Vacant Community Hospital in Chester to become site of new affordable housing complex
The 94-unit Silvercare Senior Housing development is scheduled to open March 2026. Chester officials hope it will provide a boost to the city.
2 months ago
Ahmaj Jackson, 14, wheels fresh produce around the Ruth Bennett Community Farm in Chester, Pennsylvania. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
Chester’s Ruth Bennett Community Farm is a vibrant oasis in a desert of dull brick and lifeless concrete.
Tucked below Interstate 95 at the top of a cul-de-sac, the 2-acre farm teems with life: organic produce, wildflowers, and a host of winged insects that flutter between the two.
“This is like a resurrection of life here,” assistant manager Malik Savage said during a recent visit.
The farm, managed by the Chester Housing Authority, is also a place where residents can snag groceries.
Between June and October, Bennett operates a weekly farm stand where people can walk up and buy fresh fruit and vegetables at a discount, a noteworthy opportunity in a city with just one supermarket, and a big deal to Savage.
“You get to help people who are disenfranchised, that don’t have the privilege that a lot of people have,” he said.
All proceeds from the stand are plowed back into the farm so it can continue feeding, and boosting, the community the way it has for more than a decade — one sale at a time.