Growing good food in Detroit

“Tucked away over here, it’s just this magical little place — this quiet place where food is happening. Good food.”

L’Oreal Hawkes-Williams has been involved from the beginning. She recalls what the land at the corner of Lamphere and Grove Street in Detroit’s northwest side was like before it was developed into MSU Extension’s Detroit Partnership for Food, Learning and Innovation, or DPFLI.

Founded in 2017, the DPFLI is MSU’s first urban agriculture center. Part of MSU Extension and true to its mission serving the people of Michigan, the DPFLI advances creative solutions to environmental, economic and nutritional challenges, improving the quality of life for people in Detroit. It is transforming relationships with the food system and promoting sustainability while creating a community space for connecting with nature.

 

The site, a 3.3-acre urban farm nestled in the heart of Detroit’s Riverdale neighborhood near Brightmoor, sits on the former grounds of the Thomas C. Houghten Elementary School. Dating back to 1924, generations of Detroiters were educated at T.C. Houghten. Its enrollment reached as high as 840 students, but by 2009 it had fallen to 208 and the school closed its doors. The property remained abandoned until the building was demolished in 2016 and, shortly thereafter, the development of the DPFLI began. 

L'Oreal Hawkes-Williams, a DPFLI site partner and the executive director of N.E.W. L.E.A.F. Detroit, an organization providing learning opportunities around ecology and sustainability. Photo by Alex Dardas.

Hawkes-Williams now spends much of her time at the site tending to her individual plot of land, where this season she grew beans, potatoes, collard greens and tomatoes. The space offers locals like Hawkes-Williams a nurturing environment to cultivate crops and foster community. The transformation of this previously neglected site into a sustainable urban farm reminds her of what is possible when people come together to better their environment.

As the founder of her own organization providing learning opportunities around ecology and sustainability, Hawkes-Williams says she is inspired every time she comes to the site. “I’ve been here before anything was on the ground, and I’ve seen the changes from year to year,” says Hawkes-Williams. 

“It’s so beautiful. This is a space that sparks something inside of you, for you to go on your own journey.”  — L'Oreal Hawkes-Williams, DPFLI site partner

A source of hope

MSU worked in collaboration with city officials in choosing the abandoned T.C. Houghten School site. From the start, Naim Edwards, DPFLI’s director, says it was essential to build trust from neighborhood residents, community leaders and local organizations.

Hired in 2018, Edwards views agriculture as a foundational tool for tackling society’s major challenges, like poverty, climate change and hunger. The first building on the site was completed in February 2020 and serves as a hub for programing and group activities. Despite delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a dedicated team continued to develop the land. The site now includes a storage shed, wind turbine-powered flood lighting, a hoop house provided by the MSU Department of Horticulture, raised garden beds, rain and pollinator gardens, a communal firepit and a custom wood-fired outdoor pizza oven. 

The main takeaway from this project? “There are no quick or cheap fixes to improving soil; it takes years,” says Naim Edwards. Photo by Jacob Templin-Fulton.

One of the earliest challenges the site faced was soil quality. Edwards’ first research project there was an urban soil management study looking at the impacts of growing vegetables on land where a building had been recently demolished. The main takeaway from this project? “There are no quick or cheap fixes to improving soil; it takes years,” says Edwards. 

To this day, they find all kinds of debris in the soil: concrete, glass, brick, asphalt. This led Edwards to start planting trees. Instead of following the traditional agricultural paradigm where a farmer focuses on tilling and planting across the entire landscape, Edwards says they focused on the specific areas where the trees are growing successfully. “Wherever you grow one tree, you can essentially focus all of your energy, your fertilizer, your weeding into one spot,” he says. 

Today, there are more than 220 species of plants at the agricultural center, including over 50 different fruit and nut crops. DPFLI staff developed the land intentionally, creating an edible landscape that enhances the aesthetic and ecological value of the site while strengthening the food supply of the neighborhood. 

More than 200 fruit and nut trees make up the site’s edible landscape, including apples, pears, peaches, figs, pawpaws, chestnuts, hazelnuts and many more. The Food Forest Initiative aims to cultivate nutrient-rich produce while educating residents on how to utilize green space to combat food insecurity. Edwards views this initiative as a model for enhancing food production in shared areas while also demonstrating ways to ensure equitable access to these resources.

Reflecting on the challenges they encountered, Edwards says the transformation of the site stands as a point of pride for everyone involved. “The DPFLI is a source of hope,” says Edwards. “We are an example of an institution, Michigan State, making an effort to be relevant, helpful, of service and be in partnership with community members.”  

The gates are never locked

A former volunteer and site partner, Stathis Pauls officially joined the DPFLI staff in 2022 after nearly a decade of experience working in urban agriculture and farmers markets. As one of the site’s two full-time employees, he and Edwards manage the day-to-day operations as well as coordinating grant applications, managing volunteers, developing programing, planning events, directing outreach initiatives and more.

