Scaling Economies of Community
Small Places is focused, not on “Economies of Scale,” but rather on developing resilient economies at the community level. We want to replicate these “Economies of Community” to support and scale grassroots economic stability and improve quality of life.
What We Believe
We believe that quality, local food should be available to all people regardless of location and income, that food should stay as close as possible to where it is produced and that through thought collaboration and the right resources we can show small places matter.
More Small Places
We envision a place where farm fresh foods are a common part of the daily lives of our community and have worked to show how a network of small places in our neighborhood could be the cornerstone of a healthy and resilient community.
Finca Tres Robles
Finca Tres Robles
Finca Tres Robles is just 3 miles from downtown Houston, located in the historic Segundo Barrio on Houston’s East Side. We sustainably grow herbs, fruits and vegetables for individuals and families in the community and are working to change the food system of the neighborhood, improve health outcomes of its residents to build community, and keep money here in our immediate local, economy.
What Finca Tres Robles offers:
“Eating is an agricultural act”
-Wendell Berry
LBJ Hospital Community Farm
LBJ hospital Community farm
Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital has developed 2 acres on their hospital campus into a Community Farm to serve the surrounding Kashmere, Trinity, and Houston Gardens neighborhoods. Small Places has been proud to be a consultant with the Harris Health System to support them in this innovative project since its inception in 2016.
The LBJ Hospital Community Farm is the first urban, public hospital in the nation with a farm dedicated to improving the health of their community. We hope it serves as another example of how closely tied food, heath, and agriculture are to our communities.
Small Places worked with the LBJ Hospital Community Farm to conduct a Community Agricultural Needs Assessment (C.A.N.A.) for the surrounding neighborhoods. It’s a wonderful resource to learn more about this project, its goals, its vision, and the impacts it’s already having: