February 17, 2014 | AJ Hughes

Although Cleveland, Ohio is known as a rust belt city, it’s also located in the prime agricultural lands of eastern Ohio.

Now, through policy initiatives and partnerships, Cleveland is tapping into its geographical bounty.

During the Great Recession, foreclosures impacted already struggling neighborhoods in the city, and food deserts increased after grocery stores left these areas.

But on the flip side, more land became available for green space.

An Urban Agriculture and Green Space Zoning Ordinance had been adopted by the city in 2005, but at first, the city was primarily focused on parks and recreation facilities. The agriculture aspect of the ordinance began to gain traction in 2007 as the city began to allow farming uses through zoning. In 2009, zoning rules were further modified to allow most city residents to keep chickens, ducks and rabbits, as well as beehives. Now, people in the city may also raise goats, pigs and sheep.

And in 2010, zoning regulations were altered to permit agriculture as a principal use on all vacant residential lots in the city.

“We’re making lemonade out of lemons,” says Jenita McGowan, chief of sustainability for the City of Cleveland.

McGowan says that urban gardens in Cleveland, which now number over 200, are transforming much more than vacant lots. She says urban gardens provide employment opportunities, transform food deserts into food oases, create business opportunities for new growers, foster pride in local neighborhoods and help build community.

“People become better connected with their neighbors,” she says.

Designed to encourage even more urban gardens, the City of Cleveland runs a program called Gardening for Greenbacks. This initiative provides funds to develop urban gardens, with a goal of providing access to safe, healthy and affordable food for every resident. Through Gardening for Greenbacks, urban gardeners may apply for grants of up to $5,000, which can cover costs of hoop houses, irrigation systems, rain barrels, soil and more.

While Gardening for Greenbacks is primarily designed for established urban gardeners, the city also facilitates new gardeners through its Summer Sprout program, which provides gardeners with education, plants, seeds, soil testing and technical assistance.

Water is a necessity for all gardeners, and in acknowledgment of this need, the city offers reduced rate hydrant permits to urban growers during the main growing season of May to October.

According to McGowan, the city is not only committed to sustainability on the front end (growing), but on the back end (food waste) too. The city partners with Collinwood BioEnergy, an anaerobic digestion bio-energy plant located on the east side of Cleveland, which produces energy made from food waste and sells it to Cleveland Public Power.

The health of the city is not the only focal point for sustainable agriculture in Cleveland―policymakers are also focused on the health of individuals. A health impact assessment study conducted by the Cuyahoga County Board of Health revealed the life expectancy in Cleveland’s Hough neighborhood was only 64 years, compared to 88.5 years in Lyndhurst, an affluent eastern suburb. Access to safe, healthy food was deemed as a major factor for life expectancy and quality of life.

Realizing that eating healthily starts at a young age, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Food Policy Coalition also works with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to not only improving students’ access to fruits and vegetables, but also to increase the amount of locally-grown produce served in Cleveland public schools.

The City of Cleveland also supports the Green City Growers Cooperative, a 3.25-acre hydroponic greenhouse located in the city’s Central neighborhood. The greenhouse opened on Feb. 25, 2013, and produces basil and a variety of types of lettuce.

Small greenhouses, also known as hoop houses, have been sprouting up around the city. Jacqueline Kowalski, an educator with Ohio State University’s Cuyahoga County Extension, says Cleveland has awarded hoop house permits since 2010. Through the Cleveland High Tunnel Project, one of the first such programs in the country, urban farmers receive financial aid from the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

Participants in the project receive money to build hoop houses, which extend the growing season.

“I’m very hopeful,” says Kowalski. “There’s lots of technical support.”