Stathis Pauls tends to peppers from a harvest. Photo by Jacob Templin-Fulton.  

Pauls does not believe in destiny, but he knows he is meant to grow and share food. A descendent of a long line of farmers from Greece, Pauls thinks about his great-aunt and uncle every time he harvests peppers. 

“Everybody loves a good pepper — sweet, spicy, it doesn’t matter,” says Pauls. “But there’s a story for me. My great-uncle died when I was relatively young. After that, whenever I’d visit my great-aunt, she’d say, ‘Oh, your uncle visited me in my dream last night and we were picking peppers together.’ I still choke up thinking about it, especially when I’m harvesting and smell the peppers.”

This emotional connection to the crops he grows influences the way Pauls views food. He believes in food not as a commodity but as a human right and an embodiment of shared humanity. A fundamental principle of the DPFLI is that what they grow is freely available to the public. Intentionally, the gates to the site are never locked, and residents are encouraged to take what they need from the edible landscape. 

“We tell people all the time, come here. Be respectful, be kind, but this space is always open. We want people to feel comfortable here.” — Stathis Pauls, MSU DPFLI

About twice a month during the growing season, the DPFLI donates fresh seasonal produce to the Brightmoor Connection Food Pantry, a client-centered nonprofit organization addressing food insecurity in the Brightmoor neighborhood. More than 30% of Brightmoor residents live below the poverty line, double the rate of the wider metro Detroit area. The Rev. Roslyn Bouier, executive director of the Brightmoor Connection Food Pantry, says that in an area frequently described as a food desert, the DPFLI is helping residents take control over their food sources.

In Brightmoor, as in many under-resourced neighborhoods, “The gas station has become the grocery store,” says Bouier. “So, to know that this food is not only fresh, but it’s also grown here in community — that is healing, and it creates what is called food sovereignty. That says that I do not have to be without food in my own community.”

This idea of interdependence and communal good is something that Pauls thinks about a lot in the context of his work. “Nobody owns a tomato,” says Pauls. “I put my love and my sweat and my pride into the tomatoes we grow here. And nothing brings me more joy than knowing that someone with no barriers to our tomatoes is able to fully appreciate them.”  

Reenvisioning what can be

MSU Extension is not new to serving Detroit residents. For more than 100 years, Extension has served Detroit and the wider Wayne County area, providing youth development programming, advancing nutrition and sustainability initiatives and much more. In addition to the DPFLI, Extension has two other offices serving Wayne County: one located in Detroit and another in western Wayne County. 

MSU’s deep roots in Detroit help the DPFLI build relationships while leveraging existing partnerships in the region. Now with two full calendar years of programming under their belt, both Edwards and Pauls feel the DPFLI is ready to ramp up the services it provides. 

“We’re definitely getting to a point where we’re hitting our stride, and really establishing a cadence to how we operate here,” says Edwards. Thanks to a baseline of support from the university, the DPFLI has the funding it needs to cover administrative and other overhead costs. For more expansive projects, they rely heavily on grants, sponsorships and philanthropic support from individuals, corporations and foundations.

Rachel Meeker, a Brightmoor resident and the executive director of the Brightmoor Artisans Collective that partners with the DPFLI, sees tremendous potential for growth.  

As the DPFLI expands its operation, Meeker hopes to see further investments in youth programming as well as facility additions like a food preservation and tinkering lab space. “They’re growing food for people, and they’re also doing education,” says Meeker. “I think in some ways it does represent progress and hope for the neighborhood. Not necessarily a revitalization of what it used to be, but a reenvisioning of what it can be.”

Edwards knows that more awareness and funding will help the DPFLI expand the opportunities it can offer. With additional support, he hopes to add spaces for food safety classes, woodworking, metalworking and food preservation, as well as equipment that will make processing and preserving more efficient. 

The plans are ambitious, but every decision remains grounded by a core objective: improving the quality of life for the people they serve. “I mean, that’s Extension’s goal, right?” says Pauls. “To reach the common person, to reach the grower, to make sure that in our rapidly evolving technological society that we’re not forgetting the basics.” 

For Edwards, this work offers a chance to contribute to a better future for Detroit and to create a model that can be replicated in communities across the state and the world. 

“It means everyone involved in the work that is done here has an opportunity to play a more intentional role in choosing to live a life dedicated to service. A life committed to environmental conservation, a life that is fulfilling, meaningful and enjoyable to people who want to learn from and connect with nature.” — Naim Edwards, MSU DPFLI director

Rooted in community and growing to meet tomorrow’s needs, the DPFLI represents the promise of MSU to the people of Detroit. All by being a magical, quiet place where food — good food — is happening.