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Huntington Native Brings Urban Farming to Long Island
Huntington Native Brings Urban Farming to Long Island
The farmer, who’s on a mission to grow the perfect head of lettuce, will be at the Huntington Indoor Winter Farmer’s Market this Sunday.
By Paige McAtee (Patch Staff) - January 20, 2017 6:59 pm ET
East Northport resident Jonathan Bernard is on a mission to bring urban farming to Long Island and start a real food revolution.
Bernard, 24, is a graduate from Half Hollow Hills West High School and Stony Brook University, where he earned his Bachelor’s in accounting.
The accountant-turned urban farmer, who has always loved to cook and grow vegetables, gave up crunching numbers to focus on urban farming with Square Roots. He officially started farming in October.
Bernard farms lettuce in a 40-foot-long container and grows about 1,000 heads of lettuce a week. His goal is to grow the perfect head of lettuce.
“I’m getting pretty close to it,” Bernard told Patch. “It’s kind of like a science to get these things right.”
Bringing Urban Farming to Long Island
Bernard told Patch he wants to bring his lettuce to Long Island to show everyone what real food tastes like.
Eating fresh produce is a different experience most people on Long Island don’t get to experience, he said. Fresh produce surprisingly tastes a lot different than the vegetables in grocery stores.
Bernard said he was shocked the first time he tasted fresh spinach.
The Huntington native already sells his lettuce to Lalo, a restaurant in New York City, but is looking to go directly to the consumer.
Bernard will be selling his lettuce Sunday at the Huntington Indoor Winter Farmer’s Market, located at 155 Lowndes Ave. in Huntington Station, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. This will be his first week attending.
His goal revenue for the year is $150,000. While accounting isn’t a necessary skill for farming, it does help when he focuses on the business side of things. “Business is definitely harder than I thought it was,” he added.
How to Grow the Perfect Head of Lettuce
“Just by changing the humidity you can make any vegetable crunchier or softer,” the urban farmer told Patch.
The space where Bernard grows his lettuce uses less resources and produces more crops than traditional farming. Vegetables are grown using LED lighting in a controlled climate with no GMO or pesticides used. About 80 percent less water is used in these spaces since the water is recycled.
Unlike produce in grocery stores, these crops are nutrient-dense, Bernard said.
Square Roots vegetables have a higher cost than typical produce, but Bernard says the advantage is you can harvest it and it lasts two to three weeks as opposed to produce in grocery stores that take a week to arrive and wilt three days after they're purchased.
About Square Roots
Bernard is one of 10 farmers chosen to kickstart the Square Roots movement, which is based in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.
Square Roots, which was founded by Kimbal Musk and Tobias Peggs, looks to bring fresh, good tasting and nutrient-dense food to consumers year-round.
The farmers/entrepreneurs are required to grow their crops and businesses and after a year, they're expected to go off on their own. Square Roots will choose another group once the original 10 leaves.
By then, Bernard will hopefully be selling perfect heads of lettuce directly to Long Island consumers.
FAO's Role In Urban Agriculture
The rapid growth of cities in the developing world is placing enormous demands on urban food supply systems
Urban Agriculture
The rapid growth of cities in the developing world is placing enormous demands on urban food supply systems.
Agriculture – including horticulture, livestock, fisheries, forestry, and fodder and milk production – is increasingly spreading to towns and cities. Urban agriculture provides fresh food, generates employment, recycles urban wastes, creates greenbelts, and strengthens cities’ resilience to climate change.
Report: Growing greener cities in Latin America and the Caribbean
Guidelines: Work on urban forestry
Paper: Aquaponics in Gaza
Presentation: Urban Agriculture and Food Security - Some Facts and Figures
FAO's Role In Urban Agriculture
Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) can be defined as the growing of plants and the raising of animals within and around cities.
Urban and peri-urban agriculture provides food products from different types of crops (grains, root crops, vegetables, mushrooms, fruits), animals (poultry, rabbits, goats, sheep, cattle, pigs, guinea pigs, fish, etc.) as well as non-food products (e.g. aromatic and medicinal herbs, ornamental plants, tree products).
UPA includes trees managed for producing fruit and fuelwood, as well as tree systems integrated and managed with crops (agroforestry) and small-scale aquaculture.
Food Security
UPA can make an important contribution to household food security, especially in times of crisis or food shortages.
Produce is either consumed by the producers, or sold in urban markets, such as the increasingly popular weekend farmers’ markets found in many cities.
Because locally produced food requires less transportation and refrigeration, it can supply nearby markets with fresher and more nutritious products at competitive prices.
Consumers - especially low-income residents - enjoy easier access to fresh produce, greater choice and better prices.
Urban Farming
Vegetables have a short production cycle; some can be harvested within 60 days of planting, so are well suited for urban farming.
Garden plots can be up to 15 times more productive than rural holdings. An area of just one square metre can provide 20 kg of food a year.
Urban vegetable growers spend less on transport, packaging and storage, and can sell directly through street food stands and market stalls. More income goes to them instead of middlemen.
Urban agriculture provides employment and incomes for poor women and other disadvantaged groups.
Horticulture can generate one job every 100 sq m garden in production, input supply, marketing and value-addition from producer to consumer.
However, in many countries, UPA goes unrecognized in agricultural policies and urban planning.
Growers often operate without permits. Since it is officially "invisible", the sector receives no public assistance or oversight in many cities.
Urban agriculture carries health and environmental risks – potential use of contaminated land and water smells and noise pollution, and inappropriate use of pesticides and of raw organic manure that can leak into water sources. These issues require proper attention.
FAO’s Role
FAO supports the transformation of UPA into a recognized urban land use and economic activity, integrated into national and local agricultural development strategies, food and nutrition programmes, and urban planning.
It helps national and regional governments and city administrations optimize their policies and support services for urban and peri-urban agriculture, and improve production, processing and marketing systems.
Its technical programmes support the work of many UPA partners in cities and urban areas.
It helps member countries to develop the sector via data collection on UPA’s contribution to food security.
A D.C. Urban Farm Takes On Urban Problems
A D.C. Urban Farm Takes On Urban Problems
Dreaming Out Loud's new farm hopes to provide jobs, business incubation, and more in a city ward that has often been overlooked
BY WHITNEY PIPKIN | Food Deserts, Food Justice, Urban Agriculture
01.19.17
Little more than grass used to grow on the two-acre plot behind a middle school in the District of Columbia where tomatoes, okra, and infrastructure for food entrepreneurs will begin cropping up this year.
In a ward of the city with just two grocery stores serving more than 70,000 residents, fresh produce is hard to come by. But the Kelly Miller Farm, which will be situated behind a middle school with the same name, aims to offer much more: youth programs, a community garden accessible to seniors, and a commercial kitchen from which area residents can launch food-based businesses.
“It’s like a food system in a box—in one space, in one community,” says Christopher Bradshaw, executive director of Dreaming Out Loud. The D.C. food justice nonprofit is partnering with the city and a half-dozen other organizations to run the farm in a way that generates revenue while also meeting the community’s unique needs. “I don’t know too many places combining those things,” Bradshaw says.
With $150,000 in seed money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—through programs promoting farmers’ markets and specialty crops—and a mix of other local grants, the founders plan to build infrastructure such as hoop houses, and a greenhouse while transforming a gutted shipping container into a commercial kitchen space. Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring and be completed by midsummer.
A USDA spokesman said the farm will serve as a model for organizations across the country that want to help consumers understand how their food is produced, especially in urban settings. But what sets the farm apart from a rooftop garden in the District’s restaurant row is that it’s catered to the people who live in this often-underserved part of the city, not just the ones who work or spend money there.
After graduating from the District’s historically Black Howard University, Bradshaw, 35, stumbled into urban agriculture while trying to teach in an after-school program at a public charter school that has since closed. The students would arrive each day with stomachs full of the Teddy Grahams and Kool-Aid the school provided as snacks only to bounce off the walls during his lessons on “character development.” Then, they’d crash.
Realizing he couldn’t teach the children without first addressing their most basic needs, Bradshaw’s nonprofit started a school garden and then a farmers’ market, so parents could buy better food, too. The latter often proved an exercise in staying power more than money-making and, eventually, Bradshaw decided to pursue broader, community-level programs.
Last year, when Bradshaw reached out looking for rentable, farmable land, the District happened to be looking for a partner to help create a model urban farm for the city. The two joined forces.
Bradshaw says he couldn’t have come as far as he has without the help of both city and federal partners who have prioritized food access over the past eight years. Having an outspoken advocate for this brand of work in the White House’s First Lady hasn’t hurt, either—though it’s left him leery about the prospects of a new administration this year.
Involving the Community
Bradshaw started the Kelly Miller Farm project, now months in the making, with a step he now knows is crucial to success: Asking people who live in the community what they want.
A short walk from two housing projects in a neighborhood whose population is 96 percent African American and 11 percent unemployed, the farm will serve many people who lack access to healthy food and rely on federal nutrition assistance programs like SNAP, or food stamps. It became clear to Bradshaw and other organizers in the community that residents wanted and needed food options beyond corner stores.
Josh Singer, a community garden specialist with the District’s Department of Parks and Recreation, says the city model needs to go further than growing a lot of food on a little land to address urban problems like affordable food and housing. If such projects ignore the context in which they’re growing food and the groups that are already at work in those communities, they may do more harm than good, he worries.
“A lot of times, organizations will use these poor communities and their statistics to get grants to do work that the community never wanted in the first place,” Singer says. With the Dreaming Out Loud project, however, “we have a whole coalition focused on making this space serve the local community.”
Given the area’s specific challenges, growing microgreens to sell at high-dollar to the city’s hottest restaurants—as some urban farms do to make money on expensive land—would not be appropriate, Singer says.
