An Urban Garden Center Moves Its Digs to a New Downtown Space

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After three years on the corner of 15th and F streets in the East Village, SMARTS Farm has relocated to a larger space in the neighborhood. The nonprofit urban garden, launched by photojournalist and activist Susan Madden Lankford, offers enrichment programs and gardening lessons for underserved youth and their families, as well as garden plot rentals to locals and nearby restaurants like Cowboy Star.

Over their three-year tenure, they’ve hosted 3,000 students, partnered with e3 Civic High for the school’s urban agricultural class, and collaborated with the Padres on a community garden in Petco Park. The new 16,000-square-foot space means they can add a chicken coop, public events (like a free gardening class February 10), and an on-site farm stand—all with the downtown skyline as its backdrop.

An Urban Garden Center Moves Its Digs to a New Downtown Space

Photo by Paul Body