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What We Do

West Englewood, Chicago -
Wood St. Collective is an Englewood resident-led organization that provides a fresh food option. In 2025, we constructed a commercial-size, all-season greenhouse on our half-acre urban farm that now will produce over 10,000 lbs of produce annually. We organize food access programs such as donations to church-operated food pantries, hunger relief food distributions, and a Mobile Produce Stand (SNAP accepted) at over 50 farmers market / community resource event days. Established in 2023, our farm uses sustainable growing practices that, hopefully by 2026, will receive USDA Organic certification.

Wood St. Collective is an 100% Black- and Latinx-led food producer, striving to upscale our food production, connect residents with fresh food, and navigate a path toward produce wholesales. Our Board collaborates with the Black Farmers and Growers Coalition that, for 3 years straight, has visited Springfield to lobby legislation that may mandate a large swath of food buyers (as a stipulation of state funding) to source locally and source food from growers from historically underserved backgrounds. In hopes of a more equitable food system, we want to lead by example, create green jobs, and put our produce on the menu.

Brighton Park, Chicago -
Libros de La Luna is a nonprofit bookstore on Chicago’s South Side that works to promote the magic of books and reading. We celebrate the joy of the written word, provide the added incentive and necessary tools to stimulate creative thinking, and bring an appreciation of the arts and humanities closer to the lives of Chicagoans through our year-round literary and music education programs. Our nonprofit business structure allows our organization to use revenue from book, coffee, and other sales toward community programs that enhance the cultural and educational experience of Chicagoans, who are primarily from working class, Black and/or immigrant communities.

The programming at Libros de La Luna is expansive. In the past year, we’ve offered children’s literacy after-school programs in partnership with over 10 CPS elementary schools, a children’s beginner guitar class, and a series of “Climate Research Workshops” for teens; we platformed early-career Chicago authors and artists with various “Pop-up” events so that BIPOC creators can reach new audiences; hosted a 10-week indigenous language course teaching Nahuatl; and in June 2025 we hosted the First Annual Englewood Summer Book Fest, which was free to all attendees, platformed over 20 presenters, magazine editors, formerly incarcerated poets, spoken word artists, and children’s book authors; the Book Fest donated over 500 kids backpacks with books, and our market featured over 30 Black and/or Latinx authors, book sellers and/or literacy organizations.