By The Hand – Altgeld Gardens

A flagship youth agriculture program rooted in community, opportunity, and wellness.

The Opportunity

After visiting the Homestead container farm and experiencing firsthand the potential of controlled-environment agriculture, By The Hand saw an opportunity to bring a similar resource to Altgeld Gardens—one of Chicago’s most historically underserved communities.

They envisioned a farm that would:

  • equip youth with workforce skills,

  • provide fresh produce for their community, and

  • support programming grounded in the eight dimensions of wellness.

Freight to Plate was selected as their partner to bring this vision to life.

Our Approach

Freight to Plate led the container farm activation from procurement through long-term operations, transforming a new piece of infrastructure into a productive, educational, community-centered food asset.

Our role included:

  • Procurement of the container farm, including vendor coordination and technical review

  • Funding support, helping BTH pursue capital and program-aligned funding pathways

  • Equipment installation and environmental system setup

  • Seeding and launching the first crops, ensuring a stable and reliable first grow cycle

  • Development of SOPs to guide daily operations, safety, and youth engagement

  • Training 12+ youth apprentices in planting, harvesting, equipment use, and farm care

  • Creating harvest and distribution pathways for community impact

  • Monthly maintenance and ongoing operations

  • Technical repairs and troubleshooting to keep the farm running at peak performance

Through hands-on training and consistent operations support, we helped By The Hand build a reliable farm and a meaningful youth development program.

So fresh. So clean. So green.

The Impact

  1. 12+ youth apprentices trained, gaining real-world skills in agriculture, STEM, and workforce readiness

  2. 20 harvests and counting, supplying fresh greens directly to the Altgeld Gardens community

  3. A new youth-centered farm program, aligned with By The Hand’s mission and the eight dimensions of wellness

  4. Improved stability and reliability of the farm through technical support and ongoing maintenance

  5. A strengthened partnership, establishing a repeatable model for youth agriculture across Chicago

  6. A vibrant community asset, transforming a single container into a hub of learning, nourishment, and opportunity

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Transform your community.

Explore Our Work

FAQs

  • Freight to Plate guided By The Hand from vision to reality—supporting procurement, funding strategy, installation, programming, and long-term operations. Without our technical expertise, youth-centered training model, and deep experience activating container farms in Chicago, this project would not have been able to launch successfully or operate reliably.


    We bridged the gap between technology, youth programming, and community impact, ensuring the farm became a thriving, sustainable asset for Altgeld Gardens.

  • Through hands-on apprenticeships. Youth participated in seeding, transplanting, harvesting, nutrient management, cleaning, and farm upkeep—building confidence, skills, and a sense of ownership.

  • Harvests directly serve the Altgeld Gardens community, supporting families with fresh greens while teaching youth about nutrition and food access.