The coast to coast grassroots food justice movement continues to swell. Here’s 4 cities we have our eye on in 2016.
A lot of good work happened in 2015 to fill our nation’s food deserts and provide better access to fresh healthy food. Which isn’t to say that there isn’t a lot to be done in 2016 to eradicate hunger in our communities.
There’s a growing roster of cities demonstrating how we can all be fed — through grassroots activism and through official support from civic and elected leadership.
Here’s 4 rockin’ urban ag cities we’re keeping an eye on this year:
Detroit
So many people in the great city of Detroit are on the forefront of the food justice movement. I wrote a bit about my visit there last year. There are still a lot of lingering issues around land access for urban farmers, in a city with a lot of vacant lots. Fortunately there’s a lot of people committed to the work in Detroit.
Detroit All Stars Include:
Cleveland
Cleveland legislators and leaders have been strongly supporting urban agriculture for more than a decade now — with dedicated urban farming and garden policies and allowances for keeping bees and livestock within city and residential zones.
Cleveland All Stars Include:
New Orleans
Community gardens have been a fixture since economic downturns in the city in the 1980’s, and the city saw another rise of urban ag pioneers in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The New Orleans Food and Farm Network is at the forefront, mapping city farms and training the next generation of farmers.
New Orleans All Stars Include:
Boston
The City of Boston passed legislation in 2013 creating pathways for urban farming in commercial-zoned lots. Since then they’ve added numerous funding, land acquisition, and education resources, and nonprofit orgs like the Urban Farming Institute are furthering the work at the grassroots level.
Boston All Stars Include:
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but merely a snapshot of the heart and generosity of communities across the country to roll up their sleeves and get things done.
There’s so many more all-star cities stepping up in the food justice movement, which we’ll explore in future posts. Have a city or farm you want to nominate? Tell us below in the comments! 🙂