URBAN FARMS AS PART OF A COMMUNITY BASED FOOD SYSTEM

SOCIAL ENVIRONMENTALECONOMIC

ENGAGE YOUTH

PROVIDE EDUCATION

MAKE NUTRITIOUS FOOD AFFORDABLE

MAKE NUTRITIOUS FOOD ACCESSIBLE

INCREASE ETHNIC FOOD OPTIONS

FOSTER CONSUMER/PRODUCER INTERACTIONS

PROVIDE BUSINESSOPPORTUNITY

CREATE JOBS

DEVELOP WORKFORCE AND/ORENTREPRENEURIALISM

SUSTAIN FARMLAND

BUILD LOCAL FOOD INFRASTRUCTURE

REDUCE TRANSPORTATIONENERGY

REUSE VACANT LAND

MITIGATE SOIL CONTAMINATION

INCREASE BIODIVERSITY

RECYCLE WASTE

THIS INCLUDES THE PRODUCTION PROCESSING AND CONSUMPTION OF FOOD GROWNAND THE USE OF ALL POSSIBLE BYPRODUCTS

A SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY BASED FOOD SYSTEM SHOULD WORK ON THREE LEVELS

CULTIVATE KANSAS CITYCOMMUNITY AND NETWORKS

CULTIVATE KANSAS CITY IS A LOCALLY-GROWN NON-PROFIT WORKING TO GROW FOOD, FARMS AND COMMUNITIES FOR A HEALTHY LOCAL FOOD SYSTEM. THIS ISTHEIR MISSION STATEMENT:

WE GROW FOOD. WE'RE FARMERS WHO WORK TO FEED YOU, YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR COMMUNITY GOOD, FRESH, REAL FOOD RIGHT HERE IN KANSAS CITY.

WE GROW FARMS. WE'RE EDUCATORS, TRAINERS, FACILITATORS AND ORGANIZERS. WE WORK TO HELP GROWERS DEVELOP SKILLS AND ACCESS RESOURCES TO START SUSTAINABLE FARM BUSINESSES ON OUR CITY'S VACANT LAND.

WE GROW COMMUNITY. WE BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER. WE HELP FARMERS CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER. WE HELP FARMERS CONNECT TO THEIR NEIGHBORS AND COMMUNITY. WE HELP YOU CONNECT WITH YOUR FARMERS.FOOD

THE GIBBS ROAD FARM (ORIGINALLY ESTABLISHED IN 1997 AS FULL CIRCLE FARM) IS A CERTIFIED ORGANIC VEGETABLE PRODUCTION FARM SITTING ON TWO ACRES IN SOUTHERN WYANDOTTE COUNTY, KANSAS CITY, KANSAS. AS CULTIVATE KANSAS CITY’S MODEL AND DEMONSTRATION FARM, THEY PARTICIPATE IN THE GROWING GROWERS PROGRAM HOSTING SEVERAL APPRENTICES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR; THEY EXPERIMENT WITH HIGH TUNNEL, RAISED BED AND NO-TILL PRODUCTION; AND OFFER TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO OTHER GROWERS. THE FARM IS, IN MOST YEARS, FINANCIALLY SELF-SUSTAINING FROM SALES OF VEGETABLES AND TRANSPLANTS; SOME OF THEIR EDUCATIONAL AND DEMONSTRATION ACTIVITIES AT THE FARM ARE FUNDED THROUGH LOCAL AND NATIONAL GRANTS.

PRODUCES 25,000 POUNDS OF CERTIFIED ORGANIC VEGETABLES ANNUALLY, INCLUDING OVER FORTY CROPS

MAINTAINS SALES OF $100,000 ANNUALLY, ESTABLISHING IT AS ONE OF THE AREA’S LARGEST VEGETABLE PRODUCERS

PRODUCES FOOD FOR A 40 MEMBER COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE (CSA) PROGRAM, AS WELL AS A WINTER PRODUCTION CSA

SELLS AT THREE LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS (INCLUDING A WINTER MARKET)

SELL WHOLESALE TO SEVERAL LOCAL RESTAURANTS

GIBBS ROAD FARM

photos and text from www.cultivatekc.org

GIBBS ROAD FARM IN A TYPICAL YEAR:

PLANT CHICAGO’S AQUAPONIC FARM CURRENTLY OCCUPIES 7,000 SF IN THE BASEMENT OF THE PLANT.

THE PLANT - CHICAGOTHE PLANT’S MISSION IS TO PROMOTE CLOSED-LOOP FOOD PRODUCTION AND SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGH EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

1. DEVELOP EFFICIENT, REPLICABLE AQUAPONIC FARMING SYSTEMS THAT REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

2. CONSTRUCT AND OPERATE A SHARED KITCHEN TO ENCOURAGE ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND JOB CREATION

3. OFFER BROAD EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING ON ALL OF THE PLANT’S SUSTAINABLE ACTIVITIES

THEY CURRENTLY HAVE THREE, THREE-THOUSAND GALLON SYSTEMS HOUSING APPROXIMATELY 600 FISH EACH, AND ABOUT 3000 SF OF PLANT GROW BEDS PLANTED INTENSIVELY WITH ARUGULA, LETTUCE, HERBS, AND OTHER SALAD GREENS

GOALS

FARMS

COMMUNITY

OUR GOAL IS TO HELP PEOPLE GROW FOOD TO FEED OTHER PEOPLE, AS BUSINESSES AND AS NON-PROFIT PROGRAMS, AND TO HELP THESE GROWERS LEARN THE SKILLS THEY NEED, ACCESS THE RESOURCES THAT ARE OUT THERE FOR THEM, AND DEVELOP FARMS THAT ARE PRODUCTIVE, SUSTAINABLE AND ENGAGED WITH THEIR COMMUNITY.

WE BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER. WE HELP FARMERS CONNECT TO EACH OTHER. WE HELP FARMERS CONNECT TO THEIR NEIGHBORS AND THEIR COMMUNITY. WE HELP COMMUNITIES CONNECT TO THEIR FARMERS THROUGH THE URBAN FARMS & GARDENS TOUR. WE EDUCATE, INSPIRE, AND SUPPORT THE CREATION OF LEARNING CIRCLES, NETWORKS, AND RELATIONSHIPS, ALL BASED IN THE UNIVERSAL HUMAN PRACTICE OF GROWING FOOD TO FEED OURSELVES AND OTHERS.

EDIBLE SCHOOLYARD BY WORKacWORKING WITH EDIBLE SCHOOLYARD NY, ALICE WATERS’ CHEZ PANISSE FOUNDATION AND PS216 IN BROOKLYN, WORKAC IS DESIGNING NEW YORK CITY’S FIRST EDIBLE SCHOOLYARD. THE DESIGN IