City Exchange Project Session 4 - Urban Ag Production and Land Access

City Exchange ProjectUrban Agricultural Production and Land Access

April 17, 2015

What is the City Exchange Project?• The City Exchange Project idea sprung from a need to be able to

discuss issues and topics on food systems with other organizations

across the US.

• Many times, the only way inter-city dialogue is created between

staff/leaders of different community organizations is through

conference networking.

• The City Exchange Project seeks to electronically convene leaders from

across the country and engage them in relevant and useful

conversations on pressing and pertinent food systems issues from the

comfort of your own office.

Click above for CRFS website

Guiding QuestionsUrban Ag Production • 1.) Please explain the work your organization does with urban

agricultural production e.g. where you farm, what you produce, where you sell, who you employ, etc

• 2.) Does your organization focus on urban agriculture for reasons other than production and profit? For example do you use urban ag as a mechanism for providing job/skills training to youth, adults, unemployed citizens or as a way to congregate and educate neighborhood residents on the importance of growing and eating well, etc.

• 3.) What are some of the biggest challenges to intensive growing in an urban setting?

• 4.) What have been some highlights or successes of your organization as it relates to urban ag? For example: a profitable year as a CSA/farmers market vendor, trained x number of residents in production practices, etc.

Guiding Questions

Land Access

• 5.) What are the biggest obstacles to obtaining and retaining

land for your organization as well as other orgs and individuals in

your community?

• 6.) Do you have any potential solutions to offer municipal

governments, private/commercial landowners that might

improve land access for your org and those who want to engage

in urban agriculture?

Talking Points and Themes

Urban Agriculture

• Profitable production

• Neighborhood resident skill-building and training – internships, paid employment

• Health and nutrition education – youth and adults

• Community development – building social networks, providing positive activities for youth

• Selling mechanisms – CSA, farmers market, market basket, donations, etc

Land Access

• Procuring and retaining land

• Municipal policies for urban growers and urban ag orgs to access land

• “Guerilla gardening”

• Private business/landowner role in accessing land

• Cost of land in urban settings

Facilitator• George Reistad

• Assistant Policy Director – Michael Fields Agricultural

Institute

• Communications Coordinator – Community and Regional

Food Systems Project

Call Participants• Lynette Richards – Metro High School Teacher (retired) – Cedar Rapids,

IA

• Clint Twedt-Ball – Co-founder/Co-Executive Director - Matthew 25 –

Cedar Rapids, IA

• Derek Steele – Health Equity Programs Director – Social Justice Learning

Institute – Los Angeles, CA

• http://bit.ly/1u7GGmF

• Erika Allen – Executive Director, Growing Power-Chicago, Chair -

Chicago Food Policy Advisory Council (CFPAC) – Chicago, IL

• Sonia Kendrick – Founder/Farmer – Feed Iowa First – Cedar Rapids, IA

• Danny Block – Program Admin – Chicago State Univ. – Neighborhood

Assistance Center, Member - CFPAC – Chicago, IL

• Katie Jones – Health Ed Specialist – Linn Co. Public Health, Linn Co.

Food Systems Council – Cedar Rapids, IA

• Kibibi Blount-Dorn – Program Manager – Detroit Food Policy Council –

Detroit, MI

• Carrie Edgar – Community Food Systems Department Head – Univ. of

Wisconsin Cooperative Extension – Madison, WI

Lynette Richards

Lynette Richards – Metro High School Teacher - Cedar Rapids, IA (retired)

Clint Twedt-Ball

• Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director - Matthew 25 - Cedar Rapids, IA

www.hub25.org

Derek Steele

Health Equity Program Director - Social Justice Learning Center

Los Angeles, CA (Inglewood)

http://www.sjli.org/

Photo Courtesy – Growing a Greener World

Click photo above for Growing Power Website

National Projects Director - Growing Power – Chicago,

Chair – Chicago Food Policy Advisory Council

Erika Allen

Growing Power - Chicago

Iron Street Farm

• Growing Power's Chicago Projects

Office officially opened in February of

2002 to manage resource development

and the technical assistance needed to

assist emerging Community Food

Centers and urban and small farm

projects in the metropolitan Chicago

area.

• The Chicago office has established

projects that have received national

recognition and exemplify the mission

of the organization. In Chicago, we are

currently farming over 12 acres of land

within the city!

Sonia Kendrick

• Sonia Kendrick is the founding farmer, a combat veteran, agronomist, and working towards a masters degree in sustainable food systems but mainly just an informed and concerned mother of two amazing children.

