What started as a way for James Grevious to spend more quality time with his kids has grown into a fledgling non-profit, Urban Symbiosis, with the ambitious mission of becoming an urban farm incubator, fresh food provider, and economic engine for the Aurora community.
It all began with too many zucchinis, tomatoes, and leafy greens.
The initial group, made up of Grevious’ family and a few additional local kids, adopted the name Rebels in the Garden to describe their efforts to grow food for their families. They found that their plan to sell excess fresh food from their front yard – lemon aide-stand style – was met with an unexpected level of interest and need. That led to the launch of the Rebel Marketplace, a full-service farmers market focused on locally-sourced fresh foods.
“I’m a problem solver. And when I’m hearing words to describe our food system that include sovereignty and justice, that signals to me, there’s a problem,” Grevious said. “So, I started working on a solution. But the important part is a solution that’s sustainable.”
Grevious launched Urban Symbiosis in reaction to that problem and his desire to “feed the community, one garden at a time.” The focus of the nonprofit is really around urban farming education and development of entrepreneurial skills with a dash of philanthropy thrown in.
Community members can engage with the nonprofit in a few key ways:
Learn the business of urban farming, including how to make your urban farm sustainable through the Market Garden Program. Education here includes the how-to’s of establishing a high-producing urban garden and developing a supply chain for the fresh foods grown.
Engage with the Production Garden program if you’re interested in the growing aspect but don’t want to engage with the business side beyond offering produce you grow.
Give to the Donation Garden, which ensures that excess fresh foods don’t go to waste by allowing individuals to give their extra produce to families and individuals who need it most.
“The idea here is to ensure that we get to some sort of food sovereignty in our community. I can probably impact 100 people in my community with my urban farm. What if we spread that skill to another 10 farms in our community?” he said. “And we make those sustainable? We put affordable, fresh food on our neighbor’s tables and money in our own pockets. Now we’re talking about creating a food system.”
In addition to the educational work, the nonprofit helps manage two community gardens for the Aurora Housing Authority and leases another one-acre farm to provide a home to gardeners who want to produce but lack the space. The nonprofit has been retooling its educational offerings over time to meet the need for everything from fundamental to advanced farming skills.
“I’m not getting rich. In this world, farming is not the most profitable career path,” Grevious said. “But in the spiritual work we have to do as humans, it is profitable. In fact, it’s the most valuable thing you can do you for your community and yourself.”