Pictured from left: Jay Watson Vice President of D&R Greenway Land Trust, Dennis Micai Executive Director of the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, Brian Hughes Mercer County Executive, Linda Mead President and CEO of D&R Greenway Land Trust, Eric Jackson Mayor City of Trenton, Sandy S. Broughton Vice President of Investors Bank, Ron Brown Esher Street SRO and J.R. Capasso Brownfields Coordinator City of Trenton.
On July 21, 2015 Capital City Farm received a major boost of support from Investors Bank Foundation and Roma Bank. Each donated $6,000 to the project, a collaboration between D&R Greenway Land Trust, Mercer County, the City of Trenton, Isles Inc., the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, Escher Street SRO, the East Trenton Collaborative and the Rescue Mission of Trenton.
Located next to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen on Escher Street in Trenton, the land for the farm was acquired for the project by the City of Trenton with funding from Mercer County’s Open Space Fund. The partnership began when a TASK volunteer approached D&R Greenway about the availability of the land, a former rail spur. D&R Greenway Vice President Jay Watson assembled the partners and negotiated the acquisition of the land that was funded through the Mercer County Open Space Program.
In addition to providing fresh produce to residents and social service agencies, the vision is for the farm to offer education and employment opportunities and job training. With the first crops to be planted as early as this fall, plans are for the site to include a wildflower meadow to attract pollinating insects, raised beds for seasonal vegetables, berries and flowers, a small orchard of fruit trees in raised containers, chicken coops for eggs, beehives for honey, hydroponic greenhouses to grow leafy vegetables year round and a shaded gathering space.
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