farm to table, food justice, etc. v.2

Farm to Table, Food Justice, and the Evolution of Food System Land Use:

How Community Planners and Developers are Moving Markets and Growing the Sharing Economy

Presentation at the Southern New England American Planning Association (SNEAPA) Conference

October 21, 2016

Introductions• James Stevens, ConsultEcon, Inc., Moderator• Orion Kriegman, Boston Food Forests• Jessie Banhazl, Green City Growers• Maria Moreira, World Farmers / Flats Mentor Farm• Thomas J. Martin, ConsultEcon, Inc., Respondent

October 21, 2016 SNEAPA Conference2

Farm to Table• Food chain

from agricultural production to consumption

http://www.dirtyandthirty.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/farm-to-table2.jpg


Food Justice• Food Justice is communities exercising their right to grow, sell, and eat healthy

food. Healthy food is fresh, nutritious, affordable, culturally-appropriate, and grown locally with care for the well-being of the land, workers, and animals. People practicing food justice leads to a strong local food system, self-reliant communities, and a healthy environment.

Definition from http://www.justfood.org


Evolution of Land Use: Forests

Source: New England Food VisionSource: http://environmentalresearchweb.org/cws/article/news/65757


Decline in New England Farming


Evolution of Land Use: Decline in New England Farming


Percentage of Agricultural Land Developed as of 1987

Percentage of Agricultural Land Developed

0.02% to less than 2%

2% to less than 5%

5% to less than 10%

10% to less than 20%


Compiled by the Farmland Information Center using estimatesfrom USDANRCS, 2007 National Resources Inventory




2% to less than 5%

5% to less than 10%






New England Food Vision• Today, 90% of food consumed in New England is externally sourced from outside New England

• Vision for more land devoted to farming food in the region consumed in the region

• To achieve 50% of food consumed sourced from New England, vision identifies the need to change the amount of land area devoted to farming / food production from 5% to 15% of total land area


Farmland in New England and other nearby states, New York and New JerseyChanges in Land in Farms

(Acres)

StateLand in Farms 2007

Land in Farms 2012

Net Change 2007 to

2012

Percent Change 2007 to

2012

Total Land Area (in thousands of

acres)

2007 Farmland to Total Land

Area

2012 Farmland to Total Land

Area

Connecticut 405,616 436,539 30,923 7.62% 4,842.36 8.38% 9.02%

Maine 1,347,566 1,454,104 106,538 7.91% 30,842.92 4.37% 4.71%

Massachusetts 517,879 523,517 5,638 1.09% 7,800.06 6.64% 6.71%

New Hampshire 471,911 474,065 2,154 0.46% 8,952.65 5.27% 5.30%

New Jersey 733,450 715,057 -18,393 -2.51% 7,354.22 9.97% 9.72%

New York 7,174,743 7,183,576 8,833 0.12% 47,126.40 15.22% 15.24%

Rhode Island 67,819 69,589 1,770 2.61% 1,033.81 6.56% 6.73%

Vermont 1,233,313 1,251,713 18,400 1.49% 9,216.66 13.38% 13.58% Source: Census of Agriculture (Land in Farms) and Census 2010 (Land Area)


Boston Food Forest Coalition


Our mission: to build nourishing relationships between neighbors, land, and food in the city.

Our strategy: to help neighbors and community partners transform empty lots and urban wilds into highly productive and community run food forest gardens.

What is a Forest Garden?


Food forest gardens support the urban environment by:• sequestering carbon in large trees and soil• reducing urban heat-island effect• retaining water and reducing runoff• remediating toxic soil• working with existing site elements• providing community green space

BEFORE AFTER

Egleston Community Orchard’s annual harvest festival brings out the entire neighborhood!

Food forest gardens provide numerous benefits:• Require fewer annual inputs (e.g. water, fertilizer), making maintenance easier.• Well-suited for intensive production on small urban lots.• Polyculture design anchored by highly productive perennials (berries, grapes, fruit and nut trees,

rhubarb, herbs and many other edible but not commonly marketed plants like paw paw).• Among perennials are intercropped annual vegetables (squash, cucumbers, beans, potatoes,

onions, hardy and tender greens, tomatoes, tomatillos, melons, corn, carrots, beets, radishes and peas).

