From concrete jungle to bountiful urban garden, the 12-acre Urban County Farm in Garland teaches Texans about the farm-to-plate journey in an urban environment. Teaming up with Dallas County officials, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service mobilized the strong, local Texas Master Gardener volunteer network to combat local food insecurity by teaching residents about vegetable farming on a small scale.
Ultimately, this partnership has inspired urban agriculture across the county and provided food for several Dallas-area homeless shelters in the process. The farm continues to develop its programs, using student volunteers from all types of educational institutions as well as community gardeners from all over Dallas County for hands-on educational opportunities. They are working with private businesses to provide community service workdays as well as County Health and Human Services and City Parks and Recreation Centers to provide summer camps and adult education programming to further enrich the mission of the Farm.