Since we watched the documentary "Fresh", I have really gotten in to learning more about our current approach to agriculture (or should we call it agribusiness?). While there are obviously arguments against changing the current agricultural system, I have taken a stance supporting the rebirth of family farms and institution of Urban Agriculture.
Urban Agriculture is exactly what the title suggests: Farming in Urban/City areas. Perhaps you recall the organization Growing Power from "Fresh", a working community food system right in the middle of the city. Not only is the organization providing food for people in the city, it is promoting diversity and community involvement. This is one example of how sustainable and realistic urban agriculture can be.
In my quest to find similar organizations and resources, I discovered the following website:
http://www.urbanfarming.org/welcome.html
The organization affiliated with this website is called Urban Farming (how straight forward!). It kicked off in 2005, in Detroit, and now has over 43,000 locations. I was pleased to see there are several in the Twin Cities area.
Urban Farming's mission is:
"to create an abundance of food for people in need by planting, supporting and encouraging the establishment of gardens on unused land and space while increasing diversity, raising awareness for health and wellness, inspiring and educating youth, adults and seniors to create an economically sustainable system to uplift communities around the globe."
The whole Urban Agriculture movement is very inspiring to me. It is most definitely still in the early stages of progress, but if we keep spreading the word we are doing nothing but supporting healthy, close-knit communities and sustainable food systems. If you're really feeling the tug of our current agricultural system and want to learn even more about different farming approaches, check this site out:
http://www.beginningfarmers.org/
It is a great place to start learning. The website provides basic synopses of different dimensions of farming and provides links for further research and learning. I hope you find these sites as interesting and helpful as I do! Enjoy!
I really like the idea of community gardens. As I've learned during my internship with Carlton County, one of the projects that the SHIP grants work toward is sustainability. The two communities that were awarded SHIP grants in Carlton County, one planted a bunch of apple trees and the other started a community garden at the school. These food are used in the school for the kids...plus the kids take an active roll in helping get the gardens ready and picking the veggies. What a great way to bring the concept of Urban Agriculture to our own back doors.
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