May 27, 2016 | seedstock

Growing up: Vertical farms evolve to end hunger [Take Part]

Excerpt: Innovation is making pricey and complicated indoor agriculture a more viable means of growing organic crops.

Bike-powered farming program turns lawns into urban farms [Alternet]

Excerpt: Eating locally is ideal, and what could be more local than plucking food right from your own yard?

Research shows organic agriculture boosts local economies [PR Newswire]

Excerpt: The Organic Trade Association today released conclusive research that for the first time links economic health at the county level to organic agriculture, and shows that organic food and crop production—and the business activities accompanying organic agriculture—create real and long-lasting regional economic opportunities.

Northeast

Dulaney graduate creates workshop series on ‘urban homesteading’ [Baltimore Sun] (Maryland)

Excerpt: Anna Glenn was raised on a property near Loch Raven Reservoir, in Cockeysville, on which she, her parents and two younger sisters raised rabbits, turkeys, goats, chickens, ducks, strawberries, blackberries, Brussels sprouts, onions, beets, sweet potatoes, kale, lavender and asparagus.

Urban farming as a fix for Philadelphia’s food crisis; A glimpse at Greensgrow [Examiner] (Pennsylvania)

Excerpt: Because of the idea that farming has its proper place, many view the issues associated with food production as strictly rural.

Agriculture in R.I.: Pair of 20-something women launch small farm, break new ground [Providence Journal] (Rhode Island)

Excerpt: Sophie Soloway and Courtney Sartini are not your typical farmers. For one, they’re young. A third of farms across the country are run by people age 65 or older, while only 5 percent are operated by people 34 or younger, according to the federal Census of Agriculture.

Student stories: Feminism on the farm — dual-ag major redefining norms [Penn State University] (Pennsylvania)

Excerpt: What do farms, feminism and the future all have in common? Hattie Henderson knows the answer. With her interests in incorporating new techniques in the farm industry, she is changing what it means to be a female farmer.

Johns Hopkins Bioethics Institute to study the futures of food systems, ethical labeling [EurekAlert] (Maryland)

Excerpt: Scholars at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics will continue their innovative work on one of humanity’s oldest and most complex problems — how to ethically ensure enough nutritious food for the world’s population — with a grant of more than $3 million from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

South

Future of food [Richmond Free Press] (Virginia)

Excerpt: A former recreation building in historic downtown Petersburg has been transformed by Virginia State University into an innovative center for urban food production.

Where to find urban farming in the Tampa Bay region? Here are 3 places to go [83 Degrees Media] (Florida)

Excerpt: Eating local farm produce can reduce your own carbon footprint while providing family and friends with tastier and healthier nutrient-laden food options.

Nonprofit teaches commercial indoor farming to veterans, others [Work It, Lynchburg] (Virginia)

Excerpt: Creating Opportunities through Partnership and Education, or COPE International-USA, developed a program in commercial indoor farming and began accepting students in fall 2015 at Central Virginia Community College.

West Palm wins $200,000 soil clean-up grant [My Palm Beach Post] (Florida)

Excerpt: An urban farm sprouting from planters in a West Palm Beach “food desert” will get a layer of contaminated topsoil removed, thanks to a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  

Midwest

Tyson Gersh, 26 [Crain’s Detroit Business] (Michigan)

Excerpt: He’s turned two square blocks in Detroit’s North End into a model for urban farming, with 50,000 pounds of food produced over the past five years. The farm is expanding, with a community kitchen and farm-to-table restaurant all part of the plan.

Urban farm in Dayton offers hope for food deserts [Dayton Daily News] (Ohio)

Excerpt: An abandoned factory in an East Dayton neighborhood is producing again, but this time around the product is all green. It’s The Urban Renewal Farm, or TURF, a project formed this year by a coalition of volunteers.

West

Grow your own food at home with America’s best hydroponics [KHTS AM 1220] (California)

Excerpt: Palmdale-based America’s Best Hydroponics and Garden Center is the one-stop shop for both hydroponics beginners and veteran growers.

Can this market be a model for getting good food into neighborhoods shaped by racism? [Civil Eats] (California)

Excerpt: After years of planning, West Oakland’s People’s Community Market may finally come to fruition. Can it help reshape a ‘food desert’?

Future uncertain for only profitable urban farm in SF [The San Francisco Examiner] (California)

Excerpt: Caitlyn Galloway set out six years ago to prove urban farms can do more than unite neighborhoods. She wanted to show that a city garden could turn enough of a profit to sustain itself without fundraising or sponsorship.