Urban Agriculture Across America

Urban Agriculture is a grass-roots revolution. In cities and suburbs from sea-to-sea, citizens are growing, processing, and distributing food created by their own hands. In the process they are demonstrating the principles of sustainability, building community, and in many cases providing employment. Some shining examples…

Atlanta

Georgia Organics – Georgia Organics connects organic food from Georgia farms to Georgia families.

Georgia Urban Ag Council – Urban Ag Council is Georgia’s premier green industry association for professionals involved in all sectors of the urban ag industry,

Truly Living Well Center for Urban Agriculture – Since its beginning in 2006, Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture (TLW) has used its expertise to demonstrate how food can be a bridge across diverse cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. Our goal is to use food production as the plate on which we create a culture of health and wellness in our community. Our programs and activities provide agriculture training, nutrition, education, and job creation.

AgLanta – Welcome to AgLanta, your digital food hub for all things urban agriculture from the City of Atlanta’s collective One Atlanta Office that includes Resilience and Sustainability. AgLanta.org serves as a portal to learn, share, and celebrate ways we can collectively cultivate the urban ag community in Atlanta. Keep going and growing! #AgLanta

The City of Atlanta Hires First Urban Agriculture Director (Dec 2015)

Austin

Austin Sustainable Food Center – From seed to table, SFC creates opportunities for individuals to make healthy food choices and to participate in a vibrant local food system. Through organic food gardening, relationships with area farmers, interactive cooking classes and nutrition education, children and adults have increased access to locally grown food and are empowered to improve the long-term health of Central Texans and our environment.

City of Austin Community Garden Program – Austin’s Community Gardens are currently producing an estimated 100,000 pounds of fresh local, organic produce for Austin residents every year!  They are also places where both adults and children learn, fostering community and good-neighbor relationships. The Sustainable Urban Agriculture and Community Garden Program (SUACG) was created by Austin City Council in 2009. The purpose is to establish a single point of contact and streamline the process for establishing community gardens and sustainable urban agriculture on city land. SUACG seeks to connect the dots between all the efforts that make up Austin’s local food system, building partnerships around local food production and food security. Our broader goals include providing leadership, education, policy analysis, and project development support for the City of Austin’s community-based food system.

East Austin Urban Farms – The annual East Austin Urban Farm Tour is a “rain or shine” sip, eat and stroll fundraising event that takes place on four working urban farms — Boggy Creek Farm, Hausbar Urban Farm & GuestHaus, Rain Lily Farm, and, for their first year, Eden East Farm — all located within walking / biking distance of one another in the heart of East Austin, TX. Enjoy delicious bites from many of Austin’s top chefs using the freshest farm ingredients and handcrafted sips from local brewers, wine merchants, and mixologists on each farm. Guided farm tours allow guests to get to know the farmers behind the food and learn how it’s grown. Proceeds benefit Farm & Ranch Freedom Alliance.

Urban Patchwork – We work with thousands of neighbors throughout Austin to galvanize communities around turning underutilized private and public space into productive urban gardens and farms, educational space, and activity centers.

Urban Roots – Urban Roots cultivates leadership skills through food and farming to transform the lives of young people and inspire, engage, and nourish the community

Baltimore

Baltimore Office of Sustainability – Read the City of Baltimore’s Urban Agriculture Plan (2013). Homegrown Baltimore is the city government’s urban agriculture program, with the goals of reducing vacant blight, increasing food access, and creating new opportunities for education and employment in Baltimore. For more information about how to farm in Baltimore City and for details on updated zoning codes and animal regulations, see this presentation and this overview.

BMoreAg Center – Baltimore’s Urban Agriculture Center: Revitalizing the city through employment, education, fresh food access, food preparation instruction, green space, and community engagement.

Boone Street Farm – Cheryl Carmona and Aliza Sollins started the Boone Street Farm in Fall 2010, in the East Baltimore Midway neighborhood. About 20 years ago, twelve rowhouses on the 2100 block of Boone Street were demolished, leaving two large vacant lots about a quarter acre in size. The lots remained vacant until 2010, when Cheryl Carmona talked with neighbors about the idea of growing food in the neighborhood, tested the soil, and adopted the lots.  Boone Street Farm includes a free community garden for neighbors, one hoop house, and a small fruit orchard, in addition to a small-scale market farm.

10 Baltimore Urban Agriculture Projects You Should Know About

Birmingham

Jones Valley Teaching Farm – Good School Food, our primary program, is a food-based education model rooted in academic standards. Through hands-on, experiential lessons at our Teaching Farms, pre-K–12 students use food, farming, and the culinary arts as a foundation for academic exploration.

Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network – ASAN’s vision is a resilient agricultural system in Alabama. We believe that strong relationships are essential to resilient systems; strong, personal connections between growers, eaters, institutions and businesses make our agricultural system thrive and therefore our mission is to deepen relationships between the people of Alabama, the food we eat, and the place we live.

Boston

Boston Tree Party – The Boston Tree Party is an urban agriculture project, a performative re-imagining of American political expression, and a participatory public art project. At its core, the Party is a diverse coalition of organizations, institutions, and communities from across the Greater Boston Area coming together in support of Civic Fruit.

ReVision Urban Farm – Our ReVision Urban Farm began as a small garden in 1990 alongside the shelter for homeless mothers that is now the ReVision Family Home. With the purchase of three abandoned lots across the street, a plot of land was reclaimed in the heart of the city to become the ReVision Urban farm we operate today. Since 1990, the ReVision Family Home and the ReVision Urban Farm have given food and shelter to hundreds of homeless families and provided healthful food options to thousands of people throughout the community.

Urban Farming Institute of Boston – The Urban Farming Institute of Boston’s mission is to develop and promote urban farming as a commercial sector that creates green collar jobs for residents, and to engage urban communities in building a healthier and more locally based food system.

City Growers – We work with our community partners to secure land in the city for growing food. Imagine the positive impact of converting abandoned city lots into thriving green farms. That is City Grower’s vision. City Growers is contributing to the new green economy in communities where economic revitalization is needed most. In the coming years, we will create a checkerboard of productive green space in Boston’s inner city where local growing talent thrives.

The Food Project – Our mission is to grow a thoughtful and productive community of youth and adults from diverse backgrounds who work together to build a sustainable food system. We produce healthy food for residents of the city and suburbs and provide youth leadership opportunities. Most importantly, we strive to inspire and support others to create change in their own communities.

City of Boston Urban Farms – Downloadable .pdf from the Office of Food Access, Mayors Office of Health and Human Services

Chicago

Advocates for Urban Agriculture – We are a coalition of urban farms, community and school gardens, individuals and businesses working to support and expand sustainable agriculture in the Chicago region. Formed in 2002, AUA’s community includes more than 2,300 members throughout the Chicago area and beyond.

FamilyFarmed.org – We are a non-profit organization committed to expanding the production, marketing and distribution of locally grown and responsibly produced food, in order to enhance the social, economic, and environmental health of our communities.

The Chicago Urban Agriculture Mapping Project – CUAMP is an ongoing collaboration between individuals, organizations, businesses and institutions that have sought to collaboratively map and inventory urban agriculture and community gardens in Chicago since 2010. It includes everything from small residential gardens to commercial urban farms. With an interactive map and directory that link to detailed profiles for each growing site, CUAMP aims to provide the public with a comprehensive and constantly evolving look at the state of urban agriculture in Chicagoland.

Urban Grower’s Collective – Urban Growers Collective (UGC) was founded by Laurell Sims and Erika Allen in the fall of 2017. Our approach is to demonstrate and support communities in developing community-based food systems where food is grown, prepared and distributed within their home communities. Working closely with more than 33 community partners, the goal is to build economic opportunity for youth and mitigate food insecurity and limited access to high quality, affordable and nutritionally dense food. Eight urban farms operate on 11-acres of land predominantly located on Chicago’s south side. These farms are production-oriented with staff integrating education, training, leadership development and food distribution to meet program goals.  Each farm utilizes organic growing methods and intensive growing practices that maximizes space and year-round production strategies.

Windy City Harvest Youth Farm – Since 2003, the Youth Farm program has achieved the following:
~ Provided after-school and summer jobs for more than 600 youth
~ Harvested and sold more than 100,000 pounds of freshly grown produce at farm stands and in neighborhoods identified as food deserts through nutrition benefit programs (Illinois Link cards, senior coupons, and Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC, vouchers)
~ Educated more than 400 moms at six WIC clinics on the power of plants to help keep their babies healthy
~ Trained more than 120 ambassadors (former staff, interns, and trainees) to build their own programs in communities all across the nation, teaching about the power of plants to sustain and enrich life.

Peterson Garden Project – Peterson Garden Project is a nonprofit educational organization looking to recruit, educate and inspire everyone to grow and cook their own food. Pop-up Victory Gardens, a Community Cooking School, and extensive educational resources are available to the entire community. Through PGP programs, families and communities discover new strength and connection through the lifelong skills of organic food gardening and cooking.

Urban Canopy – Founded in 2011, The Urban Canopy is pioneering the local food cycle to create a more sustainable and equitable food system in Chicago. We are growers, distributors, composters and community members who seek to positively impact our city’s environment, people’s health, and local economy. We strive to make healthy produce accessible to all, reduce the miles fresh food travels, keep food waste out of landfills, and create and maintain local jobs.