From the beginning, the organizers of this farm wanted to do more than show residents how food is grown; they wanted them to be able to do the work themselves. That’s why the space incorporates a kitchen and incubator where entrepreneurs can work on their recipes and business plans alongside a compost space where locals can get dirt under their nails. Bradshaw said the farm is fundraising to hire a manager and assistants from within the community but that volunteer work is welcome, too.
Partner nonprofits will use the space to teach children from the middle school about food production or to host therapeutic gardening sessions for seniors recovering from addiction. The produce will be sold at a nearby farmers’ market Dreaming Out Loud runs in the ward and possibly through a subscription program. (Bradshaw would like parents to be able to pick up a weekly produce box with their kids from the school.)
Initially, some residents were concerned about the project’s impact on their own properties; construction to rebuild the middle school a few years ago involved work with a wrecking ball that some say damaged the foundations of their homes and left them suspicious of new projects. But, after a few meetings during the project’s early stages, many of them began suggesting ideas for the space.
Boe Luther, 52, has lived in the ward’s Clay Terrace neighborhood his entire life and says the farm project couldn’t come at a better time. As the owner of two ice cream trucks and a regular at the neighborhood’s existing community garden, Luther is eager for others to have the chance to become food entrepreneurs. They could use the project’s kitchen space to make salad dressings or salsas, he says, or grow cut flowers to sell at the market.
“We’ll have to do the research and see what people want,” Luther says. “But a lot of citizens of Ward 7 are happy about it.”
Walking the Talk
Beyond the neighborhood, organizations that work to improve access to nutritious food in the city’s poorest areas are rooting for the farm’s success. The city’s newly minted food policy council, of which Bradshaw is a member, sees the farm as a stage for many of the policies they’ve espoused on paper, including growing both farms and food access in the city’s poorest enclaves.
“The Kelly Miller Farm is embodying those values,” says Laine Cidlowski, the District’s food policy director.
After seeing firsthand the big impact of a small garden, Luther thinks a vibrant farm has the potential to bring much more than food to the neighborhood: “Jobs, training, careers, opportunities, peace of mind, serenity—it brings all of that,” he says.
Open Letter from Paul Hardej
Open Letter from Paul Hardej
A Note Regarding the Closure of FarmedHere
Paul Hardej, a Co-Founder of FarmedHere, has been a supportive member of the AVF through his involvement with two of our highly active members: Illumitex and Indoor Harvest. His previous venture, FarmedHere, just announced the closure of FarmedHere's 90,000 sq foot Bedford Park facility.
While this may appear to be a setback for the industry, we at AVF feel that vertical farming is stronger than ever. Our detractors will point to negative developments like this one as a weakness of our entire practice. Yet we all know that the industry is full of successful vertical farming businesses. We are glad to share this Open Letter from Paul Hardej on this subject.
What follows is a note from Paul Hardej:
Austin, TX
1/17/2017
Open Letter
Dear Vertical Farming Colleagues:
It’s not unusual that the first movers and shakers in a new industry come across unexpected challenges. As we all recently learned, FarmedHere is closing its vertical farming operations in Chicago. I had the honor of co-founding FarmedHere in 2009, when it was unheard of for commercial farming to be located in city centers. When we started FarmedHere there were no regulations, financing, qualified labor force, nor proven business model for vertical farming. All we had was the promise of technology for growing plants under artificial light. By 2010 we had our first city farm up and running as an ultra-local grow operation, harvesting greens one day before store delivery and farm-to-store direct distribution. It was truly a disruptive model to the traditional food distribution and farming industry.
Despite these challenges, we forged ahead and made great progress. For example, we went through many months of public hearings and complex legal processes to obtain government approval on the city, county, state, and federal levels. In addition, we obtained the first vertical farm USDA organic certification. Ultimately, we scaled our sales of several lines of leafy greens to about 100 grocery stores in the Chicago metropolitan market. In early 2015 due to a misalignment with some of the new FarmedHere investors on the future of FarmedHere, I moved to other ventures but remained optimistic for continued FarmedHere success.
Since vertical farming is a rather unique blend between highly efficient manufacturing and technological farming, its success depends on the following: strong and smart capital, innovative sales and marketing, and a solid management team, working creatively with stakeholders from the local government, growers, technology providers, and customers. While the vertical hydroponic grow technology was proven to work at scale, FarmedHere missed on the business-side, with some of the other necessary ingredients to expand on its initial success.
In 2017 there are many examples of profitable vertical farms across the country and abroad. As demand for local and organic food grows, so will the industry. There are numerous reasons vertical farming is in demand – food safety and transparency, consistency, availability, high quality, nutritional value, not to mention a push towards sustainability. But it’s going to take all of us working together and exchanging ideas and sharing experiences. Like the industry, I’m evolving to keep up with innovation and technology. I am very positive about the future and looking forward to working with all of you.
I would like to thank all the creative builders, architects, growers, angel investors and organic grocery stores who made it possible for FarmedHere to impact the food system with a positive and permanent change. Let’s all remember FarmedHere for what it achieved and how it paved the way for many successful vertical farms all around the World.
Keep on growing,
Paul Hardej
As: Co-Founder of FarmedHere, LLC
Urban Agriculture
Urban Agriculture
Urban agriculture is reshaping our cities, and urban farmers and gardeners are creating new opportunities for increasing the economic, social, and environmental effects of growing food in and around cities. There are many benefits to growing food in urban areas, and these benefits are being realized by communities, policy makers, and food-system entrepreneurs. As a result, access to land, capital, and markets is creating the necessary environment for farmers to manage a profitable urban farm. This section provides information and resources specific to urban agriculture. It includes information on community gardens, as well as information for helping urban farmers manage risks associated with farming urban soils.
Farmer Tip: Start Small and Take More Risks
Farmer Tip: Start Small and Take More Risks
by Amy Storey | Jan 19, 2017 | Business Mgt & Operations
Considerations of Starting Small
Whether you’re bootstrapping, testing out the feasibility of a farm, or limited to a certain space, there are several good reasons to start small. Farms that start small and scale up take a different approach to the startup process than farms that start big. Kieran Foran knows that well.
Kieran Foran co-founded Fresh Farm Aquaponics with Spencer Curry several years ago. The two use aquaponics to teach schools and non-governmental organizations how to grow their own food. Kieran has a unique look into managing a small startup business and joined us a few weeks ago to discuss that.
Looking back on the founding and growth of Fresh Farm Aquaponics, Kieran has two pieces of advice for small farmers.
1. Don’t be afraid to take risks.
While risks are usually seen as a bad thing for businesses, Kieran thinks that he could have spared more of them in the early days of the business.
“I would tell myself – if I was starting over – to take more risks.”
The reason? Every farm has a learning phase, and a small farm is a perfect place to learn. Many of a new farmers lessons come from trial and error. Kieran says that failures make up for the bulk of Fresh Farm Aquaponics’ learning curve.
The advantage of the small farmer is that they have a bit more freedom to experience those mistakes; the costs are limited to the size of the farm. The smaller the farm, the easier it is to come back. Which brings us to Kieran’s second piece of advice:
2. Start small and work towards your goal.
If you know what your goal is, it doesn’t matter where you start. Starting small can even have benefits. Kieran advises starting small to new farmers.
“Know what you want your end goal to be and then what’s the minimum to reach that goal,” advises Kieran.
Kieran and Spencer, for example, wanted to be a full-fledged commercial farm. They knew they couldn’t start at their goal size, so they started as a backyard farm, and used the profits to scale up.
How to start small
This scaling approach is common among small farmers, many of whom start with limited financing. We advise a 50/50 capitalization strategy (50% down payment on a loan to avoid exorbitant monthly payments down the road). This means that if you only have $10,000 to fund your farm, you’re limited to $20,000 in start-up costs.
Interested in learning more about starting and funding a small farm?
Just because you’re starting small doesn’t mean you aren’t a business. You still have to do feasibility studies, business planning, and financial planning for your business. Research your markets and choose sales models. These may determine your ability to scale up in the future!
The Food Tank Summit in Washington, D.C.
We are just two weeks away from our Third Annual Washington, D.C., Food Tank Summit, held on February 2 in partnership with The George Washington University and the World Resources Institute
The Food Tank Summit in Washington, D.C.
We are just two weeks away from our Third Annual Washington, D.C., Food Tank Summit, held on February 2 in partnership with The George Washington University and the World Resources Institute.
Check out our lineup of 35+ speakers, including celebrity chef Jose Andres, actress and advocate Fran Drescher, and organic farmer and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree. All panel discussions are being moderated by journalists who are part of major media outlets including Politico, the Washington Post, National Public Radio, VOX, and more.
If you buy your Washington, D.C., ticket in the next 48 hours, get $100 off by using promotion code: 100OFF.
Click here to purchase tickets to the D.C. Food Tank Summit.
Also, join us in Boston on April 1 for our Food Tank Summit in partnership with the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. The event will include more than 30 speakers including entrepreneur Kimbal Musk and the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy Dean Dariush Mozaffarian.
For a limited time, you can get $100 off your ticket by using promotion code: 100OFF.
Click here to purchase a ticket to the Boston Food Tank Summit.
Stay tuned for additional Summits this year in New York City, California, Sao Paulo, and more!
Please forward this email to anyone you know who might be interested in participating. All our events are also free to attend via live stream at FoodTank.com. Interact on social media using the hashtag #FoodTank.
Thank you so much to our sponsors and in-kind donors for making the Summits possible this year, including The Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition, Blue Apron, Elevation Burger, Organic Valley, Panera Bread, Sweetgreen, and VegFund. If you are interested in sponsoring or partnering on these Summits, please email: bernard@foodtank.com.
We're looking forward to seeing you soon!
