MILWAUKEE — Cole Compton is the lead farmer at Kinship Community Food Center's Urban Farm. Late in the summer, he's harvesting tomatoes.
"In this case, we single stem trellis the plant, so we have one stem that grows up," Cole says. "They grow about half a pound-ish for the big slicer ones and then we have cherry tomatoes that grow in nice little bunches.
Cole has been running things here at the farm for a couple of years, but he's been growing food for a lot longer.
"I got into it probably when I was about 7 years old, when I had a little raised bed at my house and that's kind of where the passion started," Cole says.
He's putting that passion to use trying to eliminate food deserts and get meals to people who are food insecure.
"We're able to grow fresh produce that people wouldn't normally have access to," Cole says. "So close and local to the people who need it the most."
You might not expect to find all of this on the shoulder of I-43.
"Urban farming is really bringing the farm setting, the garden setting into an urban area where you normally wouldn't find this type of area, this type of land," Cole says.
And just like the name suggests, Cole and his team want to create the feeling of family, growing as big and strong as Kinship's garden.
"Community and a sense of belonging, and a sense of being part of something bigger is a huge part of what Kinship is," Cole says.
And that's why you'll find volunteers working the soil during every step of the process — from planting to harvesting.
"I just always like coming here and digging in the dirt, and it's a lot bigger than my pots at my house!" says Julie Trafton, who lends her skills as a master gardener. "I was out here when there was nothing growing. There was just a bunch of dead tomato plants. We were wearing masks because it was so dusty."
That barren lot has been transformed. As crops bloom and grow, the food helps people at Kinship Food Centers who need it most.
"They're like, 'Oh I see you have collard greens! Can I have some, do you have some?'" Julie recalls. "So we'll pick it right there for them and then they are so excited."
It's a feeling volunteers are happy to give their time for — it's all in the spirit of sharing.
"It's not mine, it's not yours. It's the community's. It's for every single person that comes here, even if it's just for a day," Cole says. "It's truly a collective effort."
A collective effort that results in hundreds of pounds of organic, healthy produce each week during harvest time.
It's a pretty impressive leap for a little boy who started out with a little garden.
"Every day, I'm able to wake up and be around people who are also passionate about farming and gardening," Cole says. "And then on top of that, coming and doing the farming and the gardening for the community is like — what could you not love about that?"
The staff at Kinship say they couldn't run the farm without the help of the Maglio Company, which provides the land and water for the crops.
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