Lockdown Benefits Urban Farmers In Paris

As the coronavirus spread in the month of March, traditional food supply chains in Paris were interrupted by lockdown. "Fearing seeing fruit and vegetables rot in the fields, the government told businesses and consumers to focus on stocking and buying French food products. In Paris, where residents weren’t allowed to go further than 1km from their homes, some local producers thrived," writes Catherine Bennett. 

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, a longtime proponent of urban farms and believer in the principle that Parisians should live within a 15-minute walk of any given service, hopes to make locally grown produce more accessible, reports Bennett. "Although the Covid-19 crisis didn’t entirely rupture traditional supply chains, urban agriculture professionals are hoping that the last few months have proved the importance of a diversified local food supply," Bennett says. While urban farmers may not be able to make up for the entire yield of the traditional food supply system, they hope to show that urban farms and gardens have their own place within the city.