Los Angeles Digs In with City Farming

A Los Angeles-based farming company aims to bring fresh, locally grown food to communities all around the city and transform their work into a political statement to shine a spotlight on sustainable practices.

2 minute read

June 27, 2012, 12:00 PM PDT

By Emily Williams


The urban farming company Farmscape is the next revolutionary in the local food movement, aiming to bring agriculture to the city. "One of the things that people don't talk about when they talk about the food system is who is working," states Rachel Bailin, the marketing manager for Farmscape. In an attempt to get their own hands dirty, the young company has begun digging in on sites all over Los Angeles with a dedicated team of workers. "The less-than-four-year-old company has 12 full-time employees-including seven farmers who receive a living wage plus healthcare-and is looking to keep growing," writes Zak Stone. "So far they've installed more than 300 urban farms throughout the L.A. area and maintain 150 of them weekly."

The company runs itself as a business, serving various private clients, but their work has become more of a profitable community service. "'When we first started, we expected that our clients would be of a higher income level and would be two-parent working families,' says Bailin. Instead, Farmscape has been delighted to build gardens for preschool teachers, single mothers, and institutions and businesses that want employee gardens as perks."

Using local farming as their platform, the Farmscape company has chosen to take on a political presence by running for office for the 2013 mayoral election. "Bailin says it's an ironic way of questioning the bounds of "corporate personhood," extended to a corporation's right to free speech by the Supreme Court's ruling on Citizens United in 2010." Ironic or not, the company is serious about its mission to make farming an accessible and beneficial food option for urbanites. Bureaucracy and red tape, Bailin believes, are unnecessary obstacles to spreading her company's mission. Asks Bailin, "If corporations are already deciding our politics by giving a bunch of money and lobbying, why not see if we can take out the middleman that would be the politician and make corporations the politician?"

Monday, June 25, 2012 in Good

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight