In 2024, the Charles Koiner Conservancy for Urban Farming did something BIG… we launched a second farm! This farm has been years in the making and we are happy to finally share with you that our second farm is a one-acre farm located at A. Mario Loiederman Middle School in an equity-focus neighborhood of Wheaton, Maryland!

 

The Loiederman Farm is unique; not only is it located on Montgomery County Public Schools’ property, it is also a critical piece of what will become a resilience hub for Montgomery County’s second. The resilience hub will be outfitted with resilience building elements, such as solar, trees and water conserving drip irrigation. In the event of a climate disaster this site will activate to provide services, such as charging stations, food distribution, information sharing and more. 

 

While an urban farm on a resilience hub is quite innovative, it is also very familiar to us! We have been operating Koiner Farm like a resilience hub, before we had ever heard of a “resilience hub.” For example, in spring 2020, we began donating fresh produce to nearby food assistance partners—many of these partnerships continue today. In spring 2021, Koiner Farm hosted an outdoor vaccination clinic for neighborhood families. In winter 2022, we installed solar panels with enough battery storage to ramp up our seed starting operation so that we could not only meet Koiner Farm’s needs, but help nearby apartment residents start their own balcony gardens as well. Finally, this past spring, we installed and helped maintain raised garden beds for Montgomery County’s Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) residents in two nearby apartment buildings. This is resilience building work! 

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We are ready and able to manage the challenges of two farms! However, we can’t do it alone. We have ambitious plans for 2025, which include growing more food and engaging more people on our farms than ever before. Please consider making a donation to the Charles Koiner Conservancy to support this work!