
In the Chinatown North neighborhood, Philadelphia artist Meei Ling Ng has spent months working with participants in a program at the homeless shelter Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission.
In the Grow Food Where You Live initiative, which began this past February as part of Asian Arts Initiative’s Social Practice Lab, Ng has taught the men who are part of the Overcomers Program at Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission about growing their own food in their own garden in a Vine Street parking lot.
The farm provides vegetables, flowers and herbs that will be used in the kitchen at Sunday Breakfast or sold at local farmers markets. It also uses both recycled and found materials in its custom-built planters and trellises come from area businesses. In addition, rainwater collection, seed saving and self-watering planters are also part of the sustainable farm design.
In March 2015, in addition to building the farm, Ng started a program with class sessions over the course of four months for the Overcomers to learn about urban farming. She taught them topics such as seed starting, tomato plant pruning, proper water techniques, mulching/composting and harvesting were covered.
According to Ng’s website, the men in the Overcomers Program that tend the farm often spend time talking with curious people that walk in from the street inquiring about the project, and she’s noticed that some of the participants have shown improvement their interpersonal skills through this process of interacting with the public.The overall goal of the program is to teach advanced techniques so participants can gain a skill set that would enable them to be employed at or start up their own urban agriculture operation on one the city’s vacant lots.
Image via Sang Cun
-30-From our Partners
Donations, food and God have kept Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission going for more than 140 years
Brittany Bronson: ‘So many Black women get stuck in the middle because we don’t have mentors and champions’
Good food + good people + good cause = good times
Generocity Philly
Be the leader to bring a 26-year mission into the future in Chester County

Schultz & Williams
Data Analyst (Full-time)
Apply NowRegional Housing Legal Services
Postgraduate Legal Fellowship Sponsorship (To Start in Fall 2023)2023
Apply NowBeyond Literacy: Combining nearly 90 years of history into one org
Awesome Foundation Philly: A peek into our selection process
Using tech to meet food pantry needs in Philly’s Northeast
Generocity Philly
Village of the Arts seeks to deepen and scale its impact as it reflects on its legacy
Sign-up for daily news updates from Generocity
More Information