All the best,
Danielle Nierenberg
President, Food Tank (www.FoodTank.com)
2017 Food Tank Summit: Washington, D.C.
Let's Build Better Food Policy
2 FEB
9:00 am - 5:00 pm EST
Jack Morton Auditorium
805 21st Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20052
Follow Us • Join the Discussion #FoodTank
Vertical Farms: How To Feed Our Rapidly Growing Cities
Vertical Farms: How To Feed Our Rapidly Growing Cities
By Judith Dubin and Leeron Hoory
Jan 17, 2017 at 4:15 PM ET
“As long as there’s been life on earth, there have been parasites,” says Dickson Despommier, emeritus professor of Public Health and microbiology at Columbia University. And, he says, a lot of us live in one: Cities — which feed off the earth’s resources without replenishing them — basically function as giant parasites. “They take advantage of what’s there and use it for their purposes,” Despommier says.
And they’re growing rapidly. By 2050, nearly 80 percent of the world’s population will be living in cities, and we’ll need a sustainable way to grow enough food to feed everyone. To that end, Despommier proposes vertical farms. Basically greenhouses stacked on top of each other, vertical farming produces food more efficiently to “ease the parasitism of cities on food production.”
These farms in buildings already exist in the real world. Japan, South Korea, Singapore, China and Taiwan, have hundreds of vertical farms, as do several U.S states, including New Jersey and Illinois. And that’s a good thing, since already fully one-seventh of the earth’s land mass (or the entire continent of South America) is devoted to producing food for the 7.3 billion people who live here.
If we don’t keep working to implement sustainable ways to feed our cities, Despommier says, “The parasite will exceed its capacity and collapse under its own weight.”
It’s Time We Get Serious About Organic Farming
It’s Time We Get Serious About Organic Farming
Conventional farming and food production practices in this country are creating serious environmental and public health problems. Every day, an industrial farming system spinning out of control confronts all Americans with serious challenges. Among these are the explosion in toxic algae blooms in sensitive waterways, cancer-causing pesticides on foods we feed our children, the rapid spread of antibiotic-resistant superbugs, and, of course, contaminated drinking water, all courtesy of corporate agribusiness.
Thankfully, we have an alternative: organic.
Study after study shows organic food is better for our health, and organic farming is better for our environment.
Organic milk has higher concentrations of beneficial nutrients than its conventional counterpart, and organic foods can have higher levels of antioxidants and far fewer, if any, pesticide residues than conventionally grown crops. In addition to the notable consumer benefits, organic farming consumes far less energy and can reduce water pollution, increase biodiversity, promote healthy soils and sequester significantly more carbon than conventional farming.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has been advocating for organic food and farming for more than two decades, with much of our research documenting how the practices and finished products of both conventional and organic agriculture influence our health and the environment.
In that time, I have worked alongside many pioneers and have seen organic farming grow from a fledgling movement available to few, into a nearly $40 billion a year industry. Organic is now the fastest growing segment of the U.S. food industry with some of the country’s largest retailers struggling to keep up with customer demand and keep their store shelves stocked.
Despite years of double-digit growth, far outstripping that seen in the conventional food sector, the number of certified organic farms in the U.S. is struggling to keep pace with soaring consumer demand. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 2012, fewer than 1 percent of American farms were classified as organic. This has forced many organic food companies in the U.S. to turn to foreign suppliers to meet customer demand.
There is no reason why we cannot be meeting the surging demand for organic foods here at home, growing and producing it ourselves. However, if we are going to grow more organic food in this country we will need more organic farmers. That means recruiting new farmers, and helping existing farmers transition to organic.
Easier Said Than Done
We will need to provide farmers with technical assistance to help them transition to organic. We will also need to invest in more science and research to ensure that organic and transitioning farmers are armed with high yielding, regionally adapted seeds, designed with organic systems in mind.
Now, you don’t have to be a D.C. lobbyist or congressional staffer to know that the purse strings on Capitol Hill have been pulled tight in recent years, and funds supporting agriculture are tethered closely to the interests of Big Ag, not organic. While EWG will continue to call on Congress to make serious investments in organic in the next farm bill, there is a lot that can be accomplished in the interim if the organic community pools its resources, and approves an organic research and promotions program.
That is why EWG supports the organic check-off program.
The principle of a check-off program is simple: Producers of a particular commodity pool their resources, and collectively invest in research and promotion of that commodity. These programs are authorized by Congress and directed by industry-driven boards overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. While this sounds simple, it hasn’t always worked out in the best interest of producers.
EWG is fully aware that farmers have been burned by past check-off programs, and we are glad that so many in the organic community have been part of productive discussions about the organic check-off currently under consideration. After all of those discussions one thing is clear: The organic check-off is not your father’s check-off.
It is the first such program that is not based on a specific commodity, but rather on the notion that if everyone pitches in a little, the organic community can address its shared research, education and promotion needs together.
With the funds raised every year from the check-off, the organic community would be able to provide transitioning farmers with greater technical assistance and training to bring more acres into organic production. It would also be able to fill in the research gaps left every year by limited federal research dollars that all too often skew toward outdated and damaging industrial farming practices. And, the check-off will ensure that the organic sector has an opportunity to educate consumers about organic and promote its benefits in the same way that major commodities like milk and pork were able to do with the “Got Milk?” and “Pork. The Other White Meat” campaigns, respectively.
To be clear, both Congress and organic food companies will also have to do their parts to increase funding for research and promotion of organic in the years to come. But that shouldn’t stop the organic community from supporting the organic check-off program and taking organic to the next level.
After all, EWG not only believes that organic farming can help feed the world, we believe that organic systems and practices may be the only way to do so sustainably. However, the footprint of organic on the agricultural landscape and in Americans’ shopping carts must grow significantly if we are to realize organic’s full potential to feed the planet in ways that enhance the environment and public health.
I hope you will join me in supporting the GRO Organic campaign to make this a reality.
Urban Farming Poised to Revolutionize Agri-Food Production, says Professor Dickson Despommier and Leaders in This Market Sector
David Stradling
Urban Farming Poised to Revolutionize Agri-Food Production, says Professor Dickson Despommier and Leaders in This Market Sector
David Stradling, Sales Director, Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture, receives inspiration from a banana boat while getting to grips with the urban and vertical farming movement.
The sands that surround the shores of Koh Tao in Northern Thailand are the colour of golden demerara sugar, the surrounding sea is crystal clear, and the wildlife in the sea and on the land seems as plentiful as it is exotic.
But as I snorkel off the southern tip of this divers’ paradise, something is clearly amiss. The corals are often sun bleached, the diversity of fish has been shown to be in decline, and on the island itself, natural fresh water supplies have fallen to an all-time low.
This little corner of heaven has environmental problems that are as pressing to the local ecosystem, and to its three thousand local inhabitants who depend on tourism for their livelihood, as they are to the rest of the planet.
There is no escaping the blight caused by climate change. At 10.0955 degrees west and 99.84042 east, the challenges faced by this tropical paradise are ongoing. Failure to meet them will potentially have as serious an impact on the local environment and its population, as it’ has had on those who made a living from agriculture in what was one of the most fertile regions of the United States - and is now the American dust bowl.
On holiday in Koh Tao recently, I was working out the approach to take in an article exploring urban agriculture and, as a technology sub-set within that, the future of vertical farming. Then inspiration struck in the shape of a banana boat! I’d been chilling out on a mix of vitamin D-inducing sunshine and coconut and banana smoothies when to my dismay, the island’s stock of the fruit dried up. Suddenly, there was a tap on my shoulder, ‘’Bananas here now, the boat has arrived,’’ declared our friendly beach bar waitress.
I was delighted, but at the same time I pondered the fact the fruit was being shipped in, as I would guess was most of the island’s food. Therein lies one part of the challenge. Not only can agri-food production be a drain on the land and its resources, but shipping it from one destination to another is a contributory factor in climate change.
Enter the age of vertical farming! It’s this that some believe could be the key to many of the problems that come with industrial scale agriculture, and the use of farming methods which fail to show consideration for the environment.
Last week I talked at length with Dickson Despommier, Professor of Microbiology and Public Health at Columbia University, New York City, USA, and author of The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century. Professor Despommier is widely considered a founder of the vertical farming movement, and is a long-term advocate of urban farming as a potential counterbalance to the negative impact of large scale traditional agri-production. We spoke about the future and he provided me with some useful insights into the positive returns, he, and increasing numbers of experts, foresee will be a direct result of continuing innovation and advancement in vertical food production technology.
Vertical farming; the dawn of a new age
WHILE THE MEDIA'S focus throughout the 1990s and the beginning of this century has been mainly on the role that heavy industry and fossil fuels have played in eroding the ozone layer, the role of agriculture in resource depletion and climate change, has gone relatively unnoticed. Traditional agricultural practices continue to take a major toll on planetary resources and are a key offender in climate change. Transporting produce from one place to another involves the emission of gases that damage the outer atmosphere, while over-farming has a disastrous impact on the soil and acts as the biggest drain on water reserves.
Professor Despommier believes that agri-crop growing in the traditional sense is often inefficient, citing the United States where the biggest crop is wheat, followed by corn and soya beans, as an example. He points out that soya beans are often grown as a means of putting nutrition back into the soil, a practice that is extremely inefficient, and is enthusiastic about the use of climate-smart agriculture in outdoor farming. However, all plant life requires water and if that is not available then the only option is to take growing indoors – and to do this locally where the crops which are grown are consumed, so reducing pollution caused by transportation. The Professor has a stark warning for us if we fail to take action. ‘California is in its sixth year of drought,’ he says. ‘Food prices are going crazy and it’s going to get worse.’ In his view, controlled environment agriculture (CEA) is the solution – and vertical farming is the method which could save our environment from disaster.
