NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Department of Agriculture awarded eight projects with the Urban Agriculture Cost-Share Grant.
Two of the winners are from the Kansas City area — Antioch Urban Growers and Wildside Urban Farms.
Located in Kansas City, North, Antioch Urban Growers is built to combat food insecurity and health issues through wellness and community.
“We need to take over the soil. And everybody has some — from the apartment-dweller that has some in a little pot to the big landowner that has a huge amount of soil," said owner Mark Samborski.
Samborski owns Antioch with his wife, Maggie.
“It doesn’t take thousands of years to develop soil anymore,” Mark said. “Because of the science, we can develop it quicker, but we’re not developing it in so many areas. We’re just cutting corners, and the health of our people is suffering dramatically.”
The Samborskis work with partners across the community to grow fresh produce, host farmer’s markets, sponsor dinners and more, all in their greenhouse.
“It’s really about sharing resources in the community, and we need in our communities the ability to process food,” Maggie said.
With the help of the grant, the Samborskis have asked mostly for equipment and repair items, such as a cider press, veggie chopper and food dehydrator.
Additionally, Antioch Urban Growers will be able to continue sharing its passion for repairing soil with the community. The Samborskis help teach workforce and job skills across the North Kansas City School District.
“This grant was really to expand the community farm and the community market we’ve got here. We’re really about community,” Maggie said. “And we’re about being self-sustaining as community, not one person has to do all the work.”
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