Creating community-oriented green spaces to build thriving urban communities and help mitigate climate change.
Our Apiaries
Every green space needs pollinators.
Our mission, in partnership with The Hive Supply Company, is to install as many hives as we can, and to support and rejuvenate collapsing bee populations. Today, we manage over 100 hives in Chicago, providing maintenance, honey, and honey-based products to our communities and to the partners that host our hives.
All profits from the purchase of TRCF honey and honey infusions go toward our grant fund, which develops apiary programs for schools and community gardens.
Our Community
Our newest project is a Community Hive in Muster Point, a thriving gathering point located in East Garfield Park.
Here, we’re centred around a propagation greenhouse that will serve as the headquarters for our Urban Agriculture Plant Start program. In addition to the propagation house, Muster Point will have an outdoor gathering space where small community businesses and non-profit organizations can host events or sell their goods.
EDUCATION
We’re not just cultivating spaces, we’re cultivating minds! In partnership with local community organizations, our Urban Agriculture Plant Start program educates hundreds of students from across the Chicagoland area. We teach them urban farming practices, provide insight into where our food comes from, and share the benefits of sustainable agriculture and seasonality.
Young adults participating in our program help harvest on the rooftop farm, engage in live demonstrations, and participate in cooking and eating the food they harvested at our onsite partner restaurant, Maxwell’s Trading.
recent educational partnerships
Erling Wu-Bower of Maxwells Trading works with a cohort of students from the Gary Comer Youth Center.
Community volunteers learn about our favorite pollinators, bees, while assisting in foundation efforts.
The Roof Crop Foundation in the News
Photo Credit: Melody Mercado, Block Club Chicago
THE ROOF CROP FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS
James Hughes, President
Tracy Boychuk, Secretary
Cynthia Salvatori, Treasurer
Warren Aftahi
Kirk Bacastow
Katrina Jackiewicz
Rich Pryce-Jones
Josh Tilden