An efficient greenhouse hydroponics system uses five percent of the water required in the outdoors and can deliver multiple times the yield of farming outdoors. According to Professor Despommier, a vertical farm can deliver the same yield again, using a fraction of the water the greenhouse system requires. So if vertical farming, with all its obvious advantages, has such a role to play, where does that leave the land farmer? ‘’I have a great answer but it isn’t the one that many people want to hear,’’ he says. ‘’Dirt farmers and the big industrial scale producers are struggling to make a living and this will only get harder, given the climate change issues they face.’’ He believes the time is ripe for change in agricultural crop production on an unprecedented scale. The vertical farming industry is moving at an extraordinary pace and he estimates there are currently about 500 successful vertical farms operating globally. In the next few years the number will grow so fast he will lose count. Technology and innovation in this sector is thriving and there is no stopping the movement toward growing crops in the city – in our homes, at our place of work and within the vertical farms that are emerging as commercial enterprises.
It is an exciting prospect but the advantages of vertical and urban farming do not end here. There are huge social-economic-implications too. He refers to projects like the AeroFarms facility in Newark, New Jersey, USA - a project that is delivering prosperity to a part of the city that was formerly in decay, and which will revolutionise and revitalise that whole area.
AeroFarms hopes to develop 25 more farms in the USA and overseas in the next five years. The company says the new trend amongst consumers is for locally grown produce and it has no problem in meeting demand. It can grow plants within twelve to sixteen days, compared with thirty to forty-five days outdoors. A year round controlled environment ‘grow cycle’ allows it to operate at 75 times the production capacity of an outdoor farm.
Other farms that Professor Despommier is optimistic about, include a flag ship, model three- storey farm in Suwon, South Korea, the leading position taken by Sky Greens in Singapore, and a twelve-storey farm in Moscow – all excellent examples of where the sector is heading. He also cites the case of Pasona Group in Tokyo, Japan, which allocated 43,000 sq feet of office space for crop production that is used to feed employees, although this is more of an example of good urban agriculture production. As well as rice, the Pasona building features over 200 varieties of fruit and vegetables.
Another crucial factor in the advancement of urban agriculture and vertical farming is a preference for urban rather than rural dwelling. At present, the split is about 50/50 country to city dwelling, but by 2050 he believes this will change to 80/20 in favour of the city. ‘’All we need to see now is a shift in the mind-set of people who make policy within our cities. Once they understand the importance and benefits of this movement in urban agriculture then there will be no stopping its growth, nor that of vertical farming as a critical part of that.”
In a global context, the Professor believes that, together with the US, it is Japan and countries in the Far East that are driving the movement in take-up of new technologies and ideas. Factors which have influenced change in these regions have included incidents like the Kobe earthquake and the tsunami that hit Japan in 2011. For South East Asia, it has been the intensity of monsoons and the impact of adverse weather on farming that have forced city policy-makers to realise the importance of growing food in their own back yard. “This is a major food security issue,” he says. “When the logistical infrastructure for the delivery of produce is no longer there, or when crops are washed away, then you have a big problem.’’
A small leap for the imagination; a major step for mankind…
In fact, it does not take a major leap of the imagination to see how quickly vertical farming could develop as the dominant force in urban growing, provided innovators can deliver affordable technology solutions. According to the Food & Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, about 30% of global food supply comes from urban farms. ‘’Most urban farms are small scale and on home plots or in the urban areas of cities,’’ explains Mr Henry Gordon-Smith, Vice Chair of the Association for Vertical Farming (AVF). AVF was set up to foster the growth and development of the movement and to galvanise the efforts of contributing innovators and leaders through collaboration and knowledge-sharing. He says vertical farms will allow urban agriculture to progress further, so cities are more independent than ever in their own food production. Vertical farms can be integrated with existing food systems and set up anywhere, including schools, institutions and government cafeterias. They can also be merged with food distribution hubs, making them more resilient.
Mr Gordon-Smith sees innovation as key to sector development and feels it is moving forward quickly. LED lighting technology and automation and sensor technology are helping to reduce operation costs. LEDS lower the energy consumption, and automation decreases labour costs. He believes that among the companies that stand out for their leadership in these areas are SPREAD Co of Japan and Urban Crops from Belgium. AVF expects there to be a vertical farm in almost every city within a decade.
Neither Professor Despommier nor Mr Gordon-Smith see any drawbacks to vertical farming if costs associated with operating grow-light can be overcome. Both are convinced the potential advantages are huge, and that with the advance of technology and greater political drive from city policy makers, we can look forward to seismic change. ‘’Vertical farms can be pest-free using strict food safety and bio-security protocols and strategic ventilation,’’ Mr Gordon-Smith explained. He concedes there are challenges ahead, but innovation in technological advancement and bypassing some areas (like lighting and robotics) will pave the way. Vertical farming will become more mainstream as we move to a stage ‘’’where water is no longer considered a ‘free’ resource and when climate change hardens its grip, and when costs for LEDs and robotics drop. ‘’
Among the other challenges he cites are zoning and code interpretation, which is delaying the development of vertical farms in many cities. They are also being hampered by a shortage in skilled labour to operate these facilities. Asked about his vision for urban and vertical farming in the next 10 – 15 years, Mr Gordon-Smith predicts:
- High-tech agriculture will become a central education tool in science, engineering, maths and technology.
- Kitchens will be designed with vertical farming systems embedded as appliances.
- City edges and waterways will become agricultural hubs.
- Restaurants, markets, hotels and office buildings will embed agriculture and it will be a part of a unique experience for tenants and the public .
- Large scale warehouse vertical farms like AeroFarms’ model will be common place on the outskirts of large cities.
Where new ideas are matched by contagious enthusiasm…
Other innovators who are embracing vertical and urban farming enthusiastically are equally ambitious, but their vision of how far the change will go and its relationship to traditional methods varies considerably. Marco Tidona, Managing Director of aponix.eu, based in Heidelberg, Germany (exhibiting in the Vertical Farm Zone at GFIA Europe 2017 in the Netherlands), says, ‘’Urban farming will not replace but will complement, the conventional methods of growing our food which will need to become more sustainable.’’ He believes urban production would become an element within a circular economy in the urban area. It would reduce waste and traffic for distribution and have positive social and nutritional effects. Like Professor Despommier and Mr Gordon-Smith, Mr Tidona believes this will have a positive effect on the fallout from transporting and shipping produce. Food miles would be reduced and commuters collect produce as they pass distribution hubs – perhaps set up inside train stations - so distribution in urban areas would become a part of day-to-day movement in the city ecosystem.
Mr Tidona is the designer and engineer behind Aponix Barrel, a unique system for use in vertical agriculture, which epitomises the kind of exciting innovative concepts that surround this emerging sector of agricultural technology. He explains that the barrel is used as a growing device in an existing nutrient cycle, either hydroponic, using liquid mineral fertilizer, or aquaponics, using fish organic fertilizer.
The aponix barrels are especially suited to growing herbs and lettuces in high density urban farming situations. The parts fit together like a Lego set and provide a means to assemble the barrel and do away with the need for complicated rack-structures. After harvesting, the ring segments can be easily cleaned and immediately replanted. Reflecting on the role of innovators like himself, Mr Tidona points to the nature of urban organic agriculture, an heterogeneous area of business with the challenges faced differing between sites. ‘’All the technologies are already here or developing rapidly, like LED lighting. Many innovators are coming to the market and they are a critical part of how the sector will develop.’’
As well as technological advancement and the political will to implement urban agriculture, he believes there are many areas that will need to change so that produce can find a place in the market. In Germany, there are labels such as ‘Öko’ and ‘Bio’, which cannot be used on labelling because they do not apply to crops grown in soilless environments. He suggests an internationally recognised coding system could be set up to help consumers evaluate the produce and compare it with that grown using more traditional means.
Another impressive example of creative thinking in urban agriculture comes from a Vancouver-based start-up company, AVA technologies. AVA has created a tech-enabled and climate-controlled micro farm called the AVA Smart Garden, a smart home gardening appliance that allows the user to produce fresh herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, fruits and vegetables from the comfort of their own home. It isn’t large scale like a vertical farm, but it is sustainable and reduces our personal ‘food print.’ The company has received a very positive response to the product and will be exhibiting in the Telus World of Science in Vancouver in March 2017.
Mr Mike Nasseri, Chief Systems Architect at AVA, says the distances which are travelled by crop vegetables are detrimental to the environment and to the nutritional value of the produce. ‘’By the time most leafy salad arrives with the consumer in Vancouver, it has travelled over 1500 kilometres. The plant enzyme content and nutritional value will have been devalued in that process.’’ With the coming (post-COP21) introduction of pricing for carbon emissions, the cost effectiveness of supply chains will be diminished. He points out that the new market conditions will place heavier demands on local production. This will have the dual effect of lower emissions and higher nutrient content when the product reaches the consumer.
One of the main purposes of the grow-box is to get people thinking about their own food security and to consider the environment, says Ms Valerie Song, joint founder and CEO at AVA. With the world population growing, Ms Song believes there are only a limited number of practical solutions that can address the food security challenge quickly. She says, ‘’There are two options which can be combined and implemented relatively fast and effectively – smart, vertical agriculture.”’ Her next comment harks back to Professor Despommier’s reference to the Pasona Group headquarters in Tokyo: ‘’What if your workplace cafeteria had a mini-farm full of luscious salad greens instead of a soda machine? What if your local restaurant had walls adorned with fresh heirloom tomatoes, instead of dull white paint?’’
