Chicago Austin Youth Travel Adventures (CAYTA) is currently hosting Austin Farm-to-Table Trolley Tours where people can visit community gardens, learn about health and wellness, and see a cooking demonstration with a professional chef. The Chicago, IL based nonprofit is dedicated to opening the world of inner city youth through local cultural immersions, career development, and skills building.
Austin is a predominantly black neighborhood and is considered a food desert, where residents don’t have easy access to affordable and nutritious food.
“The people in Austin need the access to improve their health,” said Crystal Dyer, executive director of Chicago Austin Youth Travel Adventures. “I know so many people personally with different types of disorders from eating high-fat foods. (We want) to give people the opportunity to learn that we have gardens here.”
One of the stops on the tour is PCC Austin Farm – a partnership between PCC Community Wellness Center and the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Windy City Harvest. PCC Austin Farm makes food shopping more accessible to the community members.
“We actually have a retail store that we put there to answer the demand for fresh fruit and vegetables at an accessible price so that the community can come in, and they don’t have to get on a bus or get on a train,” said Dominique Stevens, senior manager for health and wellness at Windy City Harvest. “I have two kids, and I couldn’t imagine having to bring groceries home on a train.”
The trolley tours were made possible through a $30,000 grant from Austin Eats, in partnership with Austin Fresh, which are highlighting 12 urban farms. The tours run through October and are free for all Austin residents.