Urban farming may seem like a quaint throwback to simpler times or a charming nod to pastoral life, as city-dwelling hipsters in soiled overalls and wide-brimmed hats claw at the succulent store-bought soil that nurtures the heirloom tomato plants in their backyard. But urban farming is more than just a saccharine hobby for city-dwellers looking to the days of yore for a “new” and “edgy” way of life. Urban farming, if embraced by the community at large, can be a tool for deep and meaningful social change.
It has been reported that 72% of consumers know nothing or very little about farming. This statistic is no wonder, considering approximately 80% of Americans live in urban areas. It is not a stretch, then, to suggest that most of us are out of touch with where our food comes from and how it is produced. I recently asked a first grade student at a large metropolitan elementary school how her chicken tenders and carrot sticks arrived on lunch plate, and her answer was, unironically, “Mrs. Wilson put them there.” Mrs. Wilson is one of five cafeteria workers at this child’s school. When I pressed her to think about the origin of her food beyond the walls of her school, she gave me a blank look then proceeded to look up the information on her tablet computer.
Eighty percent of adults I interviewed in the produce section of an urban grocery store had no idea that blueberries were not in season at that particular time of year, and the only reason they were able to find them in their supermarket was because the berries had been grown in Chile and shipped in to their city, some 5,000 miles away. Shipping in out-of-season produce from thousands of miles away is commonplace, but many consumers don’t think twice about it. In the age of computers and smart phones and instant access, we are more connected than ever, but we have lost connection with the thing that gives us life. The Earth. Introducing urban farming to communities allows consumers to connect with the earth and see firsthand where their food comes from and when it is in season.
Doing so makes consumers more conscious of the food they choose to eat. In communities that have urban farms, people who participate in community farms or have family members participating in community farms are 3.5% more likely than those who do not to incorporate fresh vegetables and fruits into their diet five times a day. This is a result of not only exposure to the process of cultivating food but the fact that urban farming produces tangible, healthy produce that participants are able to use. This is a tremendous advantage for people living in dense urban areas, particularly low income areas.
These communities typically lack the fresh, healthy options that are found in more rural or more affluent cities. In these “food deserts” such as Detroit, access to fresh, local produce is practically nil. Families on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have even less access to fresh food. 92% of SNAP retailers in Detroit are considered “fringe retailers,” meaning their main focus is not on selling healthy food. These types of retailers include gas stations, drug stores, dollar stores and the like. How might the lives of these families change if there were community farms in their neighborhoods? What a boon it would be for citizens to have easy access to, say, apples instead of candy bars for their midday snack.
But knowledge of food production and access to healthy, fresh produce are not where the society-changing benefits of urban farming end. The community building aspect of urban agriculture is incredible. As paradoxical as it seems, cities can make inhabitants feel separate and isolated. Just being in the vicinity of others does not mean that people are connected. We need a common ground to bring us together. Community farms provide a meeting place, a common interest, something people share with their neighbors. Not to mention the skills and job training opportunities that are supplied by urban agriculture. In 2010, community food projects funded by the USDA provided an estimated 2,300 jobs.
To make these changes permanent and far reaching, cities and citizens across America need to be more forthright in embracing and supporting urban farming. If communities and citizens work together, urban farming could be the solution to many of today’s urban problems.