Urban Growers Collective – Urban Growers Collective (UGC) was founded by Laurell Sims and Erika Allen in the fall of 2017. Our approach is to demonstrate and support communities in developing community-based food systems where food is grown, prepared and distributed within their home communities. Working closely with more than 33 community partners, the goal is to build economic opportunity for youth and mitigate food insecurity and limited access to high quality, affordable and nutritionally dense food. Eight urban farms operate on 11-acres of land predominantly located on Chicago’s south side. These farms are production-oriented with staff integrating education, training, leadership development and food distribution to meet program goals.  Each farm utilizes organic growing methods and intensive growing practices that maximizes space and year-round production strategies.

City of Chicago Urban Agriculture FAQ – Interested in growing food for sale in the City of Chicago? Thinking about starting a community garden? Recently adopted changes to the Chicago Zoning Ordinance allow agricultural uses like community gardens and urban farms in many parts of the city. See list of frequently asked questions regarding the rules and regulations that growers should consider when planning an urban agriculture project.

Cleveland

Community Greenhouse Partners – Community Greenhouse Partners is a sustainable urban farm that applies ecological design principles and engages community participation to grow wholesome food year-round that is provided at low-cost to the neighborhood, improving personal health while generating training, mentoring and employment opportunities.

Ohio City Farm – The Ohio City Farm, one of the largest contiguous urban farms in the United States at nearly six acres, exists to provide fresh, local and healthy food to Cleveland’s underserved residents, boost the local food economy, and educate the community about the importance of a complete food system.

Columbia, SC

City Roots – City Roots is a family-owned, 3.5-acre organic farm and agritourism destination located on an urban site in the Rosewood neighborhood of Columbia, SC. Our main focus is growing greenhouse microgreens and gourmet culinary mushrooms, and we have space dedicated to field crops and herbs. We serve the Columbia community and points across the state with our products, including top restaurants, chefs, grocers and farmers markets. Our top priority is to grow the highest quality products while educating our community on the benefits of local food and stewarding the land we farm.

Columbus 

4^th Street Farms – 4th Street Farms is a community-driven initiative to eat, empower, educate, and employ our skills together. Located at 1377 N. 4th Street in Weinland Park, a neighborhood of the Short North, University & Indianola Historic Districts in Columbus Ohio, we are neighbors collaborating with businesses and community organizations, serving the people of Weinland Park by building sustainable local food systems.

Franklinton Farms – We are a nonprofit urban farm in Columbus, Ohio that utilizes sustainable agriculture to address our community’s most pressing challenges. We are building a just local food system that improves food security and provides economic opportunity. We are building resilient community that is good for the planet and supports healthy futures for our neighbors.

Over The Fence Urban Farm – We live on a small patch of earth on the northside of Columbus, OH. Dan’s grandparents bought the property, and the new house that rest upon it, in 1949. Frank, a postman by day, kept a large kitchen garden out back and gathered apples from a bygone tree while Lenore ran the indoor operation, preserving the fruits of Frank’s labor for winter. In 2005 we took over the tradition when we built a single raised bed for tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini. A few years back, our eyes started to wander over the fence and into our neighbor’s flat, south-facing, and totally empty yard. We started to imagine all that we could grow there. That summer’s daydream is now a reality. On Nomember 15, 2013 we bought what we shall forever refer to as “Louise’s House,” and on November 16 we cleared 2,000 square feet of sod to make way for Over the Fence Urban Farm. 

Swainway Urban Farm – Swainway stands to promote the idea that organic food will restore personal and community health while building an economically viable business. We pride ourselves on using old fashioned, intensive farming techniques and building healthy earth through composting. Our model is low-tech, grow by hand, focus on the soil resulting in the highest-quality food possible.

City of Columbus Land Bank Community Garden Program – The Land Redevelopment Division is looking for community groups, non-profits, companies, and individuals to help organize and build community gardens on Land Bank properties.  Our office manages vacant properties throughout the City.

Dallas

Bonton Farms – What started out as a garden in a small lot has grown into two fully functioning farms and the Bonton Market. We grow organic food and hope for a better tomorrow, right in the Bonton community and on a separate 40-acre farm south of Dallas. We’re determined to grow the best-tasting, healthiest produce in the city while inspiring hope in everyone around us. We also house free-range chickens, goats, turkeys, rabbits and beehives that provide an abundance of fresh eggs, milk and honey. 

Dallas Urban Farms – Our passion is to provide nutritious and affordable foods to the local communities in which we grow. We believe that organic is not a trend; it’s a return to tradition. At Dallas Urban Farms, we embrace sustainable farming methods to grow the highest quality crops.

