Roz Owens on Bronzeville Neighborhood Farm

Rosalyn “Roz” Owens of Bronzeville Neighborhood Farm has spent the summer directing the farm’s eighth season, as well as collaborating with Roots & Routes partners to plan the second annual Earth Jam at Sankofa. 

With the help of Alderman Pat Dowell, volunteers, and a savvy, community-oriented mentality, Mrs. Owen’s late husband Johnnie Owens launched the farm nine years ago, realizing a life-long dream. During a recent conversation Mrs. Owens explained that, from a young age, Mr. Owens had been interested in community gardening. He had observed the impact that food deserts had on individual and community health, and believed that growing food could provide a solution. She recalled that when Mr. Owens was a young man, a neighbor of his taught him how to grow vegetables on the side of his parent’s Chatham home.

Through his work as a community organizer with Centers for New Horizons, Mr. Owens’ involvement with Roots & Routes began in 2014. He co-led the Bronzeville Greeners program which trained local youth to conduct oral histories about Black ties to the south lakefront and support the Sankofa for the Earth Gathering Space project. After his sudden passing in 2021, Mrs. Owens made it her mission to honor his legacy by continuing to operate the farm and maintain connections with the larger community. She muses that her involvement with Sankofa for the Earth is yet another way to connect with her family and others, and to bring people together.

As a retired teacher, Mrs. Owens has seamlessly integrated her educational skills within the context of urban agriculture. Her personal strengths are applied through teaching community members how to enjoy healthy, fresh foods. She has expressed her remarkable passion for encouraging young people to cook at home and eat foods that their ancestors relied on. From collard greens to mustard greens, okra, and radishes, Mrs. Owens’ crops reflect the foods her mother prepared during her upbringing. 

A short tour around the property can provide insight into the many connections that Bronzeville Neighborhood Farm has with community members and other organizations. There is an industrial sized freezer, an expansive patio with a stage, hundreds of organic crops, and native plants donated by the Field Museum which buzz with pollinators. The fences which border the sidewalk are decorated with African symbols and a description of their significance. The farm continues to engage with volunteers and the public through organizing cooking demonstrations, health fairs, cultural outings, and of course, by selling their produce. 

Be sure to visit the farm and purchase produce on Thursdays from 5 to 7 pm, in addition to Saturdays and Sundays from 12 to 3 pm. For more information about happenings at the farm, including the upcoming Health is Wealth Fair on September 9th, check out the Farm on Instagram, Facebook, or at bnf4148.org.

Crops at Bronzeville Neighborhood Farm. Eliette Soler, Field Museum