Meet Robert, an aspiring entrepreneur
“This year at Grow Pittsburgh has been especially helpful to my own agricultural aspirations. All of the knowledge I’ve gained working with Marshall and others at Grow Pittsburgh is invaluable and will help me continue to do farming on my own land.” –Robert Grey
Robert Grey has been involved with the Braddock Youth Project since 2008. He has enjoyed working on Braddock Youth Project’s Flower Farm, but was using a lot of trial and error that produced mixed results. In 2014, he was accepted into Grow Pittsburgh’s Urban Farm Apprenticeship program, working at all three of its production sites. He learned about seedling varieties and gained a solid understanding of the science behind growing.
This year, Robert returned to the program. As a second year apprentice, Robert has become a dependable part of the Braddock Farms team, leading student tours and hands on outreach activities in the community. This summer he has been managing one of Braddock Youth Program’s lots and selling directly to local restaurants including Square Cafe and the cafe at the Nia Page Community Center.
At 22, Robert is well on his way to achieving his ultimate goal of having a farm in the city. He plans to return for a third season with Grow Pittsburgh in 2017, where he will shadow Braddock Farms Manager Marshall Hart to gain more experience in community building and management skills, while having the freedom to design his own projects to achieve his personal goals.
“Grow Pittsburgh completely changed the trajectory of my life. My goal was to have a farm and now I’ve been able to make that happen” – Cassandra Morgan
Meet Cassandra, owner of Nature Works Farm
In order to gain more hands on food production experience while attending Chatham University’s Food Studies program, Cassandra Morgan applied for an internship at Braddock as Americorps Keys volunteer in 2011. She enjoyed working side by side with Marshall Hart, Braddock Farms Manager, learning all aspects of growing. The following year she was accepted into the UFA program at the Frick Greenhouse and Shiloh Farm, where she worked on year-round indoor and large-scale seedling production. She felt fortunate to get paid while growing her resume and valued the ability to excel with the organization. Cassandra went on to manage the Frick greenhouse and Shiloh Farm, which included running a weekly farm stand for Point Breeze residents and starting over 12,000 seedlings each spring! In 2016 she left her position to pursue her dream of owning and operating her own farm. She and her husband now own Nature Works Farm, a plant nursery and small farm in Homer City, PA.
Your membership helps us grow leaders!
Robert and Cassandra are just two of the many Urban Farm Apprentices taking on leadership roles in sustainable food production in Pittsburgh.