By Selena Randall
I was reading an article on resilience.org about ‘urban farming’, which had been published in the Solutions Journal. It was a positive message on many fronts and one that can apply anywhere.
In the Great Lakes ‘rust belt’ in cities like Detroit and Cleveland, where the large industries have left, large tracts of vacant land are being taken over for food production by local communities.
Zoning practices and development in these cities attracted high earning professionals to the suburbs, leaving the urban centres occupied by the less mobile, poorer people. Massive depopulation led to grocery stores to close, resulting in ‘food deserts’. To address serious health concerns over malnutrition, diabetes and heart disease, agencies have combined forces to create urban farms.
Schemes support refugees from war zones, who often bring farming skills, as well as people with disabilities. They buy shares in the farm which means they can sell the produce. In Cleveland, a buy local campaign has boosted uptake of fresh, local food delivered by the growers to local restaurants. The urban farmers also run a stand in their neighbourhood – local, low cost food for their community.
The article was considering the long-term role for urban farms in our cities. Often seen as a transitional use, before the land is developed and put under concrete – could urban farms be a long-term part of the greening of our cities?
Turning my thoughts to Steinbach, I wondered if this concept would work here. We have experienced the loss of the community garden to make way for a curling rink. The community garden has been a major loss for some – used by some of our poorest residents to supplement a diet often reliant on the food bank. With no money to buy a car, and no bus service, to be able to walk to a garden in the city centre and produce food was a huge benefit on so many levels. Aside from the food production, the gardeners got exercise, fresh air and socialized with the other users.
Now, most of the users of that space arrive by car, and spend the time inside.
The community garden is gone, ironically for ‘growth’, growth not of food but money.
Can we expect anything different in Steinbach? Should we?
Cities across the world are seeing the benefits to their communities of green space. Not just for growing food, but for outdoor leisure, and for the benefits of the plants themselves. Toronto has just published a report on the benefits of trees for improving health and reducing energy use for heating and cooling – perhaps a topic of another article.
The point is, that we need a ‘green development plan’ for the continued health of our communities, and I call on you to ask your councillors and MP for one.
This will be the last article I write for a while. I have my own urban farm that needs my attention this summer. At this time of year I am barely keeping up with the weeds and the grass mowing, and then its time to pick, peel and process the produce to restock my cold store. If other writers don’t step forward, the column will take a break until Fall.
Until then, enjoy the summer!