Urban Farming

Previously, we discussed how many people in inner cities do not have access to quality, fresh foods. ​As metropolitan areas continue to sprawl outwards it turns local farmland into subdivisions and asphalt, eliminating the ability for a community to provide its own food. There are several ways communities are trying to combat this problem through farmers’ markets and healthy corner stores. An increasing popular approach is through “urban farming.” Using small vacant lots and rooftops for farming gives easy access to locally grown healthy foods and has environmental benefits.

urban roof top farm
Photo Courtesy of: sustainablesouthsound.org

The benefits of urban farming go beyond creating a healthy, local food source as detailed in this report for Boston. Farming creates dozens of direct, local jobs as well as hundreds of indirect jobs. The increased city greenery reduces greenhouse gas emissions and lowers a city’s heat-island effect. Best of all this is accomplished by utilizing previously unused urban land and rooftops.

Farming in Chicago has had more benefits than expected. Not only has the farming been used to change eating habits it has also impacted people’s lives. Farming has been an educational tool to teach families where their food comes from. Many of those who have worked on the farm have also started their own gardens at home and many have started up at local schools.

In Hawaii 80-90% of the food consumed is not produced on island, meaning it traveled thousands of miles to get to our plate. Food that travels is less fresh and costs more due to shipping and preservation costs (not to mention the impact transit has on our environment).  An upcoming documentary “Ingredients Hawaii” looks at our food system in Hawaii and ways to encourage more local food production for the people who live here.

​If you want learn more about urban farming in your neighborhood and to get involved look up and see if there is a Food Policy Council in your area. ​A Food Policy Council is an organized group of various stakeholders, policy makers, food producers and consumers, who evaluate the needs of their community. The goal of most Food Policy Councils is to create sustainable food systems.

Food Deserts

The increase in fast food and convenience stores and simultaneous decrease in supermarkets and grocery stores decreases access to healthy foods. This phenomenon,   called a food desert, usually occurs in low-income neighborhoods, making where you live determinant of what kinds of foods are easily available. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) a food desert is a low-income area that has limited access to a grocery store or supermarket. They occur in either rural or urban environments. To see if you live in a food desert check out the Food Desert Locator. This interactive map has information on the continental 48 states about their access to healthy food. Using tools like the Food Desert Locator can help us find areas of concern and where we can come together to help solve this issue.

Image courtesy of thedasslereffect.wordpress.com

In order to combat this issue a two-pronged attack is necessary, increasing access to grocery stores while limiting fast food and convenience stores. There are many ways to encourage access to healthy food sources such as business incubators and local farmers markets. Community-wide efforts are now underway in Philadelphia and Detroit, two of the nation’s poorest cities (and largest food deserts). In many communities corner stores are a main source of food for people. Healthy corner stores initiatives are ways to include fresh produce in smaller convenience stores. These efforts make sure it is easy and affordable for everyone in a community to have access to healthy foods. The other approach is through fast food zoning which can limit the number of joints in a given area or ban them altogether. To fix the problem of food deserts communities must work together to come up with creative solutions that work for them.

Working to end food deserts is just one of the many steps needed to combat the obesity epidemic in america. Public awareness about eating healthy and making healthy foods affordable compared to convenience and fast foods are also needed. Making sure everyone has access to healthy food is an important step in the process, that involves the community, urban planners, public health, businesses, and producers.