Project4 Living Systems Ltd is another company out of Vancouver. Set up in 2013, the company uses permaculture principles and explores ways of enabling food, water and power independence. Mr Ben Newman, CTO at Project4 Living Systems Ltd, agrees with observations made by the other industry leaders, that limitations to development of urban agriculture and vertical farming are top-down. ‘’As we found in Canada, vertical farms are limited by a lack of general awareness and there is little information available due to the cutting-edge nature of technology and the ecosystems approach that we are used to, rather than the reductionism that science is able to offer. City officials often do not understand the concept. Lack of appropriate zoning and outdated regulations strangle projects attempting to create integrated vertical farms.”
Having had its first farming project rejected by the City of Vancouver in 2014, the company is currently awaiting a building permit for the city’s first ‘Food Hub’, comprising kitchen and dining area and a laboratory and innovation space. Mr Newman explains that, ‘’The purpose of the Food Hub is to draw attention to, and create a community of, food forward-thinkers, technologists and innovators to support the local food movements and enhance the possibilities of vertical urban farming in Vancouver and elsewhere.” His company is firmly behind vertical farming and he believes the changing political environment will be a driver in its development.
Evergreen Farm Oy of Finland (exhibiting in the Vertical Farm Zone at GFIA Europe 2017 in the Netherlands) is preparing to launch a 12,000 sq metre growing area with a major vertical farm in the city of Nokia in the South of Finland in May 2017. The company’s managing director and system designer, Mr Ali Amirlatifi, claims the growing system for integration into the Nokia site is safer than other hydroponic and aeroponic farming systems. The reason for this is that it is a closed loop, with modules that are self-sustaining and separate from one another. This eliminates the chances of disease spreading across an entire crop. The Evergreen Farm Oy system was developed with support from the Finnish Ministry of Natural Resources and University of Contemporary Technology, with a pilot scheme operated ahead of the full scale roll out.
Mr Amirlatifi says the company plans ten farms in Finland and will issue licenses to growers elsewhere in the world, beginning in Africa and the Middle East. As far as crops are concerned, the company has had major success with strawberries, blueberries, short vegetables and herbs, which can be produced all year round. The system has proved highly efficient at yield-delivery and as an example of this, the company believes that ten farms specialising in strawberry growing, have potential to outstrip the production capacity of even major growing regions like Huelva in Spain. Mr Amirlatifi says the company has also developed downscaled systems for less ambitious businesses that can be used domestically in restaurants, and by small and medium sized growers.
Evergreen Farm Oy is in the process of developing systems that will be capable of growing many other crops, such as wheat, oats and rice. In a single year there would be up to four harvests with a much higher yield than could ever be achieved in soil-based production.
It seems that with vertical farming there are no limits to the ideas reaching the marketplace, nor to the reserves of energy possessed by those making its development a part of their own futures. Provided the sector takes off in the manner our experts predict, then it will offer an as yet unrealised and hugely exciting potential.
Article written by David Stradling, Sales Director, Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA). David has 18 years experience in business to business trade fairs and exhibitions. He played a key role over an 11 year period in the launch and subsequent development of Automotive Testing Expo, one of the world’s leading automotive engineering events. He joined Turret Media in 2013, to head GFIA in Abu Dhabi from its launch and subsequent business development, with responsibility for the exhibition and event sponsorship. He is focussed now also on the inaugural European Edition of GFIA, to run in Utrecht, the Netherlands, 9-10th May, 2017. In his early career he worked as a journalist for several newspapers, consumer and business to business magazines. A UK citizen, he has lived and worked in Hongkong, Singapore and Thailand and currently resides in Dubai, UAE.
David welcomes comments and feedback on his article on urban farming and vertical agriculture. Companies wishing to book stand space at either edition of GFIA can contact him through Linkedin, by email at d.stradling@turretme.com or by calling +971 56 320 9377. GFIA Europe features a Vertical farming Zone specifically designed for suppliers in this sector.
City Commission OKs Urban Agriculture Changes
Gardening on vacant property will be allowed in Battle Creek after city commissioners unanimously approved ordinance changes on Tuesday
City Commission OKs Urban Agriculture Changes
Jennifer Bowman , Battle Creek Enquirer
7:49 p.m. ET Jan. 17, 2017
Gardening on vacant property will be allowed in Battle Creek after city commissioners unanimously approved ordinance changes on Tuesday.
Commissioners cast their adoption vote during their regular meeting, allowing community gardens on vacant parcels that are at least 66 feet wide and that have at least 7,500 square feet. Rules for urban commercial farms also were set, permitting them where adjoining properties are at least two acres in size.
Commissioners support urban agriculture in first vote
A farm stand can operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily once the ordinance goes into effect in seven days.
Commissioners are expected later this year to take on whether to allow farm animals in the city's residential areas.
Commissioner Deb Owens was traveling Tuesday and did not attend the meeting.
Read more of the Enquirer's urban agriculture coverage
- Urban farm animals opposed by Battle Creek rescue group
- Sprout BC acquires it Kendall Street property
- See: Survey shows support for urban farm animals in city
- Farm animals in urban B.C.? The city's listening
- A peck of trouble? Backyard chicken dispute in Bedford
Contact Jennifer Bowman at 269-966-0589 or jbowman@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow her on Twitter: @jenn_bowman. Listen to the podcast she co-hosts, The Jump Page, at soundcloud.com/enquirerpodcasting.
FarmedHere, Indoor Farm In Bedford Park, Turning Off The Lights For Good
FarmedHere, Indoor Farm In Bedford Park, Turning Off The Lights For Good
Chicago Tribune
FarmedHere, a commercial-scale hydroponic farm in Bedford Park, had lofty goals of expanding to cities across the U.S. and beyond. The company was "on the precipice of international expansion," then-CEO Matt Matros said in July 2015.
Early last year, Matros announced a $23 million, 60,000-square-foot indoor farm that was to be the linchpin of a new development in a blighted area of Louisville, Ky.
But plans fell apart. Faced with onerous operational costs and increasing competition in the Chicago market, Nate Laurell, who took over as CEO last January, decided over the summer to pull the plug on the Louisville farm.
And as of Monday, FarmedHere, a pioneer of the new wave of commercial urban farms in the Chicago area, is closing its 90,000-square-foot Bedford Park facility for good.
"It was a difficult decision. This whole thing has been a hard decision to make. But we continue to be big believers in the (local food) space," Laurell said.
Though the farm is closing, it's not the end of the line. Here Holdings, parent company of FarmedHere, is shifting its focus and resources to making food products — such as juices, salad dressings and spreads — under the Here brand, which will be made at the company's food processing plant in Carol Stream. The goods will be made with produce from local farms, such as tomatoes from Rochelle-based MightyVine, in partnership with Local Foods, a Chicago produce distributor.
New CEO Matt Matros sees FarmedHere close to international expansion
Laurell and other investors believe the new direction will be success. But the rise and fall of FarmedHere, founded in 2011 and considered a national leader in indoor farming, provides a sobering example of how difficult the urban farming business can be.
Last year, FarmedHere arrived at a crossroads: Grow large enough to offset the considerable labor and energy costs — or instead focus the business on making branded products, Laurell said. Ultimately, the company decided return on investment looked significantly better by giving up the farm.
"The more I learned about the reality of farming, it led to a change of strategy," Laurell said.
Some of the 30 or so FarmedHere workers will find employment at the Carol Stream facility; others will be laid off, said Laurell, who said he couldn't provide exact numbers at this point.
FarmedHere's salad dressings, basil and microgreens are sold at stores throughout the Chicago area, including Whole Foods, Mariano's and Pete's Fresh Market. Here Holdings is in conversations with retailers now about selling the new Here-branded products that will be rolling out in the first and second quarters of the year, Laurell said.
"They really grew some fantastic products. They did a beautiful job," said Steven Jarzombek, vice president of produce for Mariano's, adding he expected Mariano's would continue to partner with Here Holdings going forward.
FarmedHere: Mark Thomann's drive to be 'a vehicle for greater good'
Despite the challenges, urban farming continues to grow. In recent years, competitors like Gotham Greens, BrightFarms and MightyVine have opened indoor farming facilities in the Chicago area — part of the "local food" movement that's enthralled consumers and chefs across the U.S.
Such companies also can provide a source of jobs and economic development, which was the hope for the planned West Louisville FoodPort. FarmedHere agreed to occupy more than half of the development, said Stephen Reily, the Louisville developer who formed the nonprofit Seed Capital Kentucky for the project.
The project, touted by the Louisville mayor and Kentucky governor, was approved for up to $400,000 in tax credits.
Once FarmedHere pulled out, Seed Capital couldn't find a feasible way to move forward with the project, Reily said. More generally, he said, the setback reflected the gap between the excitement surrounding indoor farming and the much harsher current reality for the still-budding industry.
"There are not a lot of success stories yet," Reily said.
Reached by phone, Matros mostly declined to comment, referring questions to Laurell. Founder of the Protein Bar fast casual chain, Matros has moved on and is preparing to launch a new coffee company called Limitless High Definition Coffee & Tea in Chicago's Fulton Market district.
Organic, local, sustainable. But can startups make sure food is safe?
"I don't know that it didn't work," said Matros, of FarmedHere. "We just changed entities. ... I know all this stuff is positive."
In July, FarmedHere merged with 87P, a food processing plant in Carol Stream that makes juices, to form Here Holdings, a Delaware entity, Laurell said.
Prior to the failed Louisville expansion, Mark Thomann led FarmedHere as CEO, from April 2014 to July 2015. Thomann, an entrepreneur known for restoring old brands through his River West Brands firm, said he was drawn to the mission of FarmedHere after being diagnosed with cancer.
"I got sick and really wanted to fix a broken food system," Thomann said.
The end of the farm is bittersweet for Thomann, who, like Matros, is an investor in Here Holdings. He believes it will be a greater success financially in its new iteration. But he also still feels personal ties to FarmedHere and believes in the future of indoor farming.
