The Detroit Black Community Food Security network is a coalition of organizations and individuals working together to build food security in Detroit’s Black community. Our mission is to build self-reliance, food security and food justice in Detroit’s Black community by influencing public policy, engaging in urban agriculture, promoting healthy eating, encouraging co-operative buying, and directing youth towards careers in food-related fields. D-Town Farm is a seven acre farm on Detroit’s west side that features organic vegetable plots, mushroom beds, four bee hives, four hoop houses for year-round food production, and a composting operation.
Malik Yakini
Showing posts with label urban agriculture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label urban agriculture. Show all posts
Thursday, January 10, 2013
URBAN AGRICULTURE AND COMMUNITY GARDENS
What Is It?
Urban agriculture/urban farms refer to many types of small and mid-sized agricultural operations designed to serve urban communities. This includes community gardens and farms located in urban areas, as well as those outside of urban areas that serve urban populations. This tool addresses urban agriculture efforts focused on serving low-income communities and communities of color. These urban agriculture projects can improve access to healthy, affordable food for low-income communities and improve residents’ health. They can also provide supplemental incomes and in some cases local jobs, build job skills and confidence for youth and people transitioning from homelessness or incarceration, revitalize neighborhoods, increase community economic development, reconnect communities with their cultural traditions and skills, and make productive use of vacant land.
The concept of urban agriculture in the United States is not new. In the 1940s nearly 20 million people planted “victory gardens” to lessen the strain placed on the U.S. food system during World War II. During this time, the government rationed food such as dairy, sugar, meat, coffee, and canned goods, but labor and transportation shortages made it difficult to harvest fruits and vegetables. Victory gardens were encouraged as a way for communities to provide for themselves and do their part on the home front. These victory gardens accounted for 44 percent of the fresh vegetables produced in the United States. Citizens planted these victory gardens in their backyards, empty lots, and even on city rooftops. Neighbors joined together to pool their resources, plant different types of crops, and exchange their food with one another. The victory garden program was a federal program that utilized state extension agencies to provide seed, fertilizer, and simple gardening tools for victory gardeners. When the war ended, government promotion of victory gardens did also. However, over the past several years an enthusiasm for urban gardening has been revived. In 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama planted a White House garden as part of her Let’s Move Initiative. See here for a video describing the White House garden.
Urban farms can be planted on private or public property including vacant lots, city parks, churchyards, schoolyards, and rooftops and on land owned individually, by a community group, institution, municipality, land trust, or other entity. This tool will help you understand the opportunities urban agriculture brings, the main challenges to starting an urban farm or garden, and how challenges can be overcome.
Urban agriculture/urban farms refer to many types of small and mid-sized agricultural operations designed to serve urban communities. This includes community gardens and farms located in urban areas, as well as those outside of urban areas that serve urban populations. This tool addresses urban agriculture efforts focused on serving low-income communities and communities of color. These urban agriculture projects can improve access to healthy, affordable food for low-income communities and improve residents’ health. They can also provide supplemental incomes and in some cases local jobs, build job skills and confidence for youth and people transitioning from homelessness or incarceration, revitalize neighborhoods, increase community economic development, reconnect communities with their cultural traditions and skills, and make productive use of vacant land.
The concept of urban agriculture in the United States is not new. In the 1940s nearly 20 million people planted “victory gardens” to lessen the strain placed on the U.S. food system during World War II. During this time, the government rationed food such as dairy, sugar, meat, coffee, and canned goods, but labor and transportation shortages made it difficult to harvest fruits and vegetables. Victory gardens were encouraged as a way for communities to provide for themselves and do their part on the home front. These victory gardens accounted for 44 percent of the fresh vegetables produced in the United States. Citizens planted these victory gardens in their backyards, empty lots, and even on city rooftops. Neighbors joined together to pool their resources, plant different types of crops, and exchange their food with one another. The victory garden program was a federal program that utilized state extension agencies to provide seed, fertilizer, and simple gardening tools for victory gardeners. When the war ended, government promotion of victory gardens did also. However, over the past several years an enthusiasm for urban gardening has been revived. In 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama planted a White House garden as part of her Let’s Move Initiative. See here for a video describing the White House garden.
Urban farms can be planted on private or public property including vacant lots, city parks, churchyards, schoolyards, and rooftops and on land owned individually, by a community group, institution, municipality, land trust, or other entity. This tool will help you understand the opportunities urban agriculture brings, the main challenges to starting an urban farm or garden, and how challenges can be overcome.