• “Whomever controls our food controls us and our democratic right to rule ourselves is rooted in our ability to feed ourselves.” Sonia Kendrick

Feed Iowa First• Mission: To confront food insecurity today and

tomorrow by growing food and farmers.• Feed Iowa First has 12 farms in Linn Co. Iowa. We grow on

underutilized land around churches and business. We also grow on 16 acres of donated farmland. We do not have total yield numbers yet but it is well over 20,000 lbs of vegetables. We currently only have one beginning farmer but we have worked this season with seven other beginning farmers. All of the produce that we grow is donated to food pantries and shelters as well as meals on wheels. We do not charge for the food that we donate.

• Our current project is building a walipini fish farm next to a low income school. We are planning to take the waste from the school and feed it to black soldier flies then feed the black soldier flies to the fish and have the fish connected to a hydroponic system that will allow us to grow lettuce for the school to have a salad bar.

• Our goal is to get 500 acres of underutilized land turned into vegetable production that would provide the almost 26,000 food insecure in our county with the bare minimum of vegetables a day. We believe that the next generation of farmers are in the city and need to be brought out of the city as a social effort in order to ensure that we are fed into the future. We are also advocates for teaching all children how to feed themselves – A skill that should be as fundamental as writing their names.

Danny Block

Daniel Block – Director, Fredrick Blum Neighborhood Assistance Center, Member – Chicago Food Policy Advisory Council

Chicago Food Policy Advisory Council

• As Co-chair of the CFPAC,

Erika and other board

members facilitate the

development of responsible

policies that improve access

for Chicago residents to

culturally appropriate,

nutritionally sound, and

affordable food that is

grown through

environmentally sustainable

practices.

Katie Jones

Health Education Specialist, Linn Co. Public Health

Katie Jones• Katie Jones is a Health Education Specialist at Linn County Public

Health in Cedar Rapids. In her position, she is involved with many

different coalitions, such as the Linn County Food Systems Council,

and manages the county’s Community Transformation Grant, which

includes activities to improve the food system.

• She received her Master of Public Health in Community and

Behavioral Health from the University of Iowa College of Public

Health in May 2012.

Click above for Linn Co Food Systems

Assessment Snapshot

Linn Co Public Health and

Linn Co Food Systems Council• Public Health - Linn County Public Health (LCPH) serves as the local

health department. LCPH’s mission is “To prevent disease and injuries,

promote healthy living, protect the environment and ensure public

health preparedness.” Linn County is the second most populous county

in Iowa. LCPH is located in Cedar Rapids, which is the second most

populous city in Iowa.

• Food Systems Council - The Linn County Food Systems Council was

created by the Linn County Board of Supervisors in March 2012.

Recently, the Council completed a comprehensive food system

assessment with assistance through Linn County’s Community

Transformation Grant.

• Cedar Rapids Blue Zones Project - This project has different

Community Policy subcommittees, which work on achieving certain

city-level policy and environment goals related to healthy eating, like

supporting urban agriculture.

Kibibi Blount-Dorn

Program Manager, Detroit Food Policy Council

Detroit Food Policy Council• The creation of the Detroit Food Policy Council (DFPC) stemmed

from a directive included in the Detroit Food Security Policy (DFSP)

that the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network drafted.

• Detroit City Council members adopted and approved all the

recommendations in the DFSP in 2008-2009 and the Detroit Food

Policy Council had its first meeting in late 2009.

• One of the largest issues that DFPC and other community-based orgs

and coalitions are working on is equitable access to city-owned land

(about 60,000 parcels)

Click above for more info on DFPC Click above for 2012 DFPC Public

Land Sales Report

Carrie Edgar

Department Head & Community Food Systems Educator

Dane County Cooperative Extension

http://fyi.uwex.edu/danefoodsystem/

Dane County Extension

• Dane County UW Extension is working to help build a diverse

and inclusive community food system that is economically

viable, environmentally sound and socially just for all Dane

County residents. Our goal is to provide information,

resources, and links on the wide variety of farming, gardening,

and other important information and activities that happen in

Dane County

• Dane County UWEX Production Resource Page

• http://fyi.uwex.edu/danefoodsystem/production/

Madison Food Policy Council

• As a member of the Madison Food Policy Council, Carrie Edgar helps shape decisions on how the City of Madison addresses food systems related issues within the community spanning from community gardens to the emerging Madison Public Market Division concept to healthy food retail in under-served communities.

Click photo above for Madison Food

Policy Council Goals and Objectives

Dane County Food Council• DCFC is a committee of the Dane County

Board comprised of citizens and County Board Supervisors. Carrie created DCFC to encourage active collaboration to explore issues and develop recommendations to create an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable local food system for the Dane County region.

• There are 4 main action-based goals of DCFC

• Develop food and agriculture policy recommendations for Dane County

• Advocate for food and agricultural policy that supports our vision for the Dane County food system

• Promote public education and outreach on food and agriculture issues

• Collaborate with the Dane County Food Coalition, Madison Food Policy Council, Healthy Food For All Plan and other community groups in addressing food system and agriculture issues

Click above for DCFC

Action Plan