Food forest gardens foster community participation and collective stewardship:• BFFC provides facilitation and technical assistance.• Neighbors and community groups provide sweat equity.• More neighbors can participate per area than in a community garden.• We provide site ownership through a non-profit land trust.

Fruit Trees Fruit Shrubs/Vines Perennials Annuals

Donner Pear, Medlar Pear Raspberry Dasheen Bush Marigold

Sweetheart Apricot Blueberry Mint Kale

Cherry (Cornelian, Korean Bush) Gooseberry Ginger

Paw Paw Currants Chards

Beach Plum Elderberry (Nova, York) Strawberry Tomato

Apple (Golden Sentinel, Scarlet Sentinel) Arctic Kiwi Celery

Russian Favorite Pomegranate Grape Cilantro

Hardy Fig Seaberry, Sea Buckthorn Basil

Quince (dwarf Japanese) Goumi Sunflowers

Persimmon Serviceberry Dill

Juneberry Cucumber

Pumpkins

Example Plant List


Good Design: Meets Articulated Goals

Good Design: Stacking Functions

Good Design: A Wide Range of Options

Reclaiming Food

Perennial Vegetables and Fruit:

Familiar Annuals:

Expanding Our Palettes:


Kids Mental and Physical Health

These images are from 2015 BFFC events

Food forest gardens are living classrooms:• We engage youth leaders and school groups on site.• Workshops teach neighbors new gardening skills they can use at home.• Neighbors learn to grow, harvest, and prepare fresh, nutritious foods that supplement

strained food budgets.

How Walking In Nature Changes the Brain 7.22.2015

Here's Proof Going Outside Makes You Healthier 6.22.2014

New research suggests nature walks are good for your brain 7.29.2015

If children lose contact with nature they won't fight for it 11.19.2012

Tending the Forest Garden: Youth and Adults

Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv documents impacts on mental and physical wellbeing of our new “screen” culture and growing disconnection from nature - what he terms “Nature Deficit Disorder”

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/22/how-nature-changes-the-brain/?emc=eta1&_r=2

http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2014/06/22/how-the-outdoors-make-you_n_5508964.html?ir=Australia

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/06/29/fixating-or-brooding-on-things-take-a-walk-in-the-woods-for-real/

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/nov/19/children-lose-contact-with-nature?CMP=share_btn_fb

http://richardlouv.com/books/last-child/

http://richardlouv.com/books/last-child/

Garden Raising Network

Advisory BoardStaff & Interns

Egleston Community Orchard

Old West Church

Eastie Farm

Boston Nature Center

Italian Home for Children

Jones Hill

Ellington Street

Leland Street

“Community of Practice”(Members)

“Forest Gardens”(Sites)

Board of Directors

Greater Boston Permaculture

Meetup

Speakers Series


Our third annual apple harvest walk - gleaning from legacy fruit trees in the city.

Our first neighbor-to-neighbor “garden raising”

New England Food Vision:

Equity & Sustainability

BAU => Omnivore’s Delight => Regional Resilience

Green City Growers


Build Install Maintain

Produce Educate

WHAT WE DO


To date, Green City Growers has grown over 150,000 pounds of organic produce and worked hands-on with more than 6,000 individuals, all in under 2 acres of growing space.

Distance traveled measured in feet, not miles.

BY THE NUMBERS


CORPORATE WELLNESS


athenahealth Mapfre Abt Associates Verizon National Grid Google Akamai Sasaki Associates Massachusetts Medical

Society Harvard Pilgrim Health

Care

CORPORATE WELLNESS SITES


Central location Supplies produce to

multiple on-site restaurants

Corporate wellness program with SmartBear

Community program

ASSEMBLY ROW

MIXED USE GARDENS


Adaptable beds allow for ease of access for residents

SENIOR LIVING FACILITIES


BEVERLY PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM CAMP HARBOR VIEW

NOTABLE EDUCATION PROJECTS


“The residents have been out there a lot to talk and sing to the chickens. They have been talking back!” Cindy Allard,Olmstead Memory Support Program Director, Goddard House

CHICKEN COOPS


“Our Boylston location’s indoor garden has generated more attention and buzz than any sign or anything else we’ve done to connect people with what we do and our mission.” John Olinto, Founder/Owner of b.good

INDOOR GROWING SYSTEMS


CREATIVE GROWING SYSTEMSKIDDIE POOL GARDENS AT B.GOOD


WHOLE FOODS MARKET


FENWAY FARMS


VISIBILITY & PUBLICITY


www.GREENCITYGROWERS.com

Green City Growers, LLC | 600 Windsor Place, Somerville, MA 02143 | (617) 776-1400 | [email protected]

YOUR FARM. ANYWHERE.

