U.S. Attorney General William Barr and U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson were in Wilmington Monday to tour Second Chances Farm on Wilmington’s eastside.
The visit included a roundtable discussion with the leadership and employees of the farm. The visit was not publicly announced.
Second Chances is also located in an Opportunity Zone in the city that provides tax incentives for companies that locate and make building improvements.
Second Chance Farms (SCF) is the first commercial, indoor, hydroponic, vertical farm in Delaware.
SCF is a public benefit corporation, certified minority enterprise, a qualified opportunity fund, and a Foreign Trade Zone.
SCF hires formerly incarcerated persons from both federal and state prison systems.
Local businessman and even organizer Ajit George spearheaded the project.
The Trump Administration has highlighted Second Chances as an Opportunity Zone success story. Opportunity Zones have been criticized for being a real estate tool that has created few jobs.
