A $300,000 federal grant and a yearlong fundraising campaign are spurring change for the urban agricultural nonprofit, Lynchburg Grows.

The United States Department of Agriculture recently awarded the all-volunteer group the grant, which will allow it to hire three full-time staff members and start new community outreach programs.

The group is also poised to close on the purchase of a 6½-acre farm located behind City Stadium. Volunteers for Lynchburg Grows raised about $100,000 during the past year for a down payment on the $319,000 city plot.

Michael Van Ness, executive director of Lynchburg Grows, said the group purchased the

option to buy the land more than two years ago and could sign the mortgage papers as soon as Thursday.

“This is a huge shot in the arm to help take it to the next level and really be able to utilize the resources on this farm,” he said.

The farm is home to nine greenhouses, totaling about two acres, as well as about five acres of fields.

The group uses the land to connect low-income and disabled community members with access to fresh and affordable produce. It aims to open doors for job training and employment opportunities, to teach kids about healthy eating and to give local people access to local, organic foods.

With the grant money, Van Ness said the group would expand its job training programs and begin teaching kids about healthy foods and gardening at area elementary schools and neighborhood centers.

Lynchburg Grows was one of 32 organizations nationwide to receive money from USDA’s Community Food Projects grants. About $4.6 million was distributed to community organizations that help low-income Americans eat healthfully. Lynchburg Grows received the largest sum this year, $299,912. The money is disbursed over three years.

“All of the agricultural products harvested through the program will either be donated to food banks or sold at the local farmer’s markets, providing healthy, nutritious food to the Lynchburg community,” said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-6th, who helped secure the grant. “This is truly a case where the grant money is being put back into the community.”

Prior to the USDA grant and the latest fundraising efforts, Van Ness said the group had raised only $50,000 and had secured a similarly sized state grant to test that the land was safe for food production.

Van Ness said a small portion of the grant money can be used to help pay down the group’s mortgage. More importantly, he said, the money will further the group’s programs - key to securing future donations.

When the group first began working on the old Schenkel Farm, the once-famous rose gardens were overgrown and in disarray. Van Ness said the condition of the property overwhelmed potential donors.

He said volunteers switched their focus from raising money to growing food and starting community projects.

Now, two and a half years later, the effort of more than 700 volunteers and more than 6,000 volunteer hours has reinvigorated half of the nine greenhouses. Van Ness said the goal is to finish the cleanup, pay off the mortgage and become entirely self-sustaining.

“Now when people come out they see things growing and they see just how beautiful it is,” he said. “They’re starting to see the potential of what we can become.”