taste the sweet treats!

Volunteers from Next Step Ministries at Longfellow Farm

Throughout the summer, Cultivate KC is also hosting volunteer groups at Longfellow Farm including Next Step Ministries and school groups. While most of the produce grown at Longfellow is shared with people who participate in community workdays and through a small neighborhood CSA program, with this extra support from Cultivate KC, any excess produce grown at Longfellow Farm will be donated to community partners. So far this spring, Longfellow Farm has donated an estimated 250 pounds of vegetables to Kansas City Food Not Bombs, a volunteer-run organization that prepares free, hot vegan meals every Sunday in the Lykins neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri.  

And, don’t forget, Longfellow Farm will host Cultivate KC’s Midtown Hoedown this fall for the second year. Save the date for September 13!