Eat The Yard – Eat the Yard is an urban farming business dedicated to fortifying Dallas’ local food shed and supporting American veterans. Veterans Steve Smith and James Jeffers founded Eat the Yard in 2012. With sustainable methods and entirely organic practices, they sell the highest quality produce at the Dallas Farmers Market, local restuarants, grocers and folks within their community.

Promise of Peace Community Gardens – Promise of Peace Gardens works with folks across North Texas to transform vacant spaces into thriving places. P.O.P. Gardens serve as a context for folks from all backgrounds to come together and learn, grow, and support one another. We have built gardens where we deliver programming to children and their families as they explore living a sustainable life. We grow, harvest and prepare fresh clean food that we savor on a lovely table, family style. The children and their families gain access to healthier lifestyles, community involvement and a sense of stewardship for the planet. As we grow, the Promise of Peace Gardens’ intent is to ensure that every child in every community has clean, locally sourced food on their plate.

Delaware

The Delaware Center for Horticulture Urban Farm Coalition – The mission of The DCH’s Urban Farm Coalition is to support community-oriented urban agricultural projects that expand healthy food access in Northern Delaware by bring together resources and technical assistance through a collaborative approach to urban farming.

The Delaware Urban Farm and Food Coalition – DEUFFC works to expand the growing of fruits and vegetables in urban areas of northern Delaware, improve access to healthy foods for those who don’t have wide access, and provide information regarding healthy eating.

Denver

Urban Agriculture/Colorado State University Extension – Denver is home to a vibrant urban agriculture scene. There are many organizations working on urban agriculture in the Denver area and CSU Extension has its own projects and supports many others. The Denver CSU Extension Office is happy to help answer any of your questions or concerns regarding urban agriculture. We can help with soil testing, crop planning, insect and pathogen identification and help with all of your questions and concerns. We can also connect you to other great local, regional and national resources.

Denver Urban Gardens – We currently operate over 181 community gardens throughout Metro Denver, including more than 66 school-based community gardens.

Grow Local Colorado – Grow Local Colorado was founded in 2009 with the mission of promoting local food, local community, and local economy.

Detroit

Keep Growing Detroit – Keep Growing Detroit serves residents of Detroit, Highland Park, and Hamtramck. The 1,600 urban gardens and farms that we support within these communities produce more than 200 tons of fresh fruits and vegetables reaching nearly 24,000 residents annually.

Earthworks Urban Farm – The Capuchin Soup Kitchen’s Earthworks Urban Farm is a 2.5 acre certified organic farm located in the City of Detroit. We seek to build a just, beautiful food system through education, inspiration, and community development. As a working study in both social justice and in knowing the origins of the food we eat, Earthworks strives to restore our connection to the environment and community.

Detroit Black Community Food Security Network – The Detroit Black Community Food Security Network (DBCFSN) is a coalition of organizations and individuals working together to build food security in Detroit’s Black community by: 1) influencing public policy; 2) promoting urban agriculture; 3) encouraging co-operative buying; 4) promoting healthy eating habits; 5) facilitating mutual support and collective action among members; and 6) encouraging young people to pursue careers in agriculture, aquaculture, animal husbandry, bee-keeping and other food related fields.

The Greening of Detroit – Our mission is to inspire sustainable growth of a healthy urban community through trees, green spaces, food, education, training and job opportunities.

Hartford

The Hartford Food System – Hartford Food System was founded in 1978.  Since then, we have been dedicated to finding long-term solutions for access to affordable and healthy food in our home city of Hartford. Our goal for our work is a healthy, culturally responsive, and just community food system that meets the needs of all residents.  We advance this goal through programs that improve healthy food access while we advocate for a robust and economically sound food system and responsible food policies.

Houston

Urban Harvest – Urban Harvest is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization enriching the Houston community by providing community garden programming, farmers markets, gardening classes, and youth education.

Moon Dog Farms – Moon Dog Farms is a small Certified Naturally Grown farm and orchard located near the Gulf of Mexico, 40 miles outside of Houston, Texas. Our land has 11 acres in an old pear orchard which we are constantly working to restore, and we grow annual vegetables on nearly 6 acres.  Our farming practices are “beyond organic,” meaning we use a variety of age-old methods to grow food and maintain our fields, such as cover cropping, integrated pest management, composting, inter-planting and good old-fashioned hand-weeding.  We sell to a few select restaurants and at local farmers’ markets.
<Small Places – Through our farms and projects, we offer a number of opportunities to empower healthy living: fresh food, educational activities, employment opportunities, job training, community building, cultural enhancement, outdoor enrichment space, and neighborhood placemaking. Find your way to connect with agriculture and discover how farming can serve to impact your health and quality of life.

Indianapolis

Growing Places Indy – We are a 501c3 non-profit organization. Our mission is to empower people to cultivate personal, family and community wellness through urban agriculture, access to fresh local food, and mind-body education.

