Hartness Partners with Mill Village Farms to launch a state-of-the-art amenity for sustainable farming, community engagement and resident living
July 8, 2021
Hartness, a new urban village founded by the Hartness family and located on Greenville’s Eastside, announced a partnership with Mill Village Farms to create a state of the art amenity for sustainable farming, community engagement and resident living. Mill Village Farms is a local non-profit organization dedicated to transforming communities through fresh food and developing youth leaders for a successful transition into adulthood.
“Sustainability, exceptional residential offerings and serving our community are essential to Hartness and introducing an amenity that meaningfully enhances each of these components is a natural and exciting next step for us,” said Sean Hartness, CEO of Hartness Development. “To create a superior and sophisticated farm that also gives back to Greenville, we found Mill Village Farms to be the ideal partner. Their expertise and capabilities are invaluable, and we are proud to also support their important mission.”
The Hartness Farm is located within the Hartness community and serves many functions, including offering a sustainable food source for residents and the village’s restaurants, which are Village Kitchen and the forthcoming Patterson, as well as an opportunity to partner with Mill Village Farms to help provide good and nutritious food for low-income families across Greenville County, in addition to volunteer opportunities. It also affords access to a new community garden that includes raised plots for individual residents to use and enjoy.
“We are thrilled to partner with Hartness in offering a state-of-the-art amenity for sustainable farming to the community,” said Dan Weidenbenner, executive director of Mill Village Farms. “This opportunity will allow us to continue our mission of empowering our youth with basic job skills and experience in sustainable agriculture and entrepreneurship, in addition to being a source for farm-fresh food for low-income families in Greenville County.”
Mill Village Farms was brought on early in the planning stages to provide leadership direction and oversight of the farm’s location. The organization continues to work with Hartness to manage the entire growing session, including crop production plans, soil assessments, soil amendments, irrigation, planting, harvesting, washing, and delivering produce to end-users, and their team is also responsible for the day-to-day management of the land. This includes neighborhood outreach, planning plot beds, soil testing, soil amendments, crop planning, managing and planting plots, pest management, irrigation, harvesting, washing, and distribution. Additionally, Mill Village Farms is securing and coordinating all the outlets for produce grown at the Hartness farm.
Produce from the farm, which for this growing season will include four 50′ x 50′ plots, will be available to residents and Hartness’ Executive Chef Tanner Marino, as well as to the greater community through a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program that is under-development by Mill Village Farms. Furthermore, produce grown at Hartness Farm will also help give back to local families through the non-profit organization’s FoodShare program that distributes over 900 family food boxes to low-income families every other week year-round.
A selection of produce from Hartness Farm will also be available at Fresh Fridays at Hartness. Fresh Fridays at Hartness will see The Grand Lawn come alive for an open-air market featuring a variety of local farmers, specialty artisans, live entertainment and more. This is a free event and tickets are not required. Fresh Fridays at Hartness will take place from 5:30 – 8:30 PM on Friday, June 18, Friday, July 16 and Friday, August 20. For more information on Fresh Fridays at Hartness, visit www.hartnessliving.com.
About Hartness
Hartness is a new 444-acre urban village offering residences and homesites connected by lush pathways, green streets and community gathering spaces. It also boasts unique amenities including the Grand Lawn, the Sports Garden, a fitness center, 15 miles of outdoor trails throughout the development’s 175 undeveloped acres, and many sparkling lakes and ponds. Additional amenities will include tennis courts, a community clubhouse, and multiple resort-style pools. Located within the village and opening for Hartness residents and the public alike to enjoy will be The Village Center, home to a variety of specialty retail shops and casual and fine dining, and Hotel Hartness. Hartness is located on South Highway 14 between Pelham and Woodruff roads – conveniently located on Greenville’s urban edge adjacent to the I-85 corridor, ten miles from downtown and five miles from GSP Airport. For more information on Hartness, visit www.hartnessliving.com.
About Mill Village Farms
Mill Village Farms is a local non-profit organization dedicated to transforming communities through fresh food and developing youth leaders for a successful transition into adulthood. The organization began in 2012 and has since expanded to four other farms across Greenville County. Mill Village Farms empowers and educates teens aged 14 to 18 in basic job skills, sustainable agriculture, and entrepreneurship. Mill Village Farms distributes its produce through FoodShare Greenville, a bi-weekly produce box aimed to combat healthy food insecurity for families on a budget. In the past 12-months FoodShare Greenville has distributed over 25,000 family food boxes – that is over 500,000 pounds of fresh and healthy food.