World Farmers / Flats Mentor Farm


Farm to Table, Food Justice, and the Evolution of Food System Land Use

World Farmers Lancaster, MA

Maria MoreiraCo-Founder and Executive Director

World Farmers

• World Farmers advocates for and supports beginning farmers from farm to market both in the US and Internationally

• Flats Mentor Farm is a key program. FMF provides a space for mentorship among new and beginning immigrant and refugee farmers in the United States who seek land space and production and marketing assistance in a new climate and culture– Started in 1984 and supported over 190 Hmong families by mid 1990s.

Currently supports over 250 refugee farmers– Cultivates an honest model of collaboration and cooperation– Training and support is grounded in respect and cross-cultural

mentorship among farmers and World Farmers staff


Flats Mentor Farm is located on a70-acre parcel of land adjacent to a Fish & Wildlife Management Reserve


Farmers at Flats Mentor FarmThe 250 farmers at Flats Mentor Farm are refugees and immigrants from many parts of the globe who have come to New England to make it their own.


Fabiola standing in front of her High Tunnel, she grows specialty African crops, participated in USDA EQIP program High Tunnel project.


Production • World Farmers provides training and mentorship

in the following areas:– Tilling and Land Prep– Integrated Pest Management– Pollinator Health – Soil Health and Conservation– Irrigation Systems– Season Extension and High Tunnel Use– Successful Growing Techniques for Ethnic Crops


• FMF Farmers sell their produce at over 40 Farmers’ Markets:

Farmers’ Markets


Cooperative Sales• Flats Mentor farmers sell to four wholesale buyers in

the Boston and Worcester areas• All crops sold through the Cooperative are distributed

in low-income communities, providing culturally relevant crops to those who need it most

• The Cooperative sold a peak of over 100 boxes per week this summer

• Wholesale purchasing and sales is a stepping stone for farmers to as they self-assess their interest and ability to move toward commercial farmers


Challenges

• Land Access – Collaborative and Individual• Farm Infrastructure Payments (e.g. Equip, Irrig)• Marketing Contracts for Farmers

– Grocery Stores need large year-round supply– Corner Stores needs smaller more infrequent

• Ethnic Crops: market and seed access– Therefore food access for the community

• Group Food Safety Certifications (e.g. GAP)


Opportunities

• USDA Programs for farmers and organizations supporting farmers

• Mentorship model and farmer-led support and solutions• Cooperatives• Food Hub Partnerships• Access and Develop niche marketing opportunities that serves

the community and the producers


What Can Planners Do…

• PRIORITY: take the time to build trusted relationships with the town, the local farmers, and the community– With these relationships will come the solutions you are looking for

• Some positive examples….


Policies and Practices that Work• 61 A (MA) – tax break models for supporting agricultural

land use• Partnering with agencies to create long term ag leases (Fish

and Wildlife)– Suggestion: Include an option to break up large tracts of land

(100+) to 10-20 acres -- this supports small and beginning farmers growing a variety of crops

• Land Trusts and Environmental Councils building trusted relationships with farmers

• Right to Farm Ordinances - both rural and urban• City-staffed positions to support access to land for

agricultural purposes • Inclusion of farmers on local councils and boards October 21, 2016 SNEAPA Conference81

Stay in Touch

World Farmers769 Main Street, Box 112

Lancaster, MA 01523www.worldfarmers.org

Maria MoreiraExecutive Director

[email protected](978) 706-7935

http://www.worldfarmers.org/

mailto:[email protected]

Discussion/Questions• James Stevens, ConsultEcon, Inc., Moderator, [email protected] • Orion Kriegman, Boston Food Forests, [email protected] • Jessie Banhazl, Green City Growers, [email protected] • Maria Moreira, World Farmers / Flats Mentor Farm, [email protected] • Thomas J. Martin, ConsultEcon, Inc., Respondent, [email protected]







Summary
