Author: UOG

“Urban farming in Minnesota reached a milestone this summer, when the state announced the first round of grants for agriculture education and development projects in cities.

It’s the first time the state has allocated money specifically for urban agriculture, and it took several tries to get the legislation passed. Michael Chaney, a long-time advocate from north Minneapolis who founded Project Sweetie Pie, a grant recipient, said he approached lawmakers with the idea about four years ago. At the time, he saw plenty of interest in urban agriculture — but not the kind of financial support that exists for rural farmers. “I was disenchanted and discouraged,” Chaney said.

Advocates said state investment is crucial because it lends credibility to what Chaney calls the “changing face of agriculture.” Such state funding, even a small amount, can usher in a shift toward seeing urban areas as potential farms and their residents as fellow food producers.

That shift can also bring education and economic opportunities that are often more associated with rural areas. “Agriculture has been deemed corporate ag with rural roots and conventional farming techniques,” Chaney said. “What we’re proposing with urban farming is a whole reconfiguring. … What’s the role of urban communities in growing food?””

READ THE FULL STORY: “MinnPost.com“

“INDIANAPOLIS — An urban farm opening in central Indiana will provide women coming out of the criminal justice system with a place to live and work so they can get their lives back on track.

While working at Bellfound Farm, the women will also receive mental health counseling, coaching and skill development training.

Alena Jones, co-founder and COO of Bellfound Farms, says they are getting started with a grant from the Women’s Fund of central Indiana.

“When we’re talking about how nine out of 10 women who have been incarcerated have experienced trauma, what we know about being in a green environment is that it calms your nervous system down and gives you a little bit more brain space to process what’s going on inside of you,” said Jones.”

READ THE FULL STORY AT: “TheIndyChannel.com”

“Atlanta’s urban agriculture movement is fortunate to have no shortage of charismatic and passionate people who can, and will, expound at length about their love of land and soil, fresh produce, food security and growing community.

When Carol Hunter is having a rough day at work, she thinks of the mothers and children who are nourished physically and mentally while learning how to grow food at an urban garden on Lawton Street in southwest Atlanta. That image and their smiles keep her going.

When Ras Kofi Kwayana touches the earth, as he teaches urban farming in the city, he feels the therapeutic effect of working in the soil and growing food – and he observes the transformation in his students. When Patience Allen-Glick has trouble going to sleep at night, she closes her eyes and mentally walks around the garden on land next to the Wheat Street Baptist Church in the Old Fourth Ward, where she worked years ago; she still remembers the smell of the flowers and herbs and the sense of community.”

READ THE FULL STORY AT: “AtlantaInTownPaper.com“

“It’s the type of experience expected at a top-rated restaurant: Diners gaze at produce growing in a hydroponic garden next to the kitchen. Behind plexiglass, herbs are carefully plucked in anticipation of being added to every plate.

This high-tech take on farm-to-table, however, is being built for the cafeteria of a New York City public school in Manhattan.

As part of a nonprofit program called Teens for Food Justice, a handful of schools in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Manhattan have turned spare classrooms, unused science labs, and, in one case, an empty closet into urban hydroponic farms, an experiment in self-sufficiency, science education, and food equity.

It’s not unheard of to find produce grown within the five boroughs: supermarket chains like Whole Foods and companies such as Gotham Greens have helped pioneer and popularize large-scale commercial farming in New York City.”

READ THE FULL STORY AT: “Curbed.com“

“WASHINGTON (Circa) — Neighbors in Stuart, Florida, are irritated with their fellow resident who has been doing yard work in the nude.

“I came out Sunday night to put the trash out, and I look over and he is bent over, winding up his hose, and I’m like that is my view of the neighborhood,” Melissa Ny, a neighbor, told WPBF-TV. “He works on his car, and he does it naked and everyone has called the police, he is just out there doing his yard work, whatever he needs to do outside, naked.”

Another neighbor believes the man should have some respect for children who live in the area.”

READ THE FULL STORY AT: “WearTV.com“

“The Farm-to-School program entered another phase this week with visits to the Urban Farm.

