An Introduction to Urban Agriculture

The nutritional and social importance of sustainable local food sources.

Text by JASMINE BIBLE + Photography by FRONTLINE FARMING

urban farming

You may or may not have heard of urban agriculture (also commonly referred to as urban farming and urban gardening) but what is it really?

In its simplest form, urban agriculture is fresh food access for people living in urban areas. This can take the form of backyard, neighborhood, roof-top, or balcony gardens. It can be a solo plot in a community garden, or participation in a greater community-wide farm.

To gain more insight, we spoke with Damien Thompson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Anthropology, Sociology, and Criminal Justice at Regis University in Denver, Colorado. He holds certifications in Advanced Permaculture Design, is a Mayor-Appointed member of the Sustainable Food Council for the City of Denver, serves as co-chair for the city’s Good Food Purchasing policy group, and is the Co-Founder of FrontLine Farming.

According to Dr. Thompson, “Urban agriculture is any act where you are combining care of the land and production of food in the city.” With a personal and academic passion for food justice and food sovereignty, Thompson co-founded FrontLine Farming in 2018 alongside Fatuma Emmad. This advocacy group now operates more than four acres of urban farmland, and is committed to providing food to people of all income levels by sustainably growing affordable local food.

“We live diminished lives because we don’t have access or connection to the land.” ~ Dr. Thomson

Why is urban agriculture important and what does it achieve? “It’s a three-pronged answer—first, the physical nourishment of our bodies, second, the social justice and food sovereignty aspect, and third, its position as a vital part of a sustainable food system,” explains Thompson.

PHYSICAL NOURISHMENT

The location of your home shouldn’t affect your access to fresh food. Yet in many cities, locally grown food is scarce. For Thompson, his wife, and two daughters, growing food in their yard began first as a form of feeding their own family, “There is nothing like tasting a tomato fresh off a vine, especially one that you’ve grown yourself,” he says.

Spending time with his family in their garden sparked a desire to engage others. “I was interested in creating a context in which I could help other people, and advocate for people that have been marginalized. We live diminished lives because we don’t have access or connection to the land.”

Bringing people into the cycle of life that agriculture provides—to truly understand what goes into the food they eat—is one of the fundamental goals of FrontLine Farming and urban agriculture as a whole. The nutritional value of a locally grown piece of fruit versus one that came from another continent and traveled many food miles (the distance from where the food is grown to where it is consumed) is vastly different. Using food, flowers, and herbs as medicine for our
bodies is an ancient and sacred practice that we seem to have lost reverence for.

SOCIAL JUSTICE + FOOD SOVEREIGNTY

FrontLine Farming is a community engaged in food production and education, whose mission is to create greater equality across local food systems. They seek to support and create leadership for women and people of color by growing food, listening, educating, and honoring land and ancestors through policy initiatives and direct action.

“You can be a steward of the soil wherever you are — you don’t have to live in a rural area.”

“I’m particularly interested in how communities can utilize traditional and modern information
and practices to build food systems which uplift marginalized and oppressed peoples, restore ecosystems, build biodiversity, and support cultural diversity, as well as provide individuals and families with the highest level of access to the means to support their own health,” shares Thompson.

Food sovereignty goes beyond ensuring that people have enough to eat. It’s about regaining control over what we consume. By establishing your own personal relationship with your food and your land—choosing what you grow, what you eat—you reclaim your power. This can be on an individual basis, or community level.

VITAL PART OF FOOD SUSTAINABILITY

“Urban agriculture is an important part of a balanced and sustainable growing system,” explains Thompson. “To maintain a system that allows everyone access to freshly grown food, there are three growing systems that must coexist: urban, peri-urban, and rural agriculture.” Urban agriculture refers to growing that happens within city limits or inside of a municipality, peri-urban refers to smaller farms (1-5 acres) that exist immediately outside of a metropolitan area, and rural refers to everything larger in scale and production.

Growing up in suburban North Carolina, Thompson was accustomed to the mentality that your yard was a lawn that you mowed once a week. “It requires real change to do something that’s not ornamental,” he says. Now, more and more people nationwide are converting their suburban lawns into gardens of every sort.

Urban Agriculture

A shift in perspective and priorities is required to start growing on your own land, patio, or window ledge. But organizations across the country like FrontLine Farming offer educational classes on getting started, maintaining, and growing your own garden. Visit a community garden or small farm to familiarize yourself with what grows best locally.

“Educating kids especially is vital,” Thompson says. “Helping them to understand where their food comes from, establishing a connection to the land…Just like you wouldn’t take a rural kid and not teach them about computers, why would you not teach an urban kid about farming?”

Urban Agriculture

The best advice Thompson offers is also the simplest: “Just start planting! The worst thing you can do is kill a plant. You might be disappointed, but you can go back to the garden center and buy more plants. No one is perfect at the beginning.”

If that still feels daunting, subscribe to a local CSA program, and volunteer for a season. Get your hands dirty, humble yourself, and resign to the beauty of not knowing what’s to come. “Every year, every season, you start anew,” Thompson reassures. “Farming relies on so many things you can’t control— so start small and learn from trial and error.”

This Urban Agriculture article was featured in our Spring/Summer 2022 edition of Nest magazine. Follow along here and follow us on Instagram for more expert tips, tricks, and advice for home owners and investors at all levels.

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Posted in Asheville, Charlottesville, Fredericksburg, Greater Louisville, Greensboro, Greenville, Jackson, Lake Norman, Morganton, NEST Magazine, New River Valley, Raleigh-Durham, Richmond, Roanoke, Shenandoah Valley, Spring/Summer 2022, Wilmington
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