Summer of Solutions Hartford was founded in 2010 to increase food access in Hartford by transforming vacant lots into productive agricultural spaces and training the next generation of environmental justice activists. We have built and maintained school, community, and public educational gardens in the city through our flagship program, the Urban Farming Internship. We create 24 spaces in the internship each year for young people in Hartford who want to learn about sustainability, healthy food systems, and leadership skills. Our interns dedicate 10 hours per week to the gardens and our leadership classes. We are able to sustainably maintain our gardens through the Internship. Our mission is to build a strong, local food system in Hartford that supports healthy communities and a healthy environment.

Over the past three years, we have noticed changes to our neighborhood. The old latino-owned coffee/book store is now a craft martini bar. The newspaper printing press is now luxury condominiums. This pattern is occuring in cities across the country, as poor communities are gentrified and priced out of their neighborhoods.

We believe there is an alternative vision, where communities build strength and resilience to resist the colliding forces of gentrification, environmental degradation, and economic instability to instead build a vibrant, sustainable, and economically just community. As a youth organization that is physically grounded in gardens throughout our city, we are uniquely positioned to think creatively about how these spaces could support that vision