The program, a partnership between the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture and Columbia Public Schools, targets third- and fifth-graders at Alpha Hart Lewis, Battle, Benton STEM, Blue Ridge, Derby Ridge, New Haven, West Boulevard and Parkade elementary schools. They were chosen because of the high number of students receiving free and reduced-price meals. CCUA has received a $41,784 grant from the Boone County Children’s Services Fund, with a match of $31,700 from the school district. It’s a two-year grant.

Charity Keith has started as the Farm-to-School coordinator for the program and already has made initial visits to the schools.

“It’s a very busy schedule,” Keith said about the field trips to the farm.”

Read the FULL STORY at: “ColumbiaTribune.com“

“As the food movement gains strength and farm-to-fork practices become increasingly popular, many cities across the United States are investing in urban agriculture, both to attract tourists and to improve community health. For example, in Detroit, which The Washington Post has dubbed a “food mecca,” advocates are using urban farms and community gardens to help ease food insecurity. And, in Boston, legislation to make urban farming easier has contributed to the city’s reputation as a “haven for organic food” and helped make local produce more available to low-income residents.

Yet few places have been more vocal in their efforts to expand urban agriculture as Sacramento, California. In fact, if you Google “farm to fork,” the top result will take you to a website about Sacramento’s initiatives to support local food.

“Farm-to-Fork isn’t a passing fad or a marketing slogan in the Sacramento region—it’s the way we live,” the website explains, noting that the area’s ideal climate, ability to grow food year-round, and 1.5 million acres of active farmland make it an agricultural leader nationally and globally.”

Read the FULL STORY at: “CivilEats.com“

“Sitting on top of a small asphalt parking lot at 830 W. Central Ave., you can find 12 cedar wood raised garden boxes.

The boxes are surrounded by a wooden post-and-cinder block fence to separate it from the rest of the parking lot.

During the summer, you will see most garden staples that tend to do well in Montana, such as onions, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, beets, kale and others, growing vibrantly.

This is the Missoula Urban Indian Health Center (MUIHC) Community Garden.”

View the Original Story at: “MissoulaCurrent.com“

“Many city dwellers take nutrition matters into their own hands through Urban gardening. But is urban air good for our garden veggies? Of course, water, air and soil are key foundations of plant life. But what happens when metals in the form of gases and particulate matters are added ingredients? Ahkinyala Cobb-Abdullah, PhD would like to explore that topic with you over a sip of some sort at the next Science Pub RVA: Toxic Air in Urban Veggie Gardens. How is this subject studied and what does the research tell us? Learn about the interactions of urban air, plants, and the impact on the produce on our plates while hanging out with other curious minds on Monday, September 17th at The Hof.”

Get more information about this event at: “IdeaStations.org“

“RENO, Nev. — At Brenton Aikin and Kass Freitas’ home in Midtown Reno, neat rows of kale, salad greens, and baby root vegetables cover the entire front yard. Out back, a greenhouse covers a variety of cherry tomatoes climbing up trellises.

The couple’s crops are not just for personal consumption. It’s their first season producing as Ital Farms, a state-registered urban farm — and an example of what local food advocates hope will be a growing trend in Northern Nevada.

Aikin and Freitas are farming on less than a quarter acre of land, including another residential plot they lease a few minutes from their house. This first season, Aikin estimates they grew 500-600 pounds of salad greens and roughly 400 pounds each of carrots, turnips, and radishes.”

READ THE FULL STORY AT: “NNBusinessView.com“

“Farm to table” has become so ubiquitous that’s it’s boring. (Also, the term never really made sense to me—doesn’t all food start out on a farm and end up on a table, even if that farm is some massive corporate entity and the food is processed along the way?) Now any chef worth his or her salt is making the most of seasonal ingredients from local farmers, with minimal intervention to them.

It’s a great way to cook and to eat, and bravo to all the chefs who are cultivating relationships with nearby producers. It’s just no longer that exciting. What is exciting, though, is the growing trend of alfresco dinners in the gardens and vineyards that produced their ingredients. Call it “table to farm.”

READ THE FULL STORY AT: “Forbes.com”