Urban farms transform city’s landscape

Organic tomatoes, apples, eggplant and grapes may not be typical fruits of inner cities, but residents in Rochester, N.Y., are cultivating them anyway. Where abandoned lots once littered the city, four small urban farms have sprung up to take their places. The farms are part of a program called Greater Rochester Urban Bounty (GRUB), which aims to create self-sufficient commercial ventures for urban farms and to transform the northeast section of the city into prosperous neighborhoods.

GRUB’s roots took hold early in the 1990s when a supermarket that served three low-income neighborhoods in the city — Upper Falls and North and South Market View Heights — was destroyed by a fire. Residents doubted that another supermarket would be willing to take its place. An advocacy group, Partners Through Food, worked with Mayor William Johnson’s office to entice a large supermarket chain to open a new store in place of the old.

Concurrently, the city started a citizen-based planning process called Neighbors Building Neighborhoods that divided the city into 10 sectors and tapped community groups in each to lead planning activities. The NorthEast Neighborhood Alliance (NENA), which included advocates from Partners Through Food and three neighborhood preservation organizations, led planning initiatives in Upper Falls and North and South Market View Heights. The alliance created a community vision statement, identified key neighborhood issues and priorities, and developed action plans to reach its goals.

As part of its planning initiatives and the community’s work to secure a supermarket, NENA evaluated the retail food environment and investigated alternatives to grocery store food procurement. It discovered a community gardening project that had begun as an activity for senior citizens and had promise as an activity for the entire community.

In 1999, NENA took over operation of the existing community garden and started the GRUB program. NENA obtained a permit from the city to create another community garden on an empty .75-acre site at a prominent intersection in the area. During a United Way Day of Caring, residents worked with volunteers from businesses to clear and plant the sites.

The following year, NENA rented space in the city’s public market and began selling its organic fruits and vegetables. Using a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it purchased more land for the project, including a 2.7-acre farm that had been dormant for 20 years. GRUB has expanded to include four small farms and three sites where food is sold. It also has begun providing fruits, vegetables and herbs to area restaurants. Revenue from the produce is used to support and expand farm operations.

In 2000, NENA used city funds to begin a youth program on the farms. During the summer, 12 youth from the three neighborhoods work full-time on the farms and receive entreprenuerial training. “This experience allows kids to see something other than what they are used to dealing with on the streets,” says Hank Herrera, planner and development specialist for NENA.

In addition to employing youth, GRUB employs a youth supervisor, a full-time farmer, a crew member and a sales and marketing manager. It receives additional help from volunteer organizations and community service programs.

In July, NENA received a four-year, $1 million grant from the Battle Creek, Mich.-based W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and it received a $100,000 grant from the city in November for GRUB. “Our goal is to become self-sufficient, so we won’t have to rely on grants to keep our farms going,” Herrera says. “As far as we’re concerned, [the grants are] a business investment. We want to grow, make a profit and invest that profit back into our farms.”

In 2001, GRUB harvested 8,000 pounds of produce, and it harvested 12,000 pounds last year. The organization is creating a regional food-trading network that will link small family farmers and processors with consumers. “In our 15 county region, people will spend $4 billion a year for food at home and in restaurants,” Herrera says. “If we can begin to capture some of those revenues for economic development in our neighborhood, it will be a huge increase in our ability to build assets and create wealth in our neighborhood.”