"There's a lot of good that FarmedHere did for indoor farming and hopefully lessons learned will prove beneficial for businesses that come after," Thomann said.
For Steve Rodriguez, the change in business model will mean a shift in his life direction. A graduate of the Chicago Botanic Garden's Windy City Harvest urban farming program, Rodriguez has worked for FarmedHere since 2012, working his way up from washer to crop manager.
Rodriguez described working at FarmedHere as an overwhelmingly positive experience and lamented parting ways with some of his co-workers.
"For us to get shut down like that, to me, it kind of broke my heart," Rodriguez said.
Next, the 29-year-old father of four young children will go to work at the Carol Stream facility — doing what exactly, he's not sure. But he's ready to work his way up again, if he has to. For the forseeable future, he's done with urban farming.
"I have to find another way. I'm not going to go through this again," Rodriguez said. "As much as I love farming, my family comes first."
Twitter @GregTrotterTrib
Green Sense Farms Builds Bridges By Exporting Know-How
Green Sense Farms Builds Bridges By Exporting Know-How
Tony V. Martin
A Portage company has brought new meaning to the phrase, east meets west, by exporting its indoor food-growing technology to China.
Green Sense Farms, of Portage, last year partnered with Star Global Holdings, of the People's Republic of China, to begin building a network of indoor vertical farms that use Phillips LED grow lights to grow produce.
The first farm was built in August in the city of Shenzhen in southern China's Guangdong Province and will serve the Shenzhen area.
Future plans call for building a network of some 20 farms in Bejing, Shanghai and Chengdu to provide fresh, chemical-free produce to major cities in China, said Green Sense Farms CEO Robert Colangelo.
"We're exporting our technology. Food is a bridge-builder. When feeding people, you rise above the political," Colangelo said.
Being able to grow food indoors is something that is new to China but very much needed, given that 80 percent of the aquifer in that country is affected by industrial output from factories.
"So even getting clean water is a challenge," Colangelo said.
By growing a variety of greens and herbs geared to the palate of the Chinese, Green Sense Farms can increase food security and help feed the Chinese people in an environmentally friendly way, Colangelo said.
"It's fun to be part of it. Rarely do you get to be part of something like this," Colangelo said.
Green start
Green Sense Farms started its first indoor growing operation in AmeriPlex at the Port business park in Portage in March 2014. Arugula, cilantro, kale, peas, lettuce and other crops are grown for markets within an average distance of 75 miles, guaranteeing freshness.
The 20,000-square-foot facility — hailed by Popular Science magazine as one of the year's 100 Greatest Inventions in 2014 — produces a large volume of crops year-round in a small footprint, a fraction of the size of a field farm and using much less land, water and fertilizer.
Most of its customers are restaurants, grocers and produce sellers, including Whole Foods, Strack & VanTil and Meijer.
Green Sense Farms is one of just a couple of commercial indoor vertical farms in the state, said Lyndsay Ploehn, a Purdue Extension educator for agriculture and natural resources based in Porter County.
"And Green Sense Farms is one of the first to take their technology to another country," Ploehn said. "They're not traditional farmers. They are kind of thinking out of the box."
Indoor vertical farms are a supplement to traditional outdoor farming, both Ploehn and Colangelo agree.
"It's not going to replace traditional farming. They're not taking away farmland, but are using abandoned buildings to grow food, and land is expensive to produce what they are producing," Ploehn said.
And there have been traditional greenhouse-type businesses in the past that have grown a variety of vegetables and other produce.
"It (vertical farming) isn't new. What's new is the scale they're doing it in," Ploehn said.
The first China farm is expected to produce 750,000 to 1 million heads of lettuce and about 1.5 million leafy greens per year. It's a production level slightly less than the Portage facility, but it's still the start of making a beneficial change in China's food production, Colangelo said.
First there's the population the farm can potentially serve.
Green Sense is starting out in an area of China that has about 50 million people in a 50-mile radius. And after the first farm, there are plans for many more in the area.
"The expansion possibilities are unlimited in China," Colangelo said.
And there's also the quality of product the farm will be growing. China's dense population and large industrial climate has taken away farmland and highly polluted the air, water and soil. By growing produce in vertical towers, Green Sense needs little space compared to a traditional farm, Colangelo said.
Expansion plans
Green Sense is expanding elsewhere, too. Green Sense is partnering with Ivy Tech Community College on a $3 million, 20,000-square-foot farm to be built at 250 E. Sample St. in South Bend.
"We like to be innovative and do things to improve the community and make it more sustainable," Colangelo said.
Green Sense will oversee the farm, but Ivy Tech students will work there in an earn-to-learn setup. Students also will earn credit toward related degrees from the college.
Colangelo's future goals include expanding operations in the United States, Scandinavia and Canada.
Another long-term goal is to spin off a biopharmaceutical business that grows plant proteins using non-GMO seeds that can be synthesized into vaccines and medicine.
Colangelo is a Chicago-area native who has authored books on the environment.
The idea for the indoor urban garden went through many iterations. Colangelo worked with Phillips as a technology partner on lighting and conducted research with Purdue University.
People have been experimenting with vertical farms since the 1980s, Colangelo said. In the case of Green Sense Farms, Colangelo and others integrated and modified an existing system and arrived at a successful product.
"It's ours," Colangelo said.
Colangelo received both his master’s and bachelor’s degrees in earth science from Northeastern Illinois University.
Colangelo spent much of his career in the environmental field, including working with the National Brownfield Association to come up with ideas to clean up the environment.
During his work and research in large cities such as Chicago and New York, the topics of producing food and vertical farming continued to surface.
"We came up with the methodology, and the rest is history," Colangelo said.
The Green Miracle of the Bronx to Deliver Aglanta’s Keynote
The Green Miracle of the Bronx to Deliver Aglanta’s Keynote
Hearing Stephen Ritz of Green Bronx Machine speak is a sensational experience. Stephen’s energetic style fully engages by binding the listener on a journey of wide ranging emotions. There will bemoments of intense sorrow and despair where the world seems hopelessly broken. Rest assured though, Stephen guides us to emerge from rock bottom with a powerful realization: a movement to grow away our problems is achievable and gaining more momentum every day.
Stephen Ritz is a South Bronx educator / administrator who believes that students shouldn’t have to leave their community to live, learn, and earn in a better one. Moving generations of students into spheres of personal and academic successes which they had never imagined — while reclaiming and rebuilding the Bronx — Stephen’s extended student and community family have grown more than 40,000 pounds of vegetables in the Bronx while generating extraordinary academic performance. Recently named a 2015 Top Ten Finalist for the $1m Global Teacher Prize, Stephen’s accolades include a 2016 Project Based Learning Champion Award, 2016 Health Champion Award, 2016 Dr. Oz Award, 2015 BAMMY Laureate – Elementary Educator of the Year Award, 2014 Greenius Award, 2014 Green Difference Award, 2013 Latin Trends Award, ABC Above and Beyond Award, Chevrolet / General Motors National Green Educator Award, USS Intrepid Hometown Hero Award, NYC Chancellor’s Award and various others.
Do all those awards get you excited to try Stephen’s flavorfully compelling speaking style? Taste it yourself straight from the source by listening to Stephen’s TED Talk, which has over one million views. During his talk, Stephen discusses how he began his journey as a teacher working at a school in a tough neighborhood. He knew nothing about growing produce, yet he was able to learn alongside his students and eventually shape his organization into an influential thought leader for youth food justice.
Did you just watch the TED talk? If so, we understand that your chest may be bumping like a dryer with shoes in it. By all means, take a deep breath and let that feeling sink in.
Now that we’re on the same page with what Stephen Ritz and Green Bronx Machine are capable of, we at Agritecture are thrilled to announce that Stephen will deliver the keynote at our upcoming Aglanta conference on Feb 19th. Although it feels like we’re stating the obvious at this point, we must say we are filled with honest-to-goodness jubilation about this development.
Our goals in organizing the Aglanta conference are further highlighted here, but in one sentence the target is: to connect the opportunities of urban agriculture to the community of Atlanta. One way we aim to achieve that goal is with an education workshop, which will help Atlanta educators learn to implement a Farm in School model in their city. We view Stephen’s work with Green Bronx Machine as an ideal node in the advocacy for the farm in school model. Stephen’s experience offers ‘been there done that’ insights as a role model in our movement to grow hope, which is a significant part of what Aglanta is all about.
Green Bronx Machine began as a way to engage at-risk youth, to make cultivating food as exciting as an iPad or Snapchat. But Green Bronx Machine isn’t a technology; it’s a way of life that has since expanded to reach many more children. Students at Ritz’s school have grown over 30,000 pounds of vegetables inside their fourth floor classroom using 90% less water than conventional agriculture. “My kids are all losing weight,” Stephen was quoted saying in this article. “They’re eating things that they’ve never eaten before. They’re getting critical nutrition where they need it most: in school. It affects their academic health, their social health and their physical health.”
Stephen recognizes that the best way to really help a child, though, is to have an adult who supports and cares about them. So with Green Bronx Machine’s Health, Wellness and Learning Centervegetables are grown so that parents can come in after school and cook the freshly harvested produce with their children. It has become an adult workforce development program where parents and children have the opportunity to eat, learn, and cook together.
Stephen’s vision has now gone global, taking him and his students from the Bronx to as far away as Dubai. Earlier this year, Stephen was campaigning his green education vision at the White House’s South by South Lawn event. President Obama described South by South Lawn as an event that seeks to tackle the task of “building a future that’s more inclusive, tolerant, and full of opportunity for everybody.” We can’t think of a more perfect fit for what Green Bronx Machine does.
