SOCIAL: urban agriculture contacts?

Wed May 9 16:27:59 PDT 2012

Occupy has also been trying to move urban ag forward with garden committees
in various groups and a larger scale project at the UC plot in Albany.
Latest developments on the latter here:

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_20582724/police-blocking-vehicle
-access-at-occupy-farm-albany

http://occupyoakland.org/

There are also a few groups focussing on harvesting existing unused fruit
trees: 

http://forageoakland.blogspot.com/

http://www.villageharvest.org/

  _____  

From: social-bounces at lists.deeptrouble.com
[mailto:social-bounces at lists.deeptrouble.com] On Behalf Of Catherine
Rauschuber
Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2012 11:02 AM
To: Kimberly Conley
Cc: Tara Tranguch; Social at lists.deeptrouble.com
Subject: Re: SOCIAL: urban agriculture contacts?

I would be happy to introduce her to the person at SPUR (Eli Zigas) and the
folks at SFUAA, among many others.  I have been working on urgan agriculture
in SF through past jobs at Rec and Park, and now in Sup David Chiu's office,
where we are planning a lot of urban ag policy goodness.  =)  

-Cat

On Wed, May 9, 2012 at 1:00 AM, Kimberly Conley <khconley at gmail.com> wrote:

Socials:

One of my nearest and dearest friends, Tara Tranguch (copied here), is
working on a farm in Connecticut and would like to know more about the urban
agriculture scene here in SF (see article below). Does anyone know folks at
SPUR or CUESA she could talk with? Or other organizations she should know
about? Any resources and connections you can provide are appreciated!  

Thanks,

kc

 <http://civileats.com/2012/05/04/expanding-urban-ag-in-san-francisco/>
Expanding Urban Ag in San Francisco

*
<http://civileats.com/category/food-policy/> FOOD POLICY

*
<http://civileats.com/category/grow-your-own/> GROW YOUR OWN

May 4th, 2012  By Brie Mazurek

Mary Davis started feeling the squeeze of city life about a year ago. She
had grown up gardening and spent a stint working on an organic farm while
attending grad school in Missouri. Now an architect living in San
Francisco's Mission District, she longed to reconnect with her gardening
roots, but her small apartment was lacking in the dirt department. "There
was no garden, no outdoors," she says. "I really wanted a place with some
soil."

She started looking around her neighborhood and fell in love with the
historic
<http://e2ma.net/go/11024451151/208885534/232943345/34641/goto:http:/mission
local.org/2010/04/from-historic-guerilla-garden-to-ward-of-the-city/>
Dearborn Community Garden. But when she inquired about getting a plot, she
was told there was a 22-year waiting list.

She signed up nonetheless and continued her search, adding her name to the
Potrero Hill Community Garden's list as well, which had a comparatively
modest seven-year wait. Since then, Davis has moved into a house with a
shared backyard garden, but she still longs for a plot of her own.

Davis's experience is not uncommon among would-be gardeners in San
Francisco. Most of the city's community gardens have waiting lists of two
years or more, according to
<http://e2ma.net/go/11024451151/208885534/232943346/34641/goto:http:/www.spu
r.org/publications/library/report/public-harvest> Public Harvest, a new
report by
<http://e2ma.net/go/11024451151/208885534/232943347/34641/goto:http:/www.spu
r.org/> San Francisco Urban Planning + Urban Research Association (SPUR).
The most comprehensive report of its kind in recent years, it paints a
sweeping portrait of the current urban agriculture landscape and presents a
bold agenda to help San Francisco meet the demands of a burgeoning movement.

Since the dissolution of the
<http://e2ma.net/go/11024451151/208885534/232943348/34641/goto:http:/foundsf
.org/index.php?title=San_Francisco%27s_Community_Gardens> San Francisco
League of Urban Gardeners (SLUG) in 2004, there have been no centralized
city-funded efforts to maintain or expand urban agriculture. Residents
hoping to start new projects face many bureaucratic hurdles, since public
land and urban agricultural activities are managed by multiple agencies,
with little coordination. From commercial urban farms to rooftop plots and
shared gardens, more than two dozen private and public urban agriculture
projects have sprouted up in the City over the last four years as a result
of the resurgence of interest in gardening. "We need to start looking to our
public land to meet this demand," said SPUR program manager Eli Zigas at a
recent press event at Michelangelo Playground Community Garden in Nob Hill
(pictured below).

While
<http://e2ma.net/go/11024451151/208885534/232943349/34641/goto:http:/sfrecpa
rk.org/CommunityGardens.aspx> San Francisco Recreation & Parks oversees 35
community gardens on public land, those gardens are generally operated by
volunteers, not staff. "The gardens are run by gardeners," says Andrea
Jadwin, a founding and active member of
<http://e2ma.net/go/11024451151/208885534/232943350/34641/goto:http:/www.sfg
ro.org/> San Francisco Gardening Resource Organization (SFGRO), which offers
support and training for community gardeners throughout the city. "That's
good and that's bad because some gardens aren't very well run." Garden
managers are often inadequately prepared to deal with issues like vandalism
or garden members who neglect their plots while waiting lists grow. "If
there were an agency helping people run the gardens better, it'd be easy to
keep them going with minimal budget," she adds.

According to SPUR's findings, San Francisco's urban agriculture program is
middling compared to other large cities. With an annual operating budget of
$800,000, or about $6,615 per site, San Francisco spends more than New York
but far less than Seattle, which invests $11,940 per site.

Taking SPUR's findings and recommendations to heart, District 3 Supervisor
David Chiu has proposed new legislation that would create a strategic plan
and a centralized program to streamline the management of urban agricultural
projects, either through the city or a city-funded nonprofit.

ZigasThe proposed ordinance includes a six-month audit of city-owned
building rooftops that could be used for urban agriculture, the creation of
a "one-stop shop" for individuals and organizations looking to engage in
agricultural activities, and the establishment of garden resource centers
that would provide residents with compost, seeds, and tools. By 2014, Chiu
aims to develop at least 10 new urban agricultural projects on public land
and reduce waiting lists for plot-based gardens to one year.

Zigas emphasizes the minimal cost of such a program for the returns it
offers to the city of San Francisco, such as greening the urban landscape
and reducing stormwater runoff, which in turn reduce public spending on
landscaping and sewage treatment.

He also notes the benefits of urban agriculture for San Francisco residents
and the food system at large, connecting city dwellers with the miracles and
challenges of growing food. "I think a many gardeners in San Francisco have
a great appreciation for a fresh tomato because they know how hard it is to
grow a tomato," says Zigas. "There are a lot of people in the city who learn
about food and how it's produced through that process."

Having been a member of White Crane Springs Community Garden in the Sunset
for nine years, Jadwin has witnessed the benefits that such spaces offer by
bringing neighbors together.

"People garden for the same reasons they go to the farmers market," she
observes. "You see your friends and neighbors. You talk about the weather
and what's in season. It not only allows people to have a broader connection
to food, but it also builds community."

Originally published in
<http://civileats.com/2012/05/04/expanding-urban-ag-in-san-francisco/cuesa.o
rg> CUESA's newsletter

Kimberly Conley
@kimberlyland
415.519.4367 

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-- 
Catherine Rauschuber
415.378.7025
c.rauschuber at gmail.com

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