Farms Go To The Big City

From community gardens to rooftop gardens to sky farming, urban agriculture is everywhere. How can growers get involved?

by Michael Kovalycsik, National Sales & Marketing Director, Delta T Solutions

When one thinks of the city of Detroit, chances are, agriculture isn’t the first thing that pops to mind. But thanks to a few spunky go-getters who are committed to community gardening, the city is quickly becoming a leader in the nation, showing just what can be done with empty space and a commitment to empowering the city’s residents to grow their own food.

On many a city block, populated mostly with abandoned houses, you’ll also find a glimmer of hope. This year, Detroit residents were responsible for creating and maintaining 1,351 vegetable gardens in the city, growing more than 73 varieties of fruits and vegetables in their 382 community, 48 market, 64 school and 857 family gardens through the local Garden Resource Program (GRP).

Working in partnership with an entity called The Greening of Detroit, which provides resources and support to urban gardens and farms in the city, participants in the GRP receive seeds and Detroit-grown transplants, and become part of a growing network of gardeners and advocates working to promote and encourage urban agriculture and a thriving local food system in the city. The GRP also supports neighborhood-based cluster groups designed to connect growers to one another and provide local access to resources and opportunities.

CLEVELAND ROCKS URBAN GROWING

Tired of its reputation as the gritty city on a burning river, Cleveland’s sustainability-minded residents are working to reposition it as a “green city on a blue lake.” To that end, urban agriculture is helping to rebuild abandoned areas of the city. Cleveland’s Kinsman neighborhood, dubbed the “Forgotten Triangle,” which has become an illegal dumping grounds by day and an area known for troubled riff-raff after dark, is home to a multi-million dollar urban agriculture initiative.

One leading group, the Rid-All Green Partnership, is a one-acre urban farm that was founded a little over a year ago by three childhood friends who grew up in Cleveland. With many years of business experience between the three, they realized a commitment to rebuild the city of Cleveland by not only growing produce and raising tilapia but also developing jobs for neighborhood residents. Today, the Rid-All farm harvests 150 to 200 pounds of vegetables a week that have been distributed in the community, most notably to St. Vincent Charity Medical Center. Depending on the season, they're growing corn, tomatoes, lettuce, zucchini, peppers, celery, collard greens, kale, broccoli, spinach and herbs such as sweet basil, thyme and oregano. The operation is tapped to become one of 15 regional urban farming training centers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana through Growing Power Inc. (see sidebar).

This October, the Kinsman neighborhood also witnessed groundbreaking for an effort by Green City Growers, the newest company from Evergreen Cooperatives, to build a 10-acre greenhouse operation that will grow leafy greens hydroponically. When completed in the spring of 2012, the greenhouse will produce 3 million heads of red leaf, green leaf and Boston (Bibb) lettuce and 300,000 pounds of herbs annually. Produce will be sold locally to grocery stores, institutions, distributors, and consumers. As a worker-owned cooperative, Green City Growers hires from surrounding neighborhoods and worker owners share in the company profits, sit on the company’s board and participate in decisions. Evergreen companies contribute a portion of profits to a development fund that seeds new businesses.

WHY URBAN FARMING MATTERS
Stories like these are becoming more common as urban farming grows nationwide. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, around 15 percent of the world's food is now grown in urban areas. Urban agriculture takes the form of backyard, roof-top and balcony gardening, community gardening in vacant lots and parks, roadside urban fringe agriculture and livestock grazing in open space.

What’s more, within the next 40 years, growers nationwide will be required to produce twice as many crops with 30% less land available to keep up with the fast-growing world population. Researchers estimate by the year 2050, nearly 80% of the earth’s population will reside in urban centers, and the world will inhabit more than 9 billion people, including more than 400 million in the U.S. alone. Intensive farming, including urban farming and greenhouse production, are seen as keys to make up for lost or unusable land to feed our growing population.

The question is, how will these garden plots and urban farms affect produce growers now and in the future, and how can growers become part of the revolution? As interest and demand grows for locally grown food, you can be a resource and champion for community gardening and urban farming, either by providing support and outreach to new entities, or by opening a location or starting a community garden within an urban center. Vacant lots can be yours for a few hundred dollars each, and despite being located in generally “seedy” areas, urban farms are rarely targets of theft or vandalism, thanks to their neighbors’ watchful eyes. As a fixture of a reclaimed neighborhood, your involvement is mutually beneficial.

A GOOD TIME FOR RESOLUTIONS
With the holiday season ahead and a new year approaching, now is as good a time as any to get involved and learn how you can help change the world — or at least one neighborhood.

To learn more about urban farming and how you, as a grower, can make a difference, contact your local state Extension office, visit the Growing Power web site or visit the Stone Barns Center web site. Contact a Delta T Solutions representative at 800-552-5058 or email info@deltatsolutions.com to learn how we can help you help others.