IndyGrown – IndyGrown.com is a virtual space to house information to support urban agriculture and related work.  Do you work in a school garden, community garden, market farm, or other community-based agriculture project?  Find resources and connections here!   Are you someone looking to get involved or support urban agriculture? Get connected here! Supported by Purdue Extension – Marion County, IndyGrown will promote and support a strong network of urban growers!  We believe our city is healthier when urban agriculture is thriving!
Bellbound Farm – Bellfound Farm is an urban farm that provides at-risk young women wraparound supports to help them reach long-term economic security. Bellfound’s work is made possible through the generous support of Women’s Fund of Central Indiana.

Jacksonville

Atlantic Beach Urban Farms – We are longtime beaches residents with a passion for growing only the cleanest, most delicious and sustainably grown food. We operate an urban farm located in Atlantic Beach, Florida and grow in a climate-controlled, pristine greenhouse, 365 days a year. We use aeroponic technology to produce a large volume of food in a small amount of space and teach individuals and community organizations how they too can grow their own food right where they live and operate.

Urban Folk Farm – We are a small family owned and operated farm, located on Normandy Blvd on the Westside of Jacksonville. Our first growing season was winter of 2014, and we’ve been working the fields since then. We produce a wide variety of seasonal vegetables, and our selection is constantly changing. We take pride in growing our food holistically; this means we operate pesticide free to ensure that your food is safe to eat right out of the field.

Kansas City

Cultivate Kansas City – Cultivate Kansas City (formerly the Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture) has always been and always will be focused on the urban farmer as a catalyst for growth and change. We know that there is something transformative that happens when someone steps forward to feed their community from a neighborhood-based farm. Over the years, we’ve found that we have been working more broadly to help other nonprofits, community leaders, and neighborhoods build their own capacity to address food and related needs. Our new name reflects this broader range of work and our deepening understanding of what we offer Kansas City.

Urban Farming Guys – Helping disadvantaged communities rebuild from within.
At The Urban Farming Guys, we focus on building local economy, capacity, and resiliency while giving back to the global open source community. The Urban Farming Guys is a 501c3 Non Profit Organization

Knoxville

Beardsley Farm – CAC Beardsley Community Farm is an urban demonstration farm that has promoted food security and sustainable urban agriculture through practice, education, and community outreach since 1998.

Little Rock

Bell Urban Farm – Bell Urban Farm is located across the street from the Faulkner County Library in Conway, AR. We are less than a mile away from downtown Conway and Hendrix College.  Our Mission:
1. Produce quality, healthy and nutritious products.
2. Be a positive influence on the local food system.
3. Create community through growing and sharing food.

Los Angeles

FarmLa – Farm LA is a local 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing underutilized land in Los Angeles for solar and drought-tolerant agricultural farming.

Grow LA Victory Garden Initiative – The Grow LA Victory Garden Initiative helps new gardeners start their own gardens quickly and easily in a container, in the backyard or at a community garden. Led by UC Master Gardener volunteers, these four-session classes for beginning gardeners are offered at many locations each spring and fall. Check out our schedule for upcoming workshops.

Local Roots – We design, manufacture and operate the world’s most productive indoor modular farming solutions. We believe the key to a more sustainable future requires eliminating supply-chain risks and undoing the commoditization of the food industry. That’s why our Local Roots Family is building a distributed network of cutting-edge farms throughout the world to grow the freshest, healthiest food possible.

Los Angeles Food Policy Council – The Los Angeles Food Policy Council is a collective impact initiative, created in January of 2011 to advance the mission of building a Good Food system for all Los Angeles residents where food is healthy, affordable, fair and sustainable in order to improve the health and well-being of our residents, particularly in low-income communities and communities of color; develop a thriving Good Food economy for everyone; and strengthen agricultural and environmental stewardship throughout the region. LAFPC coordinates the expertise and leadership of public, private, nonprofit and academic partners to strengthen connections across the food system.

Ron Finley Project – Ron envisions a world where gardening is gangsta, where cool kids know their nutrition and where communities embrace the act of growing, knowing and sharing the best of the earth’s fresh-grown food.

Maine

Cultivating Community – All of Cultivating Community’s programs are rooted in the idea that everyone has the right to good food. We empower New Americans by teaching them sustainable farming practices and connecting them to the community through our food hub. We support and manage diverse urban growing spaces, enabling community members to grow their own food within city limits. We increase access to local, healthy foods for low-income consumers, providing affordable produce through CSA shares, farm stands, and mobile markets. We invest in youth of all ages, offering opportunities for food education, community engagement, and leadership development. WE BELIEVE IN FOOD JUSTICE FOR ALL.

