Once, these 42 flat acres and 78 forested hillside acres were the lifeblood of immigrant farming families, their produce distributed in Pittsburgh's bustling Strip District. But cities, like ecosystems, are in constant flux. Fast forward to the 1950s: enter St. Clair Village, a well-intentioned housing project that, at its zenith, sheltered 1,089 families. But by 2010, the neighborhood hemorrhaged 80% of its population, leaving behind a stark 65% vacancy rate and crumbling concrete. The USDA assigned the neighborhood a "food desert" label, a bureaucratic way of saying, "Good luck finding a fresh vegetable around here," hardly capturing the irony: a land once famed for its apple orchards now bore fruit only in crime statistics and decay. 

Instead of accepting this downward spiral, the community flipped the script. The vision for Hilltop Urban Farm sprouted from the community’s desire to breathe new life into neglected land. In these abandoned lots they saw potential – a chance to grow food where there was none. They dared to reject the narrative of decline as inevitable and cultivate change from the ground up.