TOOLS FOR HEALTHY FOOD ACCESS
Improving Access to Healthy Food
Communities across the country are working to expand and improve healthy food access through grocery stores, small stores, farmers' markets, and urban agriculture. This series of tools offers concerned residents, policymakers, business leaders, and advocates ideas and strategies for improving access to healthy food in underserved communities, based on the wisdom and experiences of local communities.
Healthy Food Retailing
Grocery Stores
Corner Stores
Farmers' Market
Urban Agriculture
Communities across the country are working to expand and improve healthy food access through grocery stores, small stores, farmers' markets, and urban agriculture. This series of tools offers concerned residents, policymakers, business leaders, and advocates ideas and strategies for improving access to healthy food in underserved communities, based on the wisdom and experiences of local communities.
Healthy Food Retailing
Grocery Stores
Corner Stores
Farmers' Market
Urban Agriculture
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
A green roof is a kind of building roof that is covered in vegetation. There are two kinds of green roof, extensive and intensive, categorized by their intended use and the nature of planting. The intensive green roof is named as such because it requires intensive maintenance and care. Intensive green roofs are more similar to garden plantings, involve soil depths suitable for a wide range of vegetation, and are often intended for occupation by roof users.
Extensive green roofs are usually accessible only for maintenance, and use planting strategies that require limited care and upkeep. Both kinds of roof reduce energy demand on buildings by providing insulation and absorbing heat from solar gain, and both can be used to augment evaporative cooling strategies. Green roofs fit into the cool roof concept.
http://www.holcimfoundation.org/T1304/Green_roof.htm
A Blueprint for a Profitable Urban Farm
The analysis suggests that at least three to 10 acres of contiguous space would be needed to create a viable commercial farm.
Global Green USA projects that in that space a profitable farm could be built to support three full-time equivalent staff. Based on three different crop scenarios, the report suggests that revenues could top $160,000 and profits could be more than $10,000 per year. It's kind of like an abbreviated business plan for potential urban farmers in Youngstown, showing at least one way to turn this idea into actual jobs.
The organization has been working with Youngstown since 2009 to help develop a sustainable city plan and to turn the city into a model of recovery for other struggling Rust Belt cities.
The city has been losing population for the last 30 years, and its shrinkage has been compounded by a worsening economic situation. As jobs dried up and people left town, the city became home to large amounts of vacant property – 22,000 empty plots according to an official count. Like many other cities facing similar increases in vacant land, urban agriculture has been seen as an option for putting land back to use. It's also an official strategy. The city's 2010 plan emphasizes the importance of shrinking the city.
About 44 acres of formerly vacant land is now being farmed in Youngstown. Based on this report, an ambitious group of farmers could soon be adding another 5.5 acres to that total, as well as a few local jobs.
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2012/06/blueprint-profitable-urban-farm/2179/
Global Green USA projects that in that space a profitable farm could be built to support three full-time equivalent staff. Based on three different crop scenarios, the report suggests that revenues could top $160,000 and profits could be more than $10,000 per year. It's kind of like an abbreviated business plan for potential urban farmers in Youngstown, showing at least one way to turn this idea into actual jobs.
The organization has been working with Youngstown since 2009 to help develop a sustainable city plan and to turn the city into a model of recovery for other struggling Rust Belt cities.
The city has been losing population for the last 30 years, and its shrinkage has been compounded by a worsening economic situation. As jobs dried up and people left town, the city became home to large amounts of vacant property – 22,000 empty plots according to an official count. Like many other cities facing similar increases in vacant land, urban agriculture has been seen as an option for putting land back to use. It's also an official strategy. The city's 2010 plan emphasizes the importance of shrinking the city.
About 44 acres of formerly vacant land is now being farmed in Youngstown. Based on this report, an ambitious group of farmers could soon be adding another 5.5 acres to that total, as well as a few local jobs.
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2012/06/blueprint-profitable-urban-farm/2179/
Urban Agriculture June 2012 Feasibility Study for Youngstown,OH
A new report [PDF] from the environmental nonprofit Global Green USA argues that even a modest plot of land could potentially become a job creator and profit maker.
http://globalgreen.org/blogs/global/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Youngstown-Urban-Ag-Report-6.012-4.pdf
http://globalgreen.org/blogs/global/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Youngstown-Urban-Ag-Report-6.012-4.pdf
Mapping Urban Agriculture From the Sky
These types of backyard growers seldom figure into public discussion and policy debates about urban agriculture. We more often focus on community gardens. But these images suggest we might think instead about urban agriculture, food deserts and neighborhood sustainability with an eye toward a network of smaller growers rather than a few epicenters.
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2013/01/mapping-urban-agriculture-sky/4346/
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2013/01/mapping-urban-agriculture-sky/4346/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)