Urban farms are gardens that produce fresh food in urban areas. They can be used for education, community building, and sustainable agriculture. They can be run as collectives or under a CSA model, and can be found in a variety of spaces.
An urban farm is a farm located in an urban area. Typically, urban farms are more like overgrown gardens than actual farms, but they can be used to produce a wide variety of fresh foods, including produce, eggs, and milk. An urban farm’s mission can range from being a demonstration site to show people that urban farming is possible, to a farm that generates fresh food for sale to the community.
There are a number of reasons why people choose to set up urban farms. In some communities, farms are used to connect the community and take an interest in the source of their food, giving people the opportunity to work on the farm, meet the people who care for it, and visit it so they can see the food growing. Nutrition education programs sometimes use urban farms to educate people, especially children, about where food comes from and why a balanced, healthy diet is important.
Sustainable agriculture fans promote urban farms because they reduce the distance food needs to travel from farm to table. These groups use urban farms to show people that it’s possible to grow food locally, rather than relying on distant locations for food. An urban farm also often focuses on organic production methods and other environmentally friendly measures, to contrast it with the industrialized agriculture that supplies most of the world’s food.
Almost any place with some land can be used as an urban farm. Empty lots, residential landscaping, roofs, and highway medians have all been used for urban agriculture. Since space is generally limited, dense production methods are often promoted, allowing people to grow as much as possible on the space they have. Many urban farms are also designed to be aesthetically pleasing, so that they contribute to the urban landscape as well as provide nutrition.
Urban farms can be run as community collectives, where community members work together to grow food and share the bounty. This can provide access to fresh food for people who might otherwise have difficulty obtaining it, such as residents of low-income neighborhoods that lack markets. Others may run an urban farm under a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model, where people pay a subscription that covers farm costs, in exchange for regular food deliveries. Urban farms can also be run by schools, advocacy groups, and collections of friends.
People interested in urban agriculture may be able to find an example in their area. Most urban farmers are happy to show people and talk about what they do, and some may have openings for people who want to join a CSA or work on the farm. Support groups can even help people set up urban farms, for people who want to get more involved.
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