Urban Farming Goes Medicinal
Red Antler Apothecary is announcing an exciting new project starting this spring: The Apothecary Farm at Mill No. 5. Continuing to be stewards of health, the community and the Earth, the shop will expand into The Urban Farm at Mill No. 5. This will allow the team to expand on their mission of being an herbal medicinal “farmacy”. The Apothecary Farm will produce ingredients for Red Antler and become the community’s center for herbal medicinal education. Red Antler began in 2014 out of the need to produce products free of toxins. They grow many of their own ingredients in an urban environment and they understand the urban aspect of living and growing and the disconnect between the city and the land. The urban lot directly across from Mill No. 5 will be divided with longtime occupants Mill City Grows and will serve as a demonstration site for teaching the community the values of herbal medicine and how to create a medicinal garden of their own. “We take our role (in herbal community health) very seriously and we feel that we have a responsibility to be an educated voice in a large urban community, and to participate in being a catalyst of health equity,” says Rachel. The farm’s location in the heart of Lowell’s downtown business district makes it easy for urbanites, some of whom may have never seen how food is grown, to take an active role in their own wellness. As a professional grower and educator, Francey Slater, co-founder and the previous co-executive director of Mill City Grows, has joined the team at Red Antler to oversee the new farm project. “Her compassion for people and families and her interest in community health and health justice, which comes from the avenue of food justice, is really important for how
