Volunteers went to work this weekend maintaining an urban farm on vacant lands in Detroit, The Detroit News reports.

Earthworks, part of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, comprises three parcels totaling 1 1/2 acres that yield lettuce, carrots, peas, beets, cabbage and other small-scale crops.

Children digging for potatoes at Earthworks

In 2008, the 11-year-old urban farm turned out more than 6,000 pounds of produce, 900 pounds of honey, 2,000 tins of hand balm and 1,000 jars of jam. It also distributed more than 100,000 transplants to 600 community, family or school gardens in Detroit, Highland Park and Hamtramck.

The Free Press reports that a local businessman has proposed doing the same on huge tracts of the city’s vacant land.

Meanwhile, The Detroit News is reporting that the agricultural sector is steadily growing  in Michigan, while other industries flounder. Some 100 agri-food businesses have started in Michigan during the past five years, The News reports.