Meacham Urban Farm

Meacham Urban Farm is promoting urban regenerative agriculture using innovative forms of technology to feed and educate the community of Tampa Bay. Opened in 2020, the project was the first of its kind in the City of Tampa. Meacham Urban Farm transformed a vacant downtown 2-acre lot into a productive greenspace. The farm is integrated into the Encore redevelopment project, a 1,500-unit mixed income housing and mixed-use subsidized neighborhood. The farm was built in collaboration with the Tampa Housing Authority, Hillsborough County School District, and two independent farmers: Travis Malloy and Joe Dalessio. Meacham Urban Farm is a for-profit production farm as well as an educational non-profit entity that focuses on agricultural and food education. Meacham Urban Farm produces over thirty varieties of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables that are available in the on-site Farm Store. The Farm Store also aggregates organic produce and farm products from the local region.

Our farming ethos is to grow the highest quality, nutrient dense food we possibly can, through cultural practices that promote soil health and work in conjunction with nature. We grow on a permanent bed system minimally disturbing the soil. We manage our crops using mechanical cultivation, organic fertilizers, cover cropping, crop rotations, and integrated pest management. Our crops are always free from pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers.

Meacham Urban Farm is named after Christina Meacham, who had served as principal in 1914 of Tampa’s first African American school, Harlem Academy. The school sat in the area known as the ‘’Scrub’’ where the farm is located today. We want to continue the neighborhood’s educational heritage by transforming Meacham Urban Farm into a welcoming hands-on educational resource for the school district students and the public.