Community gardens and farmers markets are on the rise in Vancouver, but there remains a need for more productive farms (market gardens) to produce significant amounts of local food.

There are more and more people interested in getting into farming as a livelihood, but barriers such as high land values and low profit margins in traditional farming make entry difficult.

The City could develop a municipally-supported urban farming program where city-owned land would be affodably leased to prospective farmers for a season to gain experience, earn an income, and produce food for local residents. This could be coupled with a mentorship program with experienced producers, and educational programs at the highschool and/or post-secondary level.

If we want to get serious about local food, we need to get serious about growing a new generation of farmers. We all benefit!

Urban farming from an entrepreneurial approach holds one of the most exciting possibilities for urban food production. Urban farming is a great way for Vancouver to achieve “worldwide entrepreneurial recognition” and create sustainable urban jobs.

Other successful urban farming systems (i.e., Havana, Cuba; Detroit, Michigan) have developed out of necessity and urgency. Such conditions do not yet exist in Vancouver. Yet urban farming, which is now a multi-million dollar “industry” in North America, holds the potential to create economic opportunities for those wanting to engage in urban food production; provide the most local food possible to Vancouver residents (and visitors); and help the City reduce “…the carbon footprint of our food by 33 percent per capita”

The city can support urban farming businesses in many ways:

- Provide tax credits to homeowners and businesses for converting lawns into farms (see - and support! - the other posting that suggests this). Vancouver has very limited space for urban food production so lawns are the future of urban farming in this city.
- Provide start up loans and grants to potential urban farmers (business plan required!)
- Adjust zoning bylaws to allow for income-generating food production anywhere in the city
- Provide funding for urban agriculture resources such as shared tools and storage space; educational websites; apprenticeship opportunities; and, sustainable transport (yes, even urban-grown food needs to be distributed!)
- Develop urban farmer’s markets (city-grown or processed food only)
- Support restaurants in sourcing urban-grown food

Urban farming may never be able to feed the whole city, but it can help reduce our food miles and carbon foot print, while at the same time providing interesting, fulfilling, and economically-sustainable jobs for Vancouver residents.

Five years ago I moved to Vancouver and started turning the house I rented with friends into an urban farm. But a neighbour (one, out of dozens) thinks food gardens belong in the back yard and used the city's vague and undemocratic "Untidy Premises Bylaw" to have us ordered to remove it.

If Vancouver really wants to be green, it should start by looking around at the amazing things that ordinary people are already doing to make it that way and stop putting up barriers to their work. This bylaw needs a specific exemption for food gardens, or it needs to be completely scrapped.

Check out the saga here: http://farmhouseblog.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/bye-bye-farmhouse-farm/

A Call to Town Hall - Plant Veggies, not Flowers
Poverty Reduction, Environment Protection and Community Building

Goal
Reduce poverty, involve community, promote healthy lifestyles, reduce personal and city spending, create a well connected and safer community, add natural nutrients back to top soil, and educate about healthy living and healthy food.

Most cities and towns have multiple flower gardens that are taken care of by city workers. Call your local city hall, ask them to plant hardy vegetables in garden spots instead of the usual flowers. Vegetable plants produce very beautiful flowers that turn into edible veggies like Squash, beans, sun-chokes, tomatoes, cucumber, and zucchini, just to name a few of the basics.
You can still enjoy the beauty of all the flowers the vegetable plants produce and even add a few seasonal flowers in the mix.

A few times a year, the community can get together for a harvest. The harvest can then be sold at farmers markets, donated to needy families, or whatever idea someone else may have.

Poverty Reduction
Many types of Vegetables can be stored for quite a long time. we can help reduce poverty if the harvested food is donated to those who need it.

Community Involvement
Involving community members by allowing everyone to participate in weeding, watering, and harvesting.

Promote a Healthy Lifestyle
There are currently hundreds of millions of dollars spent on Marketing campaigns each year. These vegetable gardens will help to promote healthy eating with people walking by a bunch of veggie gardens all day.

Save Money
Reduce city spend by having community volunteers do some work such as weeding, and general garden maintenance.

Education
Demonstrations, informational tours, and meetings can be held at garden spots for educational events related to growing your own garden in the city.

Harvesting
Harvesting the crops can be a community event bringing individuals and families together a few times a year to sell and/or give away the crops. Harvesting your own seeds will eliminate purchasing expensive annual flowers that die and wither each year.

Rebuilding for future Generations
Over time each garden spot will rebuild itself to a more natural state and balance itself to support the types of vegetables being grown. Adding natural nutrients such as it's own compost to top soil each year will build a healthy garden for future generations.

Safer Community
Creating a well connected and safer community is always on the top of the list for most families and singles these days. Getting to know more people in your community will create a safer atmosphere by having more people watch out for each other more.

The infrastructure for maintaining these gardens already exists in most cities and towns across North America. Some gardens even have automatic sprinkler systems. Very little needs to be done to make this idea possible. Help make 2010 a year of community and health. Plant Veggies!