The working garden at Cabrini Greens Housing Project in Chicago is nothing short of a miracle. There, in the midst of poverty and violence, is a patch of green, tended by children who sell their produce to upscale restaurants like Michael Jordan's and Charlie Trotter's. This is the story of that garden project and how it started.
Chicago's Cabrini Green--with its 23 high rises and 7, 000 inhabitants--is one of the most notorious housing projects in the country. Gang warfare has made it an extremely dangerous place to live--one of the worst in the entire United States. In fact, the district surrounding Cabrini Green is said to have the highest concentration of police in the nation.
Meet Jack Davis--accountant, gardener and founder of the Cabrini Greens garden project. Davis is the man who went to the Chicago Housing Authority and got permission to work a plot of land in Cabrini Green. Optimistic about his idea, he believed that there was money to be made if the children of Cabrini Green could grow high-quality vegetables for sale to local high-end restaurants.
To get the support he needed for his floundering venture, Jack Davis turned to Pastor Thomas Murdock, a man who was more than familiar with the ways of Cabrini Green. Murdock grew up there and even ran a drug operation in the housing project at one time. Willing to help, Murdock urged a friend of his, Dan Underwood, to meet with Davis and hear his story. Underwood--a devoted family man to his wife and 10 children, a member of the school council and head of two scout troops--was aware of the garden project but had never met Jack Davis. Now they would meet, and Underwood 's eventual role would save the Cabrini Greens project from failure.
Davis went in to the community and slowly recruited a few kids, who began clearing the litter-strewn area. He never sought government money of any kind but instead bankrolled everything himself, paying the children a small salary for getting things growing.
Unfortunately, the children's parents were suspicious of Davis's motives, and he was often threatened by kids who wanted more money. After three years, he saw that the challenge was greater than he'd thought it would be and if the project was going to survive he needed "inside" help in order to gain acceptance in the community.
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