What are the Top Benefits of Urban Farming?
More and more towns in North America have some kind of urban farming initiative -in late summer and early fall you’ll find their produce in your local markets with the tastiest freshest crops imaginable. In fact all over the world people are realizing that urban farming has social, environmental and economic benefits alongside just producing tastier food!
Globally, we are realizing that sustainable as well as reliable food sources are critical and also that urban farming is part of that process. It’s part of the spectrum of alternative farming approaches being built by local advocates, farmers, as well as Agri-preneurs.
Here are the major benefits of urban farming:
Urban Farming is a Huge Growth Sector
Yes, in the old days the local food market was how we got all our food! But for most of our lifetimes this was a fringe part of the produce industry. Today it’s one of the fastest growing segments: from 2008 to 2014, it grew in value from $5B to $12B, and is expected to hit $20B before the end of 2019; an incredible 67 percent of grocery shoppers say that they purchase local food on a ‘regular’ basis. Supporting this growth is only possible with urban farming, growing produce where traditional farms cannot thrive.
Urban Farming Revitalizes the Local Economy
The best way to strengthen a city is to drive local economic activity, binding everyone in a cooperative web of exchange- this invigorates local employment opportunities, gets money circulating and encourages other new business and services. In this way, local food systems are able to positively influence the local economy. More urban farming in container farming produce choice means grocers, restaurants, schools, and institutions have more opportunity for local food, creating yet more opportunity for small businesses and food entrepreneurs to explore urban farming as a thriving new market in which to start or expand their business.
Urban Farming Greens Cityscapes
Urban farming is a perfect solution for underutilized brownfield sites and lots scattered throughout most cities. More and more there are also farming projects making efficient use of rooftop space. Community gardens and raised beds instantly transform spaces into more living, green and edible landscapes, spaces where individuals can take an opportunity to take stewardship of common land and become more involved in their communities around them. And of course it’s win-win: revamped back yards and roof gardens improve property prices!
Urban Farming promotes healthy communities:
It’s incredible how many urban and suburban communities don’t have access to fresh food, let alone food that hasn’t spent days and days in transportation. Urban agriculture revolutionizes access to affordable fresh produce and provides a chance for communities to learn about nutrition and how to grow healthy clean food. There is now a large body or learning about urban agricultural programs as a method for engaging local youth. These give youth hands-on experience growing food and a unique opportunity to get their hands dirty while learning the importance of eating well. And, of course, urban farming allows communities to know where their food comes from, how it’s grown, and even meet the people growing it- they could be your next door neighbor!
Environmental benefits of Urban Farming
A shift to local food production like greenhouse hydroponics farming is an effective way to mitigate the huge environmental impact of industrialized agriculture like Of course, we still need to work on better transportation infrastructure and improving the whole value chain but it’s a stark fact that food grown locally travels significantly less from the farm to your plate. Food miles go from hundreds, even thousands, to single digits.