Will Allen Says Stop Talking and ACT: Seattle Declares 2010 Year of Urban Agriculture

In a week filled with both community and policy- level activity, Seattle has shown that this city is at the forefront of the Good Food Revolution.

On February 3^rd, the City declared 2010 the Year of Urban Agriculture. A new website has been created that will serve as a virtual gathering place for community groups active in urban agriculture. The site will also serve as a repository of information about city-led initiatives like P-Patch, Neighborhood Matching Grants, and land use planning.

Just hours before the big announcement, Seattle welcomed MacArthur Genius and founder of Wisconsin-based Growing Power, Will Allen, whose intensive urban agriculture training programs have sparked a re-commitment to local food across the nation. Mr. Allen visited the city to tour our urban farms and share his experience with researchers, youth activists, and community organizations dedicated to improving access to healthy food.

Citing Seattle’s commitment to local food, Mr. Allen noted, “Seattle has more worm bins than any other city in the country.” This commitment on the citizen level is impressive, but the work must be accomplished cooperatively to be successful. Imploring the audience to stop planning for healthy food and take action, Allen encouraged strong leadership among community organizations to take a multi-cultural, multi-generational approach to ensure healthy food is available across all our communities.

Job creation is also a priority for Mr. Allen. Tracing the history of the organization, he discussed each new component of intensive agriculture that he developed on his land. Whether creating static pile composting bins, which last year turned 10 million pounds of food waste into compost, or a developing a 110,000 gallon aquaponics system, Growing Power is committed to having youth deeply involved in the projects so they learn an array of skills along the way. Construction, electrical and plumbing skills are taught through the creation of rooftop gardens; marketing and other business skills are taught through the sale of the myriad goods produced on the farm; and of course farming skills themselves are taught as youth learn to grow sustainably and raise goats, chickens, turkey, bees and fish.

The success of Growing Power has inspired dozens of other cities across the country and across the globe to take a new look at how they feed themselves. Here in Seattle, the commitment is not new. But in some ways, the work of expanding our local food economy is just beginning. Only recently has there been a groundswell of support across communities and across jurisdictions. The City of Seattle has been active since 2008, when the Local Food Action Initiative passed and created a policy framework for expanding local food production. Of course there is only so much acreage available in the city. We rely on the health of our rural farm community to ensure a steady supply of fresh, community-grown farm products.

The county has also been busy re-assessing its role in a successful food economy. The King County Department of Natural Resources recently issued its FARMS Report, which outlined several challenges to meeting the goal of viable, long-term farming in the region. For starters, we need to grow new farmers if we want to keep growing food in this region. Efforts that focus on farmer training and programs to keep farm land affordable are desperately needed. The report also makes clear that if we don’t require agricultural uses on land designated as Agricultural Production District land, we may soon be surrounded by hobby farms and subdivisions.

Finally, there are two very bright spots on the horizon. A Regional Food Policy Council has been approved and will soon begin meeting to advise on food systems issues across the four county region of the Puget Sound Regional Council. This kind of cross-jurisdictional approach can facilitate comprehensive solutions to expanding the local food economy for rural producers and urban consumers. A Washington State Food Policy Council is also making its way through the legislative process and may soon be a reality as well.

These efforts demonstrate that our policy-makers are paying attention to the incredible impact that a community-based food system has on so many aspects of our daily lives. Will Allen’s message to City Hall was clear, “lead or get out of the way.” The Good Food Revolution is here – and it appears that both community and policy leaders are standing together ready to advance.

For more information on food system happenings in Seattle, go to www.urbanfoodlink.com