Memphis

Agricenter International – Agricenter International, a 1,000 acre farm, is a non-profit dedicated to advancing knowledge and understanding of agriculture. As the education, agribusiness, research and agricultural hub of the Mid-South, it has a $524 million annual economic impact on the region, hosts over 1.3 million visitors annually, and educates over 10,000 students annually.

Memphis Tilth – Memphis Tilth holds a three-year contract, beginning January 2018, to build an urban farm and garden project with Alpha Omega Veterans Services (AOVS). The project is located at multiple AOVS locations, with the 1.5 acre urban farm and garden located at the AOVS Depot, a veterans housing facility in South Memphis. The goal of this project is to increase healthy fruits and vegetables to veteran residents at AOVS facilities, engage AOVS veterans, staff, and volunteers in produce production and marketing, teach AOVS veterans how to grow food and run an urban farm, and develop an AOVS value-added product to sell.

Milwaukee

Groundwork Milwaukee – The mission of Groundwork Milwaukee is to bring about the sustained regeneration, improvement and management of the physical environment by developing community-based partnerships that empower people, businesses and organizations to promote environmental, economic and social well-being.

New Orleans

New Orleans Food and Farm Network – NOFFN aims to localize the food system in the New Orleans region by increasing the number of edible gardens, developing collaborative urban agriculture projects, and supporting food system linkages within the New Orleans foodshed. Our mission is to with individuals, communities, and growers to support sustainable growing practices and to ensure equal access to safe, nutritious, enjoyable food.

Recirculating Farms Coalition – The Recirculating Farms Coalition is a collaborative group of farmers, educators, non-profit organizations and many others committed to building local sources of healthy, accessible food. Through research, education and advocacy, we work together to support the development of eco-efficient farms that use clean recycled water as the basis to grow food. We believe these recirculating farms can create stable green jobs and supply sustainably-grown food – fruits, vegetables, herbs and humanely-raised seafood – in diverse communities nationwide, and someday, worldwide.

New York

Official NYC Urban Agriculture Website – The NYC Urban Agriculture website is provided by the City of New York solely for informational purposes to summarize key elements of New York City programs and regulations that relate to agricultural production and sales, and it is not intended to serve as a substitute for the NYC Zoning Resolution and the rules and regulations of NYC Parks. The City makes no representation as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained on the website or its suitability for any purpose. The City disclaims any liability for any errors and shall not be responsible for any damages, consequential or actual, arising out of or in connection with the use of this information.

Brooklyn Grange – Brooklyn Grange is the leading rooftop farming and intensive green roofing business in the US. We operate the world’s largest rooftop soil farms, located on three roofs in New York City, and grow over 80,000 lbs of organically-cultivated produce per year.

BK Farmyards – BK Farmyards is a collective of experienced urban farmers dedicated to expanding food justice through agricultural production & education in Brooklyn.

Gotham Greens – Gotham Greens provides its diverse retail, restaurant, and institutional customers with reliable, year-round, local supply of produce grown under the highest standards of food safety and environmental sustainability. The company has built and operates over 170,000 square feet of technologically advanced, urban rooftop greenhouses across 4 facilities in New York City and Chicago. Gotham Greens was founded in 2009 in Brooklyn, New York and is privately held.

GreenGuerillas.org – Green Guerillas helps grassroots groups obtain the materials, volunteers and funding they need to sustain colorful community gardens and bountiful urban farms In New York City.

Queens County Farm Museum – Queens County Farm Museum’s history dates back to 1697; it occupies New York City’s largest remaining tract of undisturbed farmland. The farm encompasses a 47-acre parcel that is the longest continuously farmed site in New York State. The site includes historic farm buildings, a greenhouse complex, livestock, farm vehicles and implements, planting fields, an orchard and herb garden.

New York City’s Best Urban Farms – From Bushwick to the Bronx, these 17 urban farms provide fresh food and green space for their communities

Oakland

City Slicker Farms – City Slicker Farms has been at the forefront of the urban farming and food justice movement, gaining national recognition for its success in supporting low-income communities of color to grow nutritious produce in the East Bay’s food deserts. As a not-for-profit organization, we rely on funding and support from individuals and businesses who share our vision. Each year we build dozens of gardens for community members, feed hundreds, and educate thousands of people about health, nutrition, and agriculture.

Did rising rents kill the Bay Area’s urban homesteading movement? (April 2019)

Omaha

City Sprouts – We envision a community that is empowered to sustainably grow, eat, provide, and promote healthy, local foods.  Our larger vision is to work with the community to build local food systems, improve community health, empower neighborhoods, and strengthen economic viability and sustainability. Over the years, City Sprouts has helped establish community and family gardens at various Omaha neighborhoods, such as Gifford Park, Leavenworth, and at churches, community centers, and neighborhoods. In addition to improving food quality and security, neighborhood gardens enhance community identity and pride.

