Tip Jar

        
Tweet

Email

Print
Share

Monday, November 11, 2019

Tip Jar

4 Rivers restaurateur plans 40-acre urban farm for feeding the hungriest people in Orlando

Posted By Solomon Gustavo on Mon, Nov 11, 2019 at 7:54 PM

click image

Businessman and planned future urban farmer John Rivers - PHOTO VIA 4 RIVERS SMOKEHOUSE TWITTER @@4RSMOKEHOUSE

Photo via 4 Rivers Smokehouse Twitter @@4RSmokehouse
Businessman and planned future urban farmer John Rivers

In less than two years, Orlando's College Park neighborhood has transformed from a sleepy area satisfied with its 1950s charm to one bustling with the construction of modern luxury apartments and trendy hangouts like a food hall and brewery.

Now, a 40-acre farm is planned for the newly named Packing District, led by local restaurateur and businessman Johnny Rivers, CEO of 4 Rivers Restaurant Group.

Rivers says the regular harvests form the farm, to be located at John Young Parkway and Princeton Street, will be dedicated to feeding the hungry.

The Packing District's fresh, urban-revivalist vibe doesn't exactly scream "agriculture," but then again, College Park does not seem like a place with food insecurity either. But appearances can be deceiving.

While the area's rejuvenation seems set to appeal to the well-to-do crowd, Orange County continues to struggle with hunger. Rivers says he sees a busted food system which chews up the environment and leaves children hungry, and he's not having it.

"We're going after the broken food system and, specifically, you have so many people in Orange County living in food insecurity," Rivers told WKMG. "Specifically in Orange County Public Schools today, you have one in every five students that doesn't know where their next meal is going to come from."

4 Roots Campus, as the $30 million dollar project will be called, is planned to be a working farm. Its entire yield, according to Rivers, will fill the bellies and bare cupboards and refrigerators of the food-insecure families in Orange County schools.

The owner of the 4 Rivers Smokehouse chain says the farm facility will also house classrooms, greenhouse space, a restaurant, and a discovery center for learning about Florida's agricultural past and future. The way through the problem of hunger is through education and understanding, says Rivers.

The project will take some five years to complete. The groundbreaking is planned for early 2020.

Stay on top of Orlando news and views. Sign up for our weekly Headlines newsletter.

Tags: College Park, Packing District, Orlando, John Rivers, 4 Rivers Restaurant Group, 4 Rivers Smokehouse, 4 Roots Campus, agriculture, urban farming, food insecurity, Orange County, Orange County Schools, development, Image

We welcome readers to submit letters regarding articles and content in Orlando Weekly. Letters should be a minimum of 150 words, refer to content that has appeared on Orlando Weekly, and must include the writer's full name, address, and phone number for verification purposes. No attachments will be considered. Writers of letters selected for publication will be notified via email. Letters may be edited and shortened for space.

Email us at feedback@orlandoweekly.com.

Support Local Journalism.
Join the Orlando Weekly Press Club

Local journalism is information. Information is power. And we believe everyone deserves access to accurate independent coverage of their community and state. Our readers helped us continue this coverage in 2020, and we are so grateful for the support.

Help us keep this coverage going in 2021. Whether it's a one-time acknowledgement of this article or an ongoing membership pledge, your support goes to local-based reporting from our small but mighty team.

Join the Orlando Weekly Press Club for as little as $5 a month.