Local Food

Fruit Trees

Nation's Largest Public Food Forest Gets a Chance to Grow in Atlanta

A new 7-acre public food forest is part of an initiative to ensure every resident of Atlanta has access to fresh food by 2021.

May 29, 2019 - Curbed Atlanta

Agriculture Exhibition

Urban Farming Program Struggles to Sprout

Los Angeles created a tax incentive to promote urban farms on the thousands of vacant lots around the city. So far, the incentive has been given out only four times.

July 31, 2018 - CityLab

Indoor Kale

Vertical Farms, Fad or Feast?

Hydroponic indoor farmers hope to charge a premium for plants grown out of season in indoor farms. The notion has generated attention from big investors, but whether or not consumers will follow is an open question.

July 9, 2018 - Civil Eats

Urban Agriculture

Tax Credits to Encourage Urban Agriculture

Montgomery County, Maryland is the latest municipality to approve an agricultural tax credit to to create incentives for agricultural uses in urban areas.

March 10, 2017 - Source of the Spring

North view

Is This a Way Forward for Urban Farming?

Pulling in community members and a network of local nonprofits, Phoenix's "Spaces of Opportunity" is an attempt to make urban farming something more than a catchphrase.

February 7, 2017 - The Architect's Newspaper

Amazon Drive Thru

Amazon Planning to Open 2,000 Drive Thru Grocery Stores

Amazon plans to build 2,000 drive through grocery stores across the country.

November 2, 2016 - Modern Cities

North view

What Distinguishes a 'Real' CSA?

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs originally let local buyers support local growers. But with a rise in subscription-based "food box" clubs, it's getting harder to say what a real CSA looks like.

May 23, 2016 - philly.com

Collaborative Efforts Boost Maine's Local Food Sytem

An article by Colleen Fuller highlights collaborative initiatives in Maine's food system as well as key challenges the state faces in reaching a goal of increasing and broadening access to, and consumption of, local food.

March 8, 2016 - Maine Association of Planners Front Page

Scaling Up Local, Sustainable Food Production

The local food production industry so far has mostly been constrained to a niche market—expensive and available only to a small percentage of consumers. A project in Portland is working to change that.

October 21, 2015 - ASLA The Dirt

09di1527-28

Louisville Builds Food Hub 2.0

Unlike conventional food hubs, Louisville's planned $50 million FoodPort will gather and 'incubate' regional food businesses. The hope is to breathe life into the area's struggling small farms.

April 11, 2015 - CityLab

North view

Urban Farming Gains a Foothold in Houston

Operated by a pair of brothers, Finca Tres Robles is one of several Houston farms coaxing fresh produce from unused urban land. Increasingly, urban farmers compete with developers for space.

March 29, 2015 - OffCite

Planned Epicurean District in Paris Raises the Specter of Gentrification

A new corridor planned as a haven for local gourmet food in the quiet Haut Marais neighborhood of Paris concerns residents with the threat of gentrification.

August 23, 2014 - New York Times

7 Essential Books on the Local Food Movement

Marianne Peters lists seven "classic, must-read" books about the evolving role of locally grown and sold food in the American economy.

August 13, 2014 - Seedstock

Boston's First Permanent Public Market to Start Construction

To capitalize on expanding interest in locally-sourced and unique food items, a non-profit group is moving forward with plans to build Boston's first permanent public market focused on locally grown foods in a space atop the Haymarket MBTA station.

January 27, 2014 - Boston Globe

Farms Become the Latest Must-Have Suburban Amenity

Forget about golf courses and swimming pools, says Luke Runyon, developers are drawing in residents by integrating fully functioning farms into their new neighborhoods.

December 18, 2013 - NPR

Healthy School Food Initiative Nourishes L.A.'s Economy

A push by the Los Angeles Unified School District to increase its supply of healthy and locally-produced foods is paying dividends for area farmers and businesses.

November 26, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

Scientists Take the Buzz out of Urban Beekeeping

Those well intentioned urban beekeepers trying to prevent colony collapse and contribute to local food movements may actually be doing more harm than good say researchers from the University of Sussex.

August 20, 2013 - NPR

Departure of USDA's No. 2 Official Deals Blow to Sustainable Agriculture

In an essay for Grist, Tom Laskawy laments the departure of deputy secretary Kathleen Merrigan, the Obama administration's "most powerful supporter of local and organic foods," from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

March 25, 2013 - Grist

Scaling Up the Local Food Movement

Small farmers generally sell their wares at farmers markets rather than to grocery stores or institutions. But two entrepreneurs in Virginia are seeking to change that by creating a food hub to aggregate, process, grow, and promote local produce.

November 14, 2012 - Grist

Come Here And Take A Lesson From The Lovely Lemon Tree

Urban agriculture is a hot topic in sustainability, food, and planning circles. From roof and deck gardens to community gardens to urban farms, urban agriculture has captured the imaginations of activists of many stripes as well as gardeners and eaters. When I mention that my academic work focuses on food access in urban areas, the most common response I get is “oh, you mean like urban ag?” As this interest in urban agriculture grows, some are asking whether food sovereignty – the ability for a population to produce enough food to feed itself – is a feasible goal for American cities. 

October 11, 2012 - Lisa Feldstein

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