Big Muddy Urban Farm – Big Muddy Urban Farm is a collective of local food producers in Omaha. We are concerned with the current state of the food system at large. Moreover, we recognize the social and environmental injustices that have negatively impacted our neighborhoods and believe that food plays a prominent role in the overall health of our community. By providing a local and diverse source of fruits, vegetables and herbs, as well as sharing skills and resources with our community, we hope to encourage communal resilience, empowerment, and a more localized economy. We are committed to engaging sustainably in our financial, environmental and cultural practices, by responding and adapting to the dynamic urban environment in which we live.

Orlando

Fleet Farming – Fleet Farming is a non-profit urban agriculture program of IDEAS For Us whose mission is to empower all generations to grow food to increase local food accessibility. Our Vision is to create localized food systems that bring communities together towards a healthier, more connected world in harmony with people and planet. We accomplish this by converting underutilized lawn space into productive localized edible gardens or micro farms. Our program works to provide edible landscaping to schools, community centers, affordable housing units, businesses and individuals through our community farming initiative and Edible Landscapes garden installation service. Together, we are changing the cycle of food.

Philadelphia

Mill Creek Urban Farm – Founded in 2005, Mill Creek Farm is an educational urban farm that is led by people of color. We cultivate and distribute fresh produce, hosts farm-based learning programs for people of all ages, and demonstrates ecological technologies to provide for basic needs. Located 49th and Brown Street in West Philadelphia. We are dedicated to improving local access to fresh, chemical-free produce at sustainably low cost for the immediate Mill Creek community and surrounding neighborhoods. We are dedicated to building a healthy community and environment, and promoting a just and sustainable food system.

Greensgrow – Greensgrow is an educational urban farm and demonstration garden that provides an essential connection to food and nature in an urban community. We are a non-profit dedicated to promoting social wellness through community green space. Greensgrow reconnects city dwellers with rural food producers and promoting the greening of Philadelphia’s homes and gardens. Together we are building a better, more progressive and sustainable Philadelphia.

Philadelphia has named city planner Ashley Richards as its first-ever urban agriculture director. (April 2019)

Portland

GowingGardens – Since 1996, Growing Gardens has been building a unique and sustainable strategy to address nutrition, food insecurity and risk factors for poor health in our community. Through our Home Gardens program, we help low income households create home-based vegetable gardens and provide a three-year support system including seeds, plant starts, compost bins, newsletters, workshops, and one-on-one garden mentors. Our Youth Grow program creates three-year partnerships with local schools to provide after-school and summer food gardening programs, as well as technical support in developing their own school gardens. In addition, our open-to-the-public Learn & Grow workshops teach gardening basics, cooking and preserving techniques, and other urban farming topics.

Urban Farm Collective – We are a not-for-profit project of Oregon Sustainable Agriculture Land Trust (OSALT), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that accepts donated land and holds it in perpetuity as agricultural land, for the purposes of education and research into sustainable agriculture. The UFC’s mission is to bring neighbors together to transform vacant lots into neighborhood food gardens for the purposes of community building, education and improving food security. Our goal is to grow twice as much as we need to feed collective members so we can donate the remaining 50% of our produce to organizations that work to end hunger.

Zenger Farm – At Zenger Farm, we believe good food is a basic human right. We are a non-profit farm and wetland in outer southeast Portland dedicated to promoting sustainable food systems, environmental stewardship, community development and access to good food for all. Zenger Farm prioritizes reaching the under supported neighborhoods that surround the farm. Our neighborhood is one of the most diverse in Portland. 33% of residents identify as Hispanic, Asian, African-American or multiracial. Poverty rates around the farm are nearly double that of the city as a whole. We strive to ensure that our programming is accessible for all, particularly for our neighbors.

San Antonio

Food Policy Council of San Antonio – Promotes the increase of agriculture within the city through policy change, education programs, and collaboration. Following the 2015 zoning code changes, individuals and institutions seeking to start urban farms have encountered a maze of regulations and costs related to other City requirements. We have worked with the Development Services Department (DSD) and others to collect those requirements in one place so we can address these challenges with our elected representatives on City Council.

The Farms of The San Antonio Food Bank – The fruits and vegetables grown on our farms feed the hungry in our community.  A small portion of the produce we grow is available for purchase at local Farmers’ Markets operated by the Food Bank as well as and our Mobile Mercado.

LocalSprout – LocalSprout is committed to connecting eaters with as much sustainable food as possible. We grow crops in downtown San Antonio, usually hydroponically and always pesticide-free. We grow crops at the San Antonio Food Bank. We built a Food Hub with space for all sorts of different food and beverage companies to make their artisan products to distribute across the country. We build and maintain gardens at restaurants for them to grow their own food.

