Gardens in the hood

Urban agriculture does more than provide healthy food for those who need it

Posted by David Roberts at 5:05 PM on 27 Aug 2007

Read more about: food | gardening | sustainable ag | placemaking | health

Phoebe Connelly and Chelsea Ross have a detailed and incredibly heartening story on urban agriculture in In These Times. It focuses on urban ag projects that target inner city "food deserts," where liquor stores outnumber groceries 20-to-1 and the most easily available food is fried. It's not just about food, though:

"We are what most folks would consider organic, but we're not certified," the Food Project's Burns says. "That's not as important to us. We're in the community; folks can just come by and see our practices. It's about transparency."

Accessibility is at the heart of what these groups call food security. "It's about everyone having access to culturally appropriate and nutritional food at all times," says Danielle Andrews, who heads up farming for Food Project's Dorchester plots.

"We're using food to make social connections," says Growing Power's Allen. "It's not just about growing food -- it's about practices and how people form relationships, get comfortable with each other and learn to communicate through really owning the food system."

Particularly fascinating is the way this movement bumps up against the much more profitable but elite-focused sustainable food movement:

"It's important to us that the food we grow here is available to people in the community," says the Food Project's Andrews. "That means it's not sold at the prices it would be if it was sold downtown." Selling at high-end markets is an issue that the Food Project grapples with because it has the potential to allow the organization to sustain itself. Right now, the group makes around $20,000 off the produce grown on its Dorchester land. If the Food Project sold it at the Copley Square farmers' market, opposite the Neiman Marcus, Andrews estimates they could get twice as much. "I think there is a sense at the organization that it could lend something to the urban agriculture movement if we were economically sustainable."

So far, however, the Food Project is opting out. "Our community is patient with what goes along with urban agriculture. Sometimes our compost smells, or we'll have a little rat infestation," Andrews says. "If we were selling downtown, it could become uncomfortable. I don't think it would make a whole lot of sense."

The central element in making urban ag sustainable, according to the Food Project, is land ownership. There's nothing more primordially American, more conducive to the spirit of self-reliance and pride that fuels this country's origin myths, than cultivating one's own piece of land. Today more than ever.

For story: Gardens in the hood
3 Comments | Post a Comment

Ah

One of the intrepid member groups of the Orion Grassroots Network getting noticed. Very nice.

Erik

The Orion Grassroots Network: 1,200+ grassroots groups working for conservation & more

by Erik Hoffner at 5:31 PM on 27 Aug 2007

How I Became an Addict and Who Gives me My Fix

Loved your article and it reminds me of how I became an organic food junkie - and from I get my fix :)

I have always been allergic to citrus fruits and found myself turning blue in the face the moment I bit into one. I grew up resigned to the fact that I couldn't enjoy any type of citrus fruits and always envied my friends a bit because they didn't have this problem. Now I have a kid of my own and he also seems to have the same allergies. I always thought it's a pity he couldn't eat citrus fruits but never gave it much thought, till recently.

Organic Fruits and Veggies Helped
Some friends suggested I try organic fruits what are grown naturally, without preservatives or any artificial flavoring. According to some studies, it is these man-made chemicals that cause allergies, not the fruit per se. I googled this topic and consulted several specialists who all agreed it was worth a shot. I scoured the whole of Manhattan before I found some shops selling good quality, organic fruits. I had one myself and I was overjoyed - no reaction! I gave one fruit to my son and anxiously waited for a reaction - nothing! I was ecstatic; finally, I could eat and binge on any type of citrus fruit of my choice! We pigged out on the fruits I had bought that day and we felt we had just finished a meal fit for the kings 

How to get Hold of my Fix?
This of course led me to my next problem - how could I get hold of the fruits regularly, on a daily basis? I was a single, working mother and everyone knows how harrowing that can be. Add to it a long commute to get hold of a few organic fruits - it was a recipe for disaster. So, by then, I thought we could only have our dose of fruits on weekends when we both made a real outing of going across town for our `fix'.

THE Solution!
And one day, it felt like Christmas! Almost as if Santa had himself organized an extra special treat just for me and my baby! One day I was just surfing the net when I decided to see which is the best organic fruit shop in New York. Turned out it was some innocuous Organic Fruit and Veggie Club. The reason they were so popular was simple - they home-delivered good quality organic fruits and veggies which was supposed to be quite fresh and with some yummy discounts.

I decided to give them a try - and boy was I surprised! I dialed 877-333-7722and got a king's ransom worth of organic fruits and veggies at my doorstep. It didn't cost the earth, it didn't take any time or effort trudging across town, and it was absolutely delicious! Needless to add, I am completely bowled over and my son and I pig out on the citrus fruits every day of our lives. We have become addicts, without a hope in hell of ever leading a completely normal life ever again.

Icky Picky Points of Complaint
I have some complaints about these guys, though - for one, I think these guys should get a website where net junkies like me could possibly order my organic `fix' by clicking a button. Also, how about some customer loyalty points for die-hard loyalists like me? And why not, even a get-together or a real club of other organic addicts and people who patronize the Organic Fruit and Veggie Club. Heck, it could turn in to a mass frenzy, methinks!

by Merchant at 11:58 PM on 30 Aug 2007

City Slicker Farms

Another great urban garden program, City Slicker Farms assists residents in West Oakland by organizing work days and mentor support for residents who want to install and maintain gardens in their own backyards. We volunteer as "garden mentors", periodically visiting participants to bring them plants and materials, offer advice and help, and document what they are able to produce from their gardens.

by GreenEngineer at 2:50 PM on 01 Sep 2007

ADVERTISING POLICY

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