The Louisville Urban League is one of two affiliates selected by the National Urban League to launch the National Black Farmer Apprenticeship Program, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This initiative supports urban agriculture as a path to improved health, economic opportunity, and food justice.

Through Project Kilimo, our Urban Farming Initiative, we’re partnering with Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden in Philadelphia—a nationally recognized leader in community-rooted farming and cultural education. Sankofa integrates African diasporic culture with sustainable agriculture to empower communities and develop the next generation of Black farmers.

Together, we’re working to support Black urban farmers in Louisville’s West End by expanding land access, cultural education, and community-driven food systems. This program is about more than just growing food—it’s about restoring our connection to land, honoring tradition, and building lasting economic resilience.

Farming in the city requires more than planting—it demands deep connection and accountability to the people being served. Access to fresh, chemical-free, culturally relevant food is a human right. Through Project Kilimo, we’re growing more than crops—we’re growing power, healing, and self-determination.

Project Kilimo has selected a cohort of experienced farmers and educators to serve as Farm Fellows, supporting the growth of Black urban farming in Louisville’s West End. These fellows play a key role in building opportunities for local farmers, strengthening the city’s urban agriculture network, and creating hands-on cultural and educational experiences for community members and volunteers.

Farm Fellows are responsible for mentoring new growers, leading workshops, supporting land access efforts, and fostering community engagement through culturally relevant food education. Their work helps reconnect residents to the land, promote food sovereignty, and expand access to fresh, healthy produce in historically underserved neighborhoods.

Through their leadership, Farm Fellows are helping to plant the seeds for a more just, sustainable, and community-centered food system in Louisville.

​Sankofa Community Farm is a 3.5-acre community-based crop farm, rooted in the experience of the African Diaspora. As a spiritually centered farm, Sankofa prioritizes reverence for Spirit, human beings, and our relationship to the myriad beings beneath and above the soil.

The farm offers over 60 different crops and wild foods for our community’s healing and produces over 15,000 pounds of food annually for local farm stands and other markets. Sankofa Community Farm emphasizes intergenerational connections in learning and is powered each year by paid high school interns working alongside community elders, neighbors, and volunteers.