San Diego

San Diego Food System Alliance – As a multi-sector collaborative, the San Diego Food System Alliance (the Alliance) is creating system level changes by connecting, coordinating and catalyzing actions that move us towards our shared vision of Good Food for San Diego County. Our network consists of more than 120 groups with 40 Voting Members representing a diverse cross section of the food system including: distribution, health, food security, philanthropy, production, education and government.

The Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone  – (UAIZ) Program offers a property tax incentive to encourage agriculture and healthy living in urban neighborhoods. Property owners in the City of San Diego, who for a minimum of five years, use or lease their vacant property for small-scale production of agricultural crops may be eligible for a property tax reduction through a lower land assessment value.

Municipal Code Ordinance (.pdf)

SmartsFarm – Humane Smarts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2012 by Susan Madden Lankford, a San Diego-area author, photographer, and activist. The mission of Humane Smarts is to open hearts and enrich minds by providing opportunities for creativity and self-sufficiency in San Diego. Our primary focus is underserved young people aged five to 15; our goal is to promote life skills and self-esteem by offering programs in photography and other arts, gardening, and academic enrichment. SMARTS Farm actively pursues its mission of supporting healthy and productive lifestyles for the community while teaching, enhancing, and connecting residents and youth to fresh produce and education about urban gardening. Programs include multiple workshop venues and hands-on gardening opportunities for young people, as well as community garden plots for nearby residents.

San Francisco

The San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance – The San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance (SFUAA) promotes the growing of food within San Francisco and the associated goals of our member organizations, through advocacy, education and grassroots action.  We pursue our mission by leveraging the strengths of our members, from backyard farmers to social justice organizations, both within the Alliance and in collaboration with outside organizations and government agencies.

Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture – CUESA is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1994 to educate urban consumers about sustainable agriculture and to create links between urban dwellers and local farmers. CUESA is dedicated to cultivating a sustainable food system through the operation of farmers markets and educational programs.

Plenty. ag – A new kind of farm for a new kind of world. Indoor vertical farmers on a mission to bring the freshest, cleanest, most craveable produce to people everywhere. We’re working to deliver loving produce from seed to smile.

San Jose

Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone – The San José City Council adopted an Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone (UAIZ) Ordinance on November 15, 2016 that enables property owners who can meet certain criteria to obtain property tax benefits. An Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone (UAIZ) Contract is a contract between the City and a property owner of vacant, unimproved, or blighted property whereby the property owner agrees to keep the property in active agricultural use for a period of five years in exchange for a property tax benefit.

ValleyVerde – Valley Verde’s Community Food System (non-profit 501(3)(c) organization), promotes healthy eating and provides food access and micro-entrepreneurship training to low-income families of San José/Silicon Valley.
Our urban agriculture model includes:​
Organic Gardening Classes and resources for setting home-based organic vegetable gardens
Super Jardineros (Super Gardeners) program, that trains families to grow seedlings in backyard greenhouses, creating their own micro-enterprise and generating disposable income.
The Finca – Urban Farm gathers the community around food, gardening and composting. It’s here, in our own greenhouse where the multiethnic seedlings are grown for the families attending our programs as well as open sale.

Veggielution – Veggielution is a six-acre community farm where people can unwind, learn, and connect with each other through the fun of food and farming. Our classes and volunteer programs inspire happier and healthier lives while also growing fresh produce for our neighbours in the South Bay that need it most. Our 6-acre community farm and gathering space is located in Emma Prusch Farm Park in the Mayfair neighborhood.

Santa Clara approves first-of-its-kind housing with urban farm

Seattle

Urban Agriculture in Seattle, Office of Planning & Community Development

Seattle Ordinance 123378 (.pdf)

Tilth Alliance – Seattle Tilth, Tilth Producers and Cascade Harvest Coalition merged in 2016 — now we are a new organization called Tilth Alliance! Our mission is to build an ecologically sound, economically viable and socially equitable food system.

At Tilth Alliance we want everyone to eat well every day. We’re nurturing a culture where nutritious food is front and center, and available to everyone. We use farms, gardens and kitchens as classrooms for hands-on education, teaching agriculture, nutrition and science to people of all ages. Participants learn how to grow food on large or small scales and to cook using nutritious, locally grown ingredients. Together, passionate community members are creating a shift in our culture and have the potential for great influence and change.

Washington, D.C.

Common Good City Farm – Common Good City Farm is an urban farm and education center growing food for low-income residents in Washington, DC and providing educational opportunities for all people that help increase food security, improve health, and contribute to environmental sustainability. Since January 2007, CGCF has provided over 10 tons of fresh produce to the community, engaged over 2,700 adults and 4,500 young people in educational programs, and hosted over 3,000 volunteers.