Urban Growers Collective Welcomes the Community Food Navigator into Its Programs

Food equity organizations join forces to cultivate more solutions that empower communities

CHICAGO, Jan. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Urban Growers Collective (UGC) is pleased to announce that the Community Food Navigator (the Navigator) has officially transitioned into a program under the auspices of UGC. This move aligns with UGC's mission and vision, deepening the organization's collective ability to address inequities and structural racism in the food system.

"Together, UGC and the Navigator will continue the work of engaging, supporting and mobilizing Chicago's growers, food leaders and educators. This next chapter strengthens our collective efforts to foster food sovereignty and justice in Black, Brown and Indigenous communities," said Erika Allen, CEO of Urban Growers Collective.

UGC is excited to expand its impact by welcoming the Community Food Navigator's talented team, led by Director Nick Davis. The Navigator team will remain steadfast in its mission to:

• Convene the Chicago Foodshed's BIPOC growing community to foster trust, build relationships and clarify collective priorities.
• Coordinate and facilitate food systems actors to meet both urgent and long-term priorities.
• Tell stories that amplify shared goals and help make resources more accessible and digestible.
• Co-design tools like the Navigator App that bolster capacity for the organization's community to do all of these things on their own terms.

Chicago's food system thrives thanks to a vibrant network of backyard growers, community kitchens, mutual aid groups, urban farms, food educators and more. The Navigator's transition to becoming a division of UGC provides the organization with the stability and capacity to continue serving as a vital space for the community to organize, collaborate and advance strategies that challenge systemic divestment and inequities while also amplifying the reach and impact of UGC's programs and food distribution efforts.

How to Get Involved:
Urban Growers Collective and the Community Food Navigator invite supporters and interested parties to join this critical journey. Whether through volunteerism, partnership or donation, all community support helps these organizations sustain their critical work. To contribute, please visit urbangrowerscollective.org.

Media Inquiries
For further information or to schedule an interview with Erika Allen, please contact Dana Swinney, myWHY Agency, at 312-291-1099 or [email protected].

About Urban Growers Collective
Urban Growers Collective (UGC) is a Black woman-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Chicago. Rooted in growing food, UGC cultivates nourishing environments which support health, economic development, healing and creativity through urban agriculture. UGC addresses inequity and structural racism that exist in communities of color and throughout the food system, using urban agriculture as their tool and method. For more information, including opportunities to volunteer or to purchase their produce, visit urbangrowerscollective.org.

About Community Food Navigator 
Community Food Navigator envisions a food system rooted in justice, in which the people who produce, distribute and consume food also control its production, distribution and governance. The mission is to expand food sovereignty—particularly in Black, Brown and Indigenous communities—by engaging Chicago-area food growers, producers, educators and eaters; strengthening connections and collaboration; telling more truthful stories about the Chicago food ecosystem and redistributing power.

SOURCE Urban Growers Collective