Agritecture is proud to have Stephen Ritz delivering the keynote at Aglanta. We invite you to meet Stephen at the event, and to support Green Bronx Machine by donating or by volunteering.
As Stephen AKA El Capitan would say, “Si Se Puede!”
By Andrew Blume
@ablumetweets
andrew@agritecture.com
Original Source on Agritecture Here
We hope to see you at Aglanta on February 19, 2017
at The Georgia Freight Depot in downtown Atlanta
Register for Tickets here.
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Hospital Farms Grow To Heal
In a recent New York City Food Policy Center newsletter Dr. Robert Graham, founder of FRESH MED NYC, an integrative health practice that emphasizes nutrition along with conventional medicine, said, “During the past four years of the Healthy Hospital Food Initiative, we can applaud some hospitals for thinking differently about the food they offer patients and visitors. Hospitals are beginning to appreciate the old adage of ‘food is medicine.’”
Hospital Farms Grow To Heal
Published on January 13, 2017
Jim Pantaleo
Director of Business Development at Urban Ag News
By Jim Pantaleo (The below is an excerpt from the January 2017, Issue 16 of Urban Ag News. For the full article please go to: http://urbanagnews.com/emagazine/issue-16/)
Su·per·food, ˈso͞opər fo͞od/
Plural: Superfoods - A nutrient-rich food considered to be especially beneficial for health and well-being.
In my six decades on planet Earth, I’ve never spent a single night in a hospital…with the exception of when I slept on cold linoleum after the birth of my first child back in 1997. So I can credibly say I’ve never been subjected to hospital food, much maligned what with all of its high sodium and sugar (Jell-O!). Given that a hospital should be a place of healing and recovery, it’s no secret that most in the United States are woefully deficient when it comes to the food they serve their patients.
Of course I’m not referring to those patients requiring a special diet or relegated to certain and specific food types. For the majority of “regular eaters” or those who don’t require a specialized diet, one would think hospital dieticians, physicians and administrative policy makers would know better in terms of what’s being put on the menu. They do know better, and there is no question; dietitians and healthcare professionals are dedicating their lives to making a positive difference in providing healing and wellness options to patients.
In a recent New York City Food Policy Center newsletter Dr. Robert Graham, founder of FRESH MED NYC, an integrative health practice that emphasizes nutrition along with conventional medicine, said, “During the past four years of the Healthy Hospital Food Initiative, we can applaud some hospitals for thinking differently about the food they offer patients and visitors. Hospitals are beginning to appreciate the old adage of ‘food is medicine.’”
There is however another (not so) little secret in today’s health care world – cost. Food which is not generally considered healing or restorative is inexpensive. Food that heals? Not so much. Just imagine being a patient recovering from any general ailment and being served a breakfast which includes a fresh wheat grass-apple-carrot smoothie and an egg white omelet with fresh spinach instead of a “fruit cup” and watered down eggs.
Hospital farms are a unique albeit scarce answer to address the challenge of providing healing and wellness through food. Before I dig deep, let’s consider for a moment the proven healing properties of food which can be grown for that which ails us; foods like garlic, turmeric, mushrooms, culinary herbs, micro greens, wheat grass, carrots, sweet potatoes and leafy greens and lettuces. Many of these foods are being successfully grown on available hospital land, within onsite greenhouses or even indoors with the use of LED lighting.
A 2015 study published in Preventative Medicine Reports found that hospital gardens are not only associated with lower rates of obesity in communities they serve, “they may hold potential to complement other strategies to reduce public health disparities through providing nutrition education, promoting lifestyle physical activity among patients and hospital employees, accelerating healing from injury and disease, and growing food for medically underserved populations.”
Still, it’s hard to believe that some 42 U.S. hospitals actually host either a McDonald’s, Wendy’s or Chick-fil-A onsite. This recently prompted the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine to enact the petition “Make Hospital Patient Rooms Fast Food-Free.” (source)
In Ypsilanti, Michigan the St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor Hospital is leading the way and in just 6 years following the first crop planting in 2010 on 10 onsite and available acres, the farm has grown to 25 acres, three hoop houses and four beehives. The Farm at St. Joe’s, as it is known, grows fresh basil, collard greens, spinach, garlic and strawberries all on hospital grounds.
“The farm helps us support a culture of wellness in the hospital,” says director of nutrition and wellness Lisa McDowell. “We can’t grow enough to meet the needs of all of our patients and staff, but we can make an educational statement about the importance of eating a healthy diet.”
As of the writing of this article in Mid December, the weather in Ypsilanti will hit a high of 19 degrees Fahrenheit. This not-so-balmy temperature begs for growing in a controlled, indoor environment not only to supplement greenhouse-grown produce but also to continue to provide jobs and employment for hospital “farm staff” year round.
The Farm at St. Joe’s Video
There is no doubt that engaging in such Ag undertakings represent an investment and hospital budgets are beastly enough; to the point where I was disappointed when doing my research to find there are not a lot of onsite hospital farms in the United States. In fact, I discovered only about a dozen with actual onsite operations. Many hospitals, especially those with significant food and beverage budgets, rely on large food distribution companies (think SYSCO) to feed patients, staff and hospital visitors (cafeteria). Canned, boxed, processed or ready-to-eat meals are ubiquitous and cost-effective. Fresh, local and possibly even USDA-certified organic options are simply not available or feasible for many hospitals despite the obvious short and long-term benefits.
St. Luke’s University Health Network in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania opened a 10-acre farm in 2015 (onsite at the Anderson campus) which provides over 44,000 pounds of produce per year, all going to patients, cafeterias and farmers markets (source). In partnering with the Rodale Institute, pioneers in organic farming through research and outreach, the Hospital’s Auxiliary raised $125,000 used for farm start-up costs. The result is the St. Luke’s Rodale Institute Organic Farm. The farm’s success also begat a 1,200 square foot hoop house to help extend the growing season, an additional 1.5 acres added in 2016, and a renewed Food Revolution movement at the hospital.
Jim Pantaleo, Director of Business Development at Urban Ag News.
jim@urbanagnews.com
Greenhouse Grows Inspired Young People
Greenhouse Grows Inspired Young People
By Anne Hillman, Alaska Public Media
January 13, 2017
A new Anchorage greenhouse is sprouting more than seeds – it’s helping young people develop life skills and improve their mental health. Anchorage Community Mental Health Services recently began the new program Seeds of Change
Nineteen-year-old Quavon Bracken walked through the facility’s rows and rows of tall, dangling racks of hydroponic growing towers. Green vegetables and herbs were just starting to poke out through slits the sides.
“My favorite over here is the Jericho Romaine,” he said, pointing to small heads of lettuce. “They’re really green right now.”
Their growth is spurred by powerful LED lights that sway back and forth in front of the plants. When the lights switch on with a loud click, it’s so bright, you gotta wear shades.
Bracken started working with Seeds of Change a few weeks ago. Most of the time he’s a peer outreach worker with Alaska Youth Advocates. Their teen center is now located in the same building as the greenhouse in midtown Anchorage, and the youth workers are helping get the project up and running.
Bracken said he’s been interested in agriculture for a while, and he hopes to work on a farm in Israel sometime soon. In the meantime, working with Seeds of Change is giving him the chance to learn about tending plants – what nutrients they need, how much light. Soon he’ll be helping sell the produce at local farmers’ markets and to restaurants. But the experience is having a deeper impact, too.
“I feel like kind of at peace. Like I can plant some seeds and then you know, think about something that challenges me in life,then just go along planting the seeds. I just feel like I can think a little more around it. Probably all the oxygen that’s being emitted from them,” he said, chuckling.
Those are some of the ideas behind the new nearly $3 million-dollar project.
“That sense of being responsible for life and nurturing it is a really powerful thing,” said Mike Sobocinski, the Chief Operating Officer at Anchorage Community Mental Health Services and one of the founders of the program.
Seeds of Change is primarily targeting young people who have been involved with foster care, juvenile justice, and mental health programs.
“We tend to look at these youth as ‘at-risk’ and what we’re doing here is looking at them as ‘at-promise,’” he said. “You give them the opportunity and you have expectations that they’re going to be responsible and you support them along the way. It really does a lot for your mental health.”
The program supplements on-the-job training with life skills lessons, like apartment hunting and resume building. It will employ up to 20 youth at a time for about 6-9 months each. It’s a transitional program to help the young people get started.
Seeds of Change was 15 years in the making. Sobocinski began developing the project well before starting his current post, but he said it was hard to find the money and the space to actually pull it off.
“I like to tell everybody that every community mental health center should own a 10,000 foot greenhouse,” but they don’t, he said.
The greenhouse can produce up to 50 tons of fresh produce per year. Most will be sold to fund the project, which should be self-sustaining by the end of the year. A portion of the food will be donated to people in need.
Quavan Bracken said he’s excited to see the first harvest. “I really wanna like go and slice them down. And I want to see them all piled up in one area and see the massive amount we’re gonna have. Especially for my favorite right there, though, Romaine Jericho.”
The plants should be ready to pick in four to five weeks.
Global Vertical Farming Market- Bright Farms, FarmedHere, Garden Fresh Farms, Gotham Greens
Global Vertical Farming Market- Bright Farms, FarmedHere, Garden Fresh Farms, Gotham Greens
Market.Biz Leading Research Firm has added latest report on “Global Vertical Farming Market by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2021".
By Parnika Paul -
January 13, 2017
The Vertical Farming market report covers forecast and analysis for the Vertical Farming market on a global and regional level. The Vertical Farming industry report provides historic data of 2015 along with a Vertical Farming market forecast from 2015 to 2021 based on Vertical Farming industry volume and Vertical Farming revenue (USD Million). The Vertical Farming includes drivers and restraints for the Vertical Farming market along with the impact they have on the demand over the forecast period. Additionally, the Vertical Farming market report includes the study of opportunities available in the Vertical Farming market on a global level.
