Grow Greater Englewood Is Turning Vacant Lots Into Thriving Farm Businesses — and Building Wealth Along the Way

By Socialhood News · Il/Chicago/West Englewood · May 27, 2026

Something powerful is growing in West Englewood — and it's not just vegetables. Grow Greater Englewood (GGE), led by Executive Director Anton Seals Jr., is quietly transforming the neighborhood's vacant city lots into working farm businesses, operated by a network of Black and Brown urban farmers who are building real, community-rooted wealth from the ground up.

GGE's model goes far beyond community gardening. The organization functions as a social enterprise, laser-focused on building an equitable and resilient local food system — one that protects vacant land in disinvested communities and connects residents directly to wealth-building opportunities. It's an approach that has earned GGE a seat at some of Chicago's most important economic conversations, including a recent City Club of Chicago panel on 'Englewood Economics' that brought together neighborhood leaders from Teamwork Englewood, E.G. Woode, and the Greater Englewood Chamber of Commerce to discuss how community and capital are coming together to drive the area's resurgence. Alongside GGE, panelists highlighted the Englewood Community Land Trust and the anticipated reopening of the Racine Green Line Station as emerging symbols of the neighborhood's momentum.

For West Englewood residents, GGE represents something tangible: vacant land reclaimed, local farmers empowered, and food equity advanced — one lot at a time. Follow Grow Greater Englewood's work and find ways to get involved at growgreater.org.

Sources:
1. https://www.cityclub-chicago.org/event/2/3588/englewood-economics-how-community-and-capital-are-coming-together-to-drive-resur
2. https://www.imagineenglewoodif.org/wegrow