Mt. Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church and School was founded in 1925 in the Sherman Park neighborhood in Milwaukee. The church established the Mt. Calvary Community Development Corporation (MCCDC) in 2018 to promote individual growth through Christ-based activities in the community. MCCDC helps young people develop the skills to find and keep jobs while working toward bettering the community and it provides locally grown produce for use in the community.
Primary Focus Area: Community Outreach, Youth, and spreading the Gospel
Requesting funding for "Internship program, 2023"
Program Budget: $30,000
Operating Budget: $45,000
Lutheran Affiliation: LCMS
Programs: MCCDC operates an urban farm on 1.3 acres of land owned by Ascension St. Joseph’s Hospital at 2400 West Villard. Vegetables grown on the farm have been used in St. Joseph’s cafeteria, by the outreach nurse at the Ascension Family Care Center, and by UpStart Kitchen in Sherman Park. In 2022, nurses cared for several Afghan refugee families who expressed a desire for okra. The urban farm successfully grew okra to meet this demand.
The year-round program engages high school interns in urban farming to address food insecurity and a lack of fresh food access in Milwaukee. The focus of the internship program is on developing the interns as they engage in a social enterprise to improve their community.
Who is Served: By participating in the urban farm, interns experience a sense of empowerment in seeing their efforts make a difference both for what they are growing and how it will be used. In addition, fresh produce from the farm feeds several hundred people who experience food insecurity and a lack of access to fresh food.
Location: 2862 N 53rd ST, Milwaukee, WI 53210
Websites: http://www.mtcalvary-mke.org and https://www.mtcalvary-cdc.org