The Vertical Farming market report discusses in details about the vendor landscape of the Vertical Farming market. The Vertical Farming Industry has been analyzed on the basis of Vertical Farming market attractiveness and investment feasibility. The Vertical Farming report lists the key players in the Vertical Farming market and provides crucial information about them such as business overview, revenue segmentation, and product offerings. Through SWOT analysis, the Vertical Farming industry report analyses the Vertical Farming market growth of the key players during the forecast horizon.
In Vertical Farming Market report, all the segments have been analyzed based on present and Vertical Farming market future trends and the Vertical Farming market is estimated from 2015 to 2021. In this Vertical Farming report, regional segmentation covers the Vertical Farming industry current and forecast demand for North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East and Africa.
Get sample research report at https://market.biz/report/global-vertical-farming-market-gir/25651/#requestforsample
This report segments the global Vertical Farming industry as follows:
Global Vertical Farming Market: Manufacturers Segment Analysis
1 AeroFarms
2 Beijing IEDA Protected Horticulture
3 Bright Farms
4 FarmedHere
5 Garden Fresh Farms
6 Gotham Greens
7 Green Sense Farms
8 Green Spirit Farms
9 Home Town Farms
10 Indoor Harvest
11 Infinite Harvest
12 Lufa Farms
13 Metro Farms
14 Mirai
15 Sky Vegetables
16 Vertical Harvest
17 Uriah’s Urban Farms
18 UrbanFarmers
19 Urban Crops
20 Urban Barns
21 TruLeaf
22 Sundrop Farms
23 Spread
24 Sky Greens
25 SCATIL
26 Podponics
27 Plantagon
28 Metropolis Farms
29 Kingpeng
30 Harvest Urban Farms
31 GreenLand
32 Greener Roots Farm
33 Farmbox
34 Ecopia Farms
35 CityFarm
36 Brooklyn Grange
37 Atlantic Beach Urban Farms
38 Alegria Fresh
39 Agro Strategies
Global Vertical Farming Market: Type Segment Analysis
1. Lighting
2. Hydroponic Component
3. Climate Control
4. Sensors
Global Vertical Farming Market: Regional Segment Analysis
1. North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)
2. Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)
3. Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)
4. South America, Middle East and Africa
Report on (Global study on Vertical Farming industry) mainly covers 13 Chapters to deeply display the global Vertical Farming market.
Chapter I, to explain Vertical Farming market Intro, product extent, market summary, market opportunities, market threat, market driving force;
Chapter II, to examine the top manufacturers of Vertical Farming market, with sales, revenue, as well as price of Vertical Farming, in 2015 and also 2016;
Chapter III, to display the Vertical Farming market’s affordable circumstance amongst the top key players, with sales, Vertical Farming market revenue and share in 2015 and also 2016;
Chapter IV, to reveal the worldwide Vertical Farming market by areas, with sales, revenue and market share of Vertical Farming, for each region, from 2011 to 2016;
Chapter V, VI, VII & VIII, to analyze the key regions of Vertical Farming market, with sales, revenue and also market share by manufacturers countries in these regions;
Chapter IX and X, to reveal the Vertical Farming market by type as well as application, with sales Vertical Farming market share as well as growth price by type, application, from 2011 to 2016;
Chapter XI, Global Vertical Farming market forecast, by regions, type and also application, with sales as well as revenue, from 2016 to 2021;
Chapter XII and also XIII, to describe Vertical Farming market sales network, suppliers, investors, suppliers, appendix and also data resource.
Browse More Related Category Research Reports at: https://market.biz/reporttype/market-research/
CT Agri-Tech Maker Lands Product Deal
JANUARY 12, 2017 | CT GREEN GUIDE
CT Agri-Tech Maker Lands Product Deal
A South Windsor company that began as a member of UConn's startup incubator program said it will supply its LED technology to a Las Vegas manufacturer of vertical aeroponic farming systems.
Agrivolution, founded in 2012 by Richard Fu, said Indoor Farms of America recently selected it as a horticultural LED provider for leafy greens and other crops such as heirloom tomatoes, squash and cucumber.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but the companies said the selection came after approximately one year of testing Agrivolution's Triple-Band LED bars against a dozen other lights.
Indoor Farms began selling its vertical aeroponic farming systems in late 2015 and last year announced it had secured a product distributor in South Africa. Aeroponics
Growing Power Vertical Farm
Growing Power Vertical Far
LOCATION: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
SIZE: 27,000 square feet
STATUS: In Progress
PROGRAM: Highly sustainable urban five-story vertical farm including greenhouses, conference / training and retail spaces
Growing Power, Inc. is an internationally-recognized non-profit organization and land trust supporting people from diverse backgrounds and the environment in which they live by helping to provide equal access to healthy, high-quality, safe and affordable food. This mission is implemented by providing hands-on training, on-the-ground demonstration, outreach, and technical assistance through the development of Community Food Systems that help people grow, process, market and distribute food in a sustainable manner.
Growing Power currently operates six greenhouses on a historic two-acre site that is the last remaining farm and greenhouse operation within the City of Milwaukee. As the organization has expanded, the need for additional space to support production, classes, meetings, meal preparation, offices, and on-site warehousing has grown exponentially. Growing Power and TKWA have worked together to develop plans for an ambitious new facility, the world’s first working urban Vertical Farm.
Five stories of south-facing greenhouse areas will allow production of plants, vegetables, and herbs year-round. Expanded educational classrooms, conference spaces, a demonstration kitchen, food processing and storage, freezers, and loading docks will further support Growing Power’s expanding mission as a local and national resource for learning about sustainable urban food production.
Growing Power was founded by Will Allen, one of the world’s leading authorities in the expanding field of urban agriculture. In 2008 he was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow and he is a member of the Clinton Global Initiative. In May, 2010 Time Magazine named him one of the Time 100 World’s Most Influential People.
Tear Down the Barriers to Urban Farming
Tear Down the Barriers to Urban Farming
by: Dwane Jones Special to the AFRO
January 11, 2017
When applied to scenic farms nestled in quiet rural country-sides, the maxim “good fences make good neighbors” might ring true.
But that’s not always the case when you’re trying to build an urban farm. As essential as they can be, we actually find more than a few barriers in their way.
I’ve been thinking quite a bit about fences and barriers in my role as Director of the University of the District of Columbia’s Center for Sustainable Development & Resilience inside the Columbia College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Sciences. We call it “CAUSES” for short. In that role, I work on introducing urban agriculture to some of Washington, D.C.’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Given the large amount of vacant properties and unused space in many underserved urban areas (cities like Baltimore and Detroit come to mind), it may sound easy. But it’s not. Case in point: In 2015, CAUSES leased three acres of vacant property directly across the street from a Metro stop in D.C.’s struggling Ward 7 to construct the East Capitol Urban Farm. A partnership between several agencies and organizations, East Capitol Urban Farm is the District’s largest-scale urban agriculture and aquaponics facility. It’s an ambitious effort to bring healthy produce to an underserved area of the District.
We began planning the project in early 2015. During the University’s initial site visit, the first order of business was to determine how we would actually walk the vacant parcel — considering the 8-foot high chain link fence surrounding it. Residential properties surround the site on the south and west. The Capitol Heights Metro stop is on the east and a vacant parcel is to the north.
That parcel, incidentally, was under construction at the time for use by Wal-Mart. That project was shelved and the lot stayed empty.
What seemed like a straightforward walk through the site became much more complicated since we didn’t have a key to the gate. Searching for a way in, the team eventually climbed over a wall and through a small opening to access the site. But the physical barrier of the fence and our valiant attempts at scaling it led to much deeper questions. What social implications did such a fence have in Ward 7? What was the purpose of erecting it? How was it interpreted or perceived by the community?
We came to realize that the chain link fence, while probably erected as a safety measure, sent a powerful message of exclusion to people in the neighborhood. It’s a message that echoes the larger story of access and food security in places like Ward 7. For a long time, society has sent a message (intentional or not) to underrepresented populations that fresh, local produce, as well as access to community-oriented landscapes, is out of reach – or, at best, a real challenge to access. The nature of fencing, in this case, may play a role in how the urban farm is perceived and utilized.
So, in our first major site planning for East Capitol Urban Farm, when someone asked “Where do we start?” I couldn’t help but recall those now-famous words from former President Ronald Reagan’s 1987 speech to West Berliners: “Tear down that wall!” I quickly responded: “Let’s tear down the fence. It sends the message to keep out or stay away.
“That’s the very opposite of what we intend.”
Rather than continue limiting community access, we eventually erected a 4-ft. high wrought iron fence to encompass a portion of the farm which set a boundary around the different zones contained within the space. Since then, the gates are always unlocked and the community has access to the farm from sunrise to sunset, seven days a week.
East Capitol Urban Farm is now embraced, supported, and operated by its community. Removing barriers has afforded Ward 7 residents the opportunity to: plant over 3,600 produce plants; operate 70 garden spaces; engage over 300 D.C. Public School Students in over 2,500 hours of trade learning; launch a Farmers Market; and employ (part-time) three residents and three UDC students.
At the East Capitol Urban Farm, the fence merely delineates a boundary, a line that outlines the zones of each portion of the farm. It does not represent limitations on a better quality of life. For the people of Ward 7, this is a very crucial and important distinction that removes one barrier at a time.
Dwane Jones, PH.D., is the director of the Center for Sustainable Development and Resilience, a division of the University of the District of Columbia College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Sciences. Dr. Jones conducts research and teaches courses in Urban Sustainability, Urban Design, Urban Planning and Low Impact Development. He is a member of the Urban Resilience Project.