Local nonprofit Knowledge Quest celebrated the opening of the Green Leaf Learning Farm expansion Tuesday, Nov. 15, offering South Memphis residents a larger organic community garden to increase healthy food access and security.

The $250,000 expansion project was funded by Valero, the City of Memphis and various private donors. The micro-farm expansion includes two new greenhouses for indoor agricultural use specifically funded by Valero.

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Informally known as “KQ,” Knowledge Quest was founded in 1998 as a community social change organization in South Memphis, providing various community resources, including extended learning academies, family stability programs for families experiencing crisis and opportunities to participate in the Green Leaf Learning Farm.

Green Leaf originated from 30 vacant, blighted lots and three abandoned buildings which were transformed into a three-acre micro-farm, growing everything from fresh herbs to onions and butternut squash.

The Green Leaf Learning Farm is located at KQ headquarters at 590 Jennette Place.

Marlon Foster is the founder and CEO of Knowledge Quest. Foster said the new greenhouses will give children an opportunity to not only experience the agricultural process hands-on but explore potential career paths. 

“One of these greenhouses will have a robot inside for students to get a chance to understand all the elements of agriculture around things like plant phenotyping,” Foster said. “In the other greenhouse will be represented every form of indoor agriculture like aquaponics, hydroponics, microgreen systems and tower gardens.”

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Foster said children from upper-middle-class families get an average of $11,000 per year of extra-curricular activities while children from lower-income homes get an average of $700 per year, creating a resource disparity.

“We try to close that opportunity gap for students through STEM, creative writing, visual arts, performing arts, sports and urban agriculture,” Foster said. “Green Leaf is really that expression of urban agriculture that starts early, and by high school, you’re part of a culinary academy or working in agricultural technology.”

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said Green Leaf’s growth is a successful example of what can be done for blight remediation and community development throughout Memphis.

“Many years ago, this area today where we are was a combination of 30 blighted and vacant lots, and it is now a place of growth, hope and celebration,” Strickland said. “For the city to thrive for generations to come, we must continue investing in programs and initiatives that provide access to healthy food, job opportunities for youth and programs that build community assets such as this learning farm.”

Ethel Mae Williams is a community member in South Memphis and resides in the home adjacent to the micro-farm.

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“I’ve lived here 40 years, and God has blessed me,” Williams said. “When I retired, I had enough money to pay the house off, and I’m not going anywhere. We’re grateful for all the things Mr. Foster is doing in South Memphis: rebuilding and bringing it back to life.”

For more information on Knowledge Quest’s Green Leaf Learning Farm, click here.