The lot between Ogden Avenue and the Pink Line in North Lawndale used to fit in with the broken sidewalks, rundown storefronts, and frequent sirens surrounding it.

But thanks to the efforts of students like Marquita Wheaton, a high school senior from North Lawndale, this once vacant lot is literally blooming.

Wheaton and others are part of the Chicago Botanic Garden's Green Youth Farm, which brings fruit, vegetables, and summer jobs to students and residents of the struggling community.

The farm hires high school students to work during the summer. They begin preparing the plot after school in mid-May, and work full-time once summer starts.

"I got this job because I get to be outside more," Wheaton says.

Some of the work is tedious. In order to get the best flavor from their basil plants, crews must repeatedly pull the buds off to prevent them from flowering.

And there's weeding. "That's the hardest part…it's like non-stop," says Clifton Coleman, a senior from Austin.

Despite the struggle he puts up against weeds, he still prefers the produce he grows to what he sees in supermarkets.

"Most of the vegetables … at the grocery shops that we usually go to have a lot of pesticides … and they're grown thousands of miles away from here," says Coleman, "Locally grown is better because it's organic."

Although the farm is not certified organic, it uses chemical-free, organic practices.

Eliza Fournier, manager of school and community gardening for the Chicago Botanic Garden, says the farm teaches the kids about more than just agriculture.

"Mainly we're a youth development program with the farm as our vehicle," she says.

The program began in North Chicago, and expanded to North Lawndale in 2005. Another farm has since opened in Bronzeville.

One of the program's aims is to encourage healthy food choices. Every Tuesday the group takes a trip to the North Chicago farm, where the crews alternate the duty of cooking a full meal from the produce they have grown.

The farm is also helping its neighbors to eat better.  Though the West Side boasts few grocery stores, residents can find fresh produce at the market next door to the farm.

Saunders Cobb, a 71-year-old Lawndale resident, passes the youth farm every day and visited the market recently.

"Everything was good," he says.

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