Urban Growers Collective Partners with Obama Foundation to Launch Garden Gatherings at New Obama Presidential Center
07 July 2026, Chicago: Urban Growers Collective (UGC) announces a landmark partnership with the Obama Foundation to anchor summer programming at the new Obama Presidential Center (OPC). Running through September 20, 2026, UGC will host Garden Gatherings, a six-part intergenerational series activating the Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit and Vegetable Garden as a hub for civic engagement and food justice.
Operated by the Chicago Botanic Garden, this space continues Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! legacy. UGC provides the cultural programming and community-building framework, utilizing the Community Food Navigator to frame food sovereignty as a direct expression of democracy.
UGC invites journalists and storytellers for exclusive interviews and on-site segments highlighting how citizens can reclaim local food systems to dismantle systemic inequities.
“At UGC, we don’t just grow food—we grow people,” says Erika Allen, Founder and CEO. “This partnership allows us to scale our mission. Teaching a community to build its own soil and navigate its own food systems provides the tools for self-determination. This is democracy from the ground up.”
Garden Gatherings: The Summer 2026 Lineup
Hosted bi-weekly on Sundays, these 90-minute workshops blend agriculture and ecology into accessible “Movement Sessions”:
- July 12 – Soil Rhythms: Rooting Down for Resilience: Hands-on sifting, worm composting, and exploring the foundation of life.
- July 26 – Sun-Drenched Harmonies: Harnessing solar energy, brewing early summer sun teas, and creating botanical scent-rollers.
- August 9 – The Pollinator Groove: Celebrating mutual aid in nature by building mason bee houses and designing custom floral arrangements.
- August 23 – The Preservation Waltz: Food preservation as an act of resilience through quick-pickling and fermentation traditions.
- September 6 – Pigment Play & Fiber Flow: Exploring the economic and artistic value of the garden using natural plant dyes and seed “bloom balls.”
- September 20 – The Rooted and Rising Cycle: Cultivating food sovereignty and passing the torch through the ancient art of seed saving.
Media & Podcast Pitch Angles: Why This Story Matters Now
UGC experts are available to discuss:
- Continuing a First Lady’s Legacy: How the Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit and Vegetable Garden advances the core values of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative through modern community-led urban agriculture.
- Food Sovereignty as a Democratic Right: How localized food production shifts the narrative from community scarcity to abundance.
- The Six-Sensory Framework: A deep dive into how touch, smell, taste, cognitive learning, visual beauty, and emotional safety are used to heal urban trauma.
- Amplifying the Community Food Navigator: Introducing audiences to localized tech (apps, QR networks, and the Volunteer/Mutual Labor Board) connecting growers, Neighborspace projects, and Chicago Botanic Garden-supported steward sites across Chicago.
Urban Growers Collective: Impact by the Numbers
For producers and editors seeking data-driven narratives on urban climate solutions and economic mobility, UGC’s proven track record includes:
- Food Cultivated: Over 89,000 lbs of fresh produce grown across 154 crop varieties.
- Community Nourished: Nearly 40,000 customers served through Fresh Moves Mobile Markets and CSAs.
- Workforce Development: 850+ participants trained across youth and adult apprenticeships.
- Community Engagement: 131,300+ points of connection and 2,300+ mobilized volunteers.
- Systemic Investment: Over $378,000 in Fresh Moves food access vouchers redeemed (matching SNAP/Link dollar-for-dollar).
Also Read: Crystal Crop Protection and Corteva Sign Collaboration Agreement
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