King Charles Spends an Afternoon with Students at an Urban Farm in Harlem

In the middle of a city block in Harlem, King Charles III fed chickens and watched students make mango salsa, surrounded by beds of freshly planted broccoli and cauliflower. As part of his U.S. visit, King Charles spent Wednesday afternoon visiting Harlem Grown, a New York nonprofit that has transformed 14 abandoned lots into urban farms focused on increasing access to healthy foods for local residents and providing educational programs for kids. The visit wasn’t a big press moment for the King—rather than making remarks, he dedicated his time to meeting and engaging with community members one-on-one. Urban farms like Harlem Grown not only improve food security, but also climate resilience—lowering the carbon footprint of food production and reducing the effects of heat islands that cities are often prone to. The nonprofit's goals closely align with King Charles’s own commitment to sustainability and climate action. In 2020, he founded the Sustainable Markets Initiative, a CEO-lead climate coalition aimed at bringing world leaders and executives together toward the goal of mobilizing trillions of dollars for climate solutions. Last year, the royal family’s sovereign grant report made “environmental sustainability” a priority, cementing the King’s dedication to addressing climate change in his role