A pair of community gardens will be created on the South Side through two City-owned land sales approved by City Council today.

In South Shore, 11,720 square feet of vacant City land at 6801 S. Dante Ave. will be sold to the NeighborSpace land trust for $1 for vegetable gardening. The Dante Avenue Farm project, led by farmer Alwyn Walker, includes $40,000 in planned improvements involving raised beds, seating, fencing, a hoop house, and a farm stand. Produce from the farm will be made available to local food pantries and restaurants.

In South Chicago, seven adjacent City lots consisting of approximately 24,500 square feet at 8926-40 S. Mackinaw Ave. will be sold to NeighborSpace for $1 each for vegetable gardening. To be managed by the Fresher Together food equity coalition, the $150,000 project will improve the site for raising culinary and medicinal herbs, mushrooms, small grains, beans, and other vegetables for the community.

The sites are collectively valued at $93,100 and were made available for agriculture purposes through the ChiBlockBuilder online land sale platform.

NeighborSpace provides liability insurance for community-managed open spaces.

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