Eastport Community Farm: where people grow.

Built by this community, not just for it. Our mission is to build community skills through farm-to-table programs that combat food insecurity.

About the farm

People active in their own support

Eastport Community Farm sits on what was an empty field, on land from the Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis. In 2026, residents of Annapolis public housing communities, young people, and volunteers built it by hand: a 34,000-square-foot site with 5,000 square feet of in-ground beds and a 4,000-square-foot greenhouse.

Who we serve: people living in Annapolis public housing communities who want to do more than receive help. At the farm they grow food, learn skills, and earn income. People who usually receive become producers, active in their own support. Volunteers like Dan and Kevin join them, bringing their skills and resources.

How: mentored, project-based learning. Everyone works on real projects alongside someone who knows how.

Visit the farm page →

New Village Academy interns working with Randy and Dan at a picnic table in the greenhouse — New Village Academy interns with Randy and Dan in the greenhouse.

What happens at the farm

Damari and Kareem with a harvest pulled from the field

Grow

Vegetables for families and food pantries, in the farm’s beds and our community gardens.

Build

The greenhouse, raised beds, and picnic tables, with mentors teaching tools.

Damari and a Growing Leader preparing a meal at the farm

Cook

Young people cook with what we grow, alongside mentors.

Young people reading and talking around a picnic table at the farm

Learn

Mentored, project-based learning: New Village Academy interns and Growing Leaders work on real projects in the greenhouse.

Asha Pearl selling lemonade at the Joy Grows farm stand at the Kunta Kinte Festival

Earn

Jobs are the best way out of poverty: paid Service Year roles, first jobs for youth, and small businesses. Asha Pearl ran her own lemonade stand at our farm stand at the Kunta Kinte Festival.

How it’s working

Joy Grows board members and team after a board meeting at the greenhouse

Residents lead

Our founding board came from the residents who ran our program at the Healing Garden. A garden participant now manages her community’s garden. A resident who first picked up plants is now on our paid staff.

Young people build real things

Youth built the picnic tables still in daily use at two gardens, cleared 1,600 square feet of invasive plants, and removed about 800 pounds of trash.

Service Year members with Heaven White in her garden, where they planted kale together

Volunteers and interns become crew

Two of our Service Year members, including our Farm Manager, first came to Building Club. Our New Village Academy interns are our workforce pipeline: interns now, possibly employees next year.

Our immediate funding asks

These are our plan for the next 12 months. Give to the one you care about most, or give where it’s needed most.

Most urgent

Keep the greenhouse warm this winter

$8,250

A propane heater and hookup ($3,700), propane through April ($3,600), and six circulation fans ($950), so the greenhouse is used 12 months a year instead of six.

Give Sponsor it Learn more

Power the greenhouse

$3,900

A buried electrical line from the HACA garage, with a panel and breakers, for lights, fans, and heating controls.

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Keep our Service Year team on the farm

Maryland’s Service Year Option pays young Marylanders for a year of full-time service. The State pays $12.20 of each member’s $16 an hour; we raise the rest. Kareem runs the farm, Eli leads our building projects, and Joy runs marketing and outreach. Goal: $27,000 for the year.

Your gift is doubled through GivingTuesday, December 1. Craig Cussimanio, a longtime Joy Grows supporter, will match every gift, dollar for dollar, up to $2,500.

Meet the team

Gear up our Growing Leaders for winter

$1,000

Cold-weather boots and sweatshirts for every young person in Growing Leaders, so the work keeps going when it’s cold.

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Keep the harvest cool

$5,000

A way to keep the harvest cool, so what we grow stays fresh for families and food pantries. Today it all has to fit in a household fridge.

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Compost system

$5,000

Turns restaurant and community food waste into soil for every garden. Our system right now: a Growing Leader jumping on the pile. Kareem already hauls scraps from Vin 909 by bike trailer.

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Match our arts grant

Up to $2,500

We’ve applied to the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County for an art program next year. It isn’t awarded yet. If it is, the grant matches what we raise, dollar for dollar, up to $2,500.

Give Art Club so far

Also in the next 12 months

A food access hub

Last fall, young cooks made hundreds of burritos for a food pantry. We want the farm to be a place where people who aren’t getting enough food can get it, and learn while they’re there.

Classes taught by the community

Anyone in the community teaching a skill at the greenhouse, from art with Donna to sewing bags with the kids.

Enterprises for public housing residents

There’s a lot of room for businesses that start at the farm. Toni Cook’s microgreens are the first.

Paid work and required hours

Many people on SNAP now have to work, volunteer, or train 20 hours a week. We want the farm to be a recognized site where people can earn those hours, and paid work.

A model other communities can use

Documenting how we built this farm, so other communities can build their own.

Businesses and organizations: become a partner. Materials and professional time count too: tell us what you can give.

Spring 2026

What Eastport Community Farm has already built

49 supporters raised $47,062 to build the farm, beating our $45,000 goal.

34,000 sq ftfarm, with a 4,000 sq ft greenhouse, opened May 2026

300+people at the farm this year, and about 50 visitors a day over the summer

2,000+ lbsof produce grown this year, shared with families and food pantries

Board members Tam and Donna packaging greens for families and food pantries — Board members Tam and Donna pack greens for families and food pantries.

Damari delivering farm vegetables to the food pantry at St. Luke's — Damari delivers vegetables from the farm to the food pantry at St. Luke’s.

See what we did in 2025 →

Our vision

A farm like this in every community

People in public housing communities are often the most motivated to build something like this, because it gives them a leg up. Every young person should have a place for mentored, project-based learning. Every family should have a place to pick fresh vegetables and get good food, all year round.

The redevelopment planned around our farm is a couple of years away. We’re using that time to prove the model here and make it repeatable, so a farm like this can be part of the new community and of communities across Annapolis.

Read our story →