Truck Farm

About the Project

Truck Farm is art with a message. Called “the coolest urban agriculture project around” by The Huffington Post, it engages young people in thinking about where food comes from, gets them excited about growing food themselves, and teaches them that healthy food can be fun.

Truck Farm was born in Brooklyn, NY in the spring of 2009, when Ian Cheney planted a vegetable garden in the bed of his grandfather’s 1986 Dodge pick-up truck. The mobile garden project soon grew, sprouting a 48-minute film about urban agriculture and a fleet of 25 truck farms all across the country. Each Truck Farm visits urban schools, inner-city day camps, downtown street fairs, churches, mini-malls, summer camps and farmer’s markets spreading Truck Farm’s simple message: growing a bit of your own food is fun, easy, and rewarding.

The film follows Ian’s original Truck Farm on an exploration of New York’s quirkiest urban agriculture projects, from rooftops and barges to windows and old ballfields. In the process, the film entreats audiences to consider the role of urban agriculture: is it merely a lark, or does sustainable agriculture need a dose of whimsy and out-of-the-field thinking to be truly sustainable?

The 25 micro-farms-on-wheels in the Truck Farm Fleet are being prepared and managed by nonprofits, food educators, graduate students, food co-ops, gardening groups and urban food activists. All Truck Farmers have received step-by-step instructions for building, maintaining and showcasing their farms, as well as educational materials, workshop guides, copies of Truck Farm (the film) to use during visits, and ongoing phone support from our Truck Farm coaches.

In addition, Truck Farmers spread the word about the Truck Farm Garden Contest, in which young people all across the country are encouraged to plant a garden in the most creative place they can think of. Contest entries are judged by food and farm leaders Michael Pollan, Alice Waters and Marion Nestle. Next year stay tuned for our Singing Garden Contest, in which school kids will be challenged to write a whimsical song – in the spirit of the Truck Farm film – about their own school garden.

The Fledgling Fund Impact

The Fledgling Fund is thrilled to support this uplifting and inspiring project. Beginning with the film and extended through the truck farm outreach work, we are excited to see the impact this project will have. These types of innovative solutions to our environmental and nutritional challenges will lead the way to a safer, healthier and more sustainable future.