South Side Farms groundbreaking planned for early next year

South Side Farms, the Saint Francis Foundation's ambitious revitalization project for southern Cape Girardeau, will break ground in early 2023, foundation vice president Jimmy Wilferth said.

Last week, Cape Girardeau Planning and Zoning Committee voted unanimously to approve final plans for the development — one member did abstain from the vote.

"It's exciting seeing something that can be this beneficial to the south side, and to the community as a whole, come together," Wilferth said.

The Planning and Zoning Commission has approved every element of the project, Wilferth said. The housing and child care portion was the last to be approved.

South Side Farms has been more than two and a half years in the making, with the goal of increasing the overall health of South Cape Girardeau by helping provide proper food, education and health care, among other things, to the area. The development will encompass 16 acres, and eventually contain a farm, grocery store, health clinic, restaurant and affordable housing.

The idea for the project started six years ago, when the south side was declared a food desert by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Most of the necessities — grocery stores, hospitals, etc. — in Cape Girardeau are north of Highway 74.

"We had hungry kids and hungry adults, down on the south side of our town. And that wasn't OK with us," Wilferth said.

The development will be rolled out slowly, Wilferth said, partially because of high interests rate driving up cost, but mostly to get community feedback during the process. The farm will be the first element established. The foundation has hired a farm manager, who starts in January,

"We're just gonna start small and take off bite-sized pieces. And just take it as God says, 'This is the next step,'" Wilferth said.

The foundation has established a committee that will meet quarterly before the public to hear and address comments and concerns about the project. The committee already hosted a meeting before south side residents this month.

Wilferth said community feedback is invaluable to the process "Because we're not going to go into an area and tell them what they need to do. We're going to go into an area and ask, 'What do you want done?' And then help them do it."

South Side Farms has been a collaborative effort from the beginning with numerous churches, organizations and the city involved, Wilferth said. He expects that collaboration to continue as the development goes from a plan to a reality.