November 20, 2015 | seedstock

1 15 Urban farms and activists that are changing the way we eat [The Root]

Excerpt: They’re remaking the culinary traditions in African-American communities and diversifying the farm-to-table concept.                             

2 This is gonna be harder than I thought [Fast Company]

Excerpt: In the first installment of this new series, food writer Mark Bittman opens up about his decision to join a startup.

3 Urban farming group hopes to work out deal for 10 year lease on land owned by city of Detroit [WXYZ]

Excerpt: In a neighborhood with too many abandoned houses, too many vacant lots filled with illegally dumped debris, sits a hidden gem: the Georgia Street Community Collective.                                   

4 Urban farmers protect crops from contaminated land [Great Lakes Echo]

Excerpt: Jenny Bongiorno, urban farmer and the founder of Our Fresh Local in Grand Rapids, Michigan, discusses how to mitigate the risks of planting a garden on contaminated land.                                

5 The USDA is putting $34 million into local food projects. Will it be enough? [PRI]

Those in the food justice movement question whether the agency’s recent efforts are a superficial attempt to appear supportive of local food and minority farmers.                            

6 Mayor signs on to Urban Food Policy Pact [New Pittsburgh Courier]

Excerpt: Mayor William Peduto today joined city officials from around the globe with a commitment to the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, an effort dedicated to the creation of just and sustainable urban food systems.                                    

7 Aquaponics a cost-effective source of healthy food [The Taos News]

Excerpt: Owning a self-sufficient home is a dream shared by many in eco-friendly Taos. And having a dependable, year-round source of food at home is an important element of it.                               

8 Riverbend Environmental Education Center brings aquaponics to Norristown classrooms [Times Herald]

Excerpt: For more than 500 seventh-graders in the Norristown Area School District, walking into their science classrooms means walking into a veritable vegetable garden abounding with lemon balm, strawberries, romaine lettuce, oregano, and spinach – all being fed by the waste product of fish living in aquaponic gardens provided byRiverbend Environmental Education Center.                                 

9 ‘Aquaponics’ built in metro area [KSHB]

Excerpt: A unique growing technique called aquaponics is being built in the heart of the urban core. Aquaponics refers to the system that grows fish and plants together. The term was coined in the 1970s but has roots in ancient times.                                

10 North Bay Haven’s aquaponics lab makes do without soil [News Herald]

Excerpt: Miriam, a student at North Bay Haven Charter Academy Elementary School, was in the school’s aquaponics lab in a small room near the gym. She dumped a few flakes into a fish tank and watched them disappear. She also sprayed a few plants with water.                                      

11 Scotts Miracle-Gro executive predicts doubling of sales for hydroponics business [Columbus Business First]

Excerpt: Sales for General Hydroponics, the recent Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. acquisition targeting indoor soilless plants, could double in the company’s current fiscal year.                                   

12 Winston-Salem officials to consider hydroponics plan [Journal Now]

Excerpt: With a growing focus on fresh food for “food deserts,” local officials and organizations are exploring everything from hydroponics to small-business promotion to bring better food to people with limited access to it.

13 Community Agriculture Alliance online marketplace poised to grow [Steamboat Today]

Excerpt: A grant from the United States Department of Agriculture will help the Community Agriculture Alliance continue to grow and develop an online marketplace for local food sales and expand other efforts.                                              

14 Leahy: Vermont nets $125,000 to connect schools and local farms [VTDigger]

Excerpt: A program long championed by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) will invest $125,000 in bolstering efforts to bring local agriculture into the classrooms and cafeterias of schools across Vermont.                                  

15 JetBlue’s airport farm adds a touch of green to J.F.K.[New York Times]

Excerpt: The project — replete with 26 varieties of plants, including kale, dill and oregano — is an illustration of airports’ efforts to infuse natural elements into their sites.                                    

16 San Diego County To Create Incentive Zones For Urban Farms [KPBS]

Excerpt: Under the program, owners who dedicate vacant, blighted or unimproved land for farming use will be assessed at a lower property tax rate, which was authorized by state legislation two years ago.                               

17 Urban agriculture a good idea, but …[Agweek]

Excerpt: Fargo-Moorhead’s budding love affair with urban agriculture could be a positive development for the region, or it could be a means by which neighbors give neighbors the bird.

18 Urban agriculture and placemaking: Toward building resiliency [The Rapidian]

Excerpt: Building resiliency in any system takes time, and it comes at a cost that rarely yields rewards in the early stages. For long-term success, issues of social and ecological durability must focus on empowerment and health, not momentary fixes.                              

19 San Jose rules committee to consider “Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones” [KLIV]

Excerpt: Empty small parcels of land could be temporarily turned into community farms under a proposal the San Jose City Council Rules Committee will consider this week. Councilman Raul Peralez tells KLIV this proposal called “Urban Agriculture Incentive                             

20 Flat-packed gardens pop up for urban farming [Discovery News]

Excerpt: Growing your own organic food in the city could be just like assembling a Poäng chair or Billy bookcase from Ikea. That’s the idea behind a new design for flat-packed pop-up farms from an entrepreneurial team based in Copenhagen.                           

21 Urban Farm U to launch The Urban Farm podcast today [Phoenix New Times]

Excerpt: Have you ever wanted to learn how to grow food in your own backyard? Or are you a seasoned urban farmer looking for a few ways to improve your crop? Urban Farm U, a local organization that aims to educate growers about self-sustaining food production, is launching a podcast all about — you guessed it — urban farming.