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| City Slicker Farms | |
|---|---|
| Name | City Slicker Farms |
| Formation | 2009 |
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Headquarters | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Region served | Greater New Orleans |
| Leader title | Executive Director |
| Services | Urban agriculture, community development, education |
City Slicker Farms is a nonprofit urban agriculture organization based in New Orleans, Louisiana, focused on community gardening, youth education, and food sovereignty. Founded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the organization operates urban farms, runs workforce development programs, and collaborates with neighborhood stakeholders to address food access. Its work intersects with municipal policy, public health initiatives, and coastal resilience efforts.
City Slicker Farms was founded in 2009 amid recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina and engagement with local groups such as Common Ground Collective, Make It Right Foundation, Treme Community, Lower Ninth Ward, and Bywater neighborhood activists. Early partners included Tulane University, University of New Orleans, Southeastern Louisiana University, SNAP-Ed collaborators, and municipal actors from Orleans Parish and the New Orleans City Council. The organization developed alongside other urban agriculture movements linked to projects like Grow Dat Youth Farm, The Plant City, and national initiatives such as Just Food NYC and Green Guerrillas. Funding and program models drew on precedents from Heifer International, Slow Food USA, and The Trust for Public Land while responding to federal programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and policy agendas from the United States Department of Agriculture.
City Slicker Farms operates multiple urban lots and programmatic sites similar in scale to projects run by Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, LA Green Grounds, and Boston Food Forest Coalition. Programs include youth employment modeled on AmeriCorps-style service, workforce pipelines akin to Green Jobs Corps, and community-supported agriculture inspired by CSA (Community-supported agriculture). The organization partners with institutions like Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Ochsner Health System, New Orleans Food Policy Council, and Lower Ninth Ward Neighborhood Empowerment Network to deliver produce to food pantry networks, farmers markets recognized by USDA Farmers Market Promotion Program, and summer meal programs administered under Child and Adult Care Food Program. Volunteer and internship collaborations have involved City of New Orleans Department of Parks and Parkways, New Orleans Recreation Development Commission, and academic programs at Dillard University and Xavier University of Louisiana.
Horticultural approaches at City Slicker Farms include raised-bed production, season extension techniques used by Kew Gardens (Royal Botanic Gardens), composting practices paralleling Rodale Institute research, and integrated pest management informed by Environmental Protection Agency guidance. The organization employs heirloom seed stewardship comparable to Seed Savers Exchange and permaculture principles promoted by Bill Mollison-influenced networks. Water management strategies reflect lessons from Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and urban watershed projects with Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority, while soil remediation efforts reference protocols from United States Environmental Protection Agency brownfield redevelopment case studies. Production systems incorporate polycultures and intercropping reminiscent of techniques documented by FAO and Rodale Institute trials.
Educational outreach targets youth and families through curricula influenced by National Farm to School Network, 4-H, and Urban Agriculture curriculum at UC Santa Cruz; partnerships have involved New Orleans Public Schools, Arts Council of New Orleans, and community groups like Common Ground Relief. Programs emphasize nutrition education tied to initiatives from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health interventions similar to Let's Move! while providing experiential training comparable to models at Greensgrow Farms and Growing Power. Community engagement includes food distribution aligned with Feeding America networks, neighborhood revitalization efforts akin to Make It Right Foundation, and public events co-hosted with New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival-adjacent organizations and cultural institutions such as Louisiana Folklife Program.
City Slicker Farms secures support from philanthropic foundations and government grants similar to funding streams from Ford Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, and state agencies like the Louisiana Department of Health. Partnerships span local healthcare systems including Ochsner Health System and LSU Health New Orleans, academic collaborators such as Tulane University and Dillard University, and national networks like National Young Farmers Coalition and American Farmland Trust. Corporate and retail partnerships have paralleled relationships seen with Whole Foods Market and regional food hubs connected to Farmers Market Coalition infrastructures.
The organization's model has been cited in policy reports from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, program evaluations by Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and case studies used by USDA extension services. City Slicker Farms' programs have been recognized in listings and awards administered by entities such as Urban Agriculture Innovators Network, regional civic honors from New Orleans City Council, and grant award programs similar to those by National Endowment for the Arts-backed community initiatives. Its work features in publications and media outlets chronicling post‑Katrina recovery, urban resilience, and food justice movements documented alongside work by Common Ground Relief, Lower Ninth Ward redevelopment narratives, and national urban farming exemplars.
Category:Non-profit organizations based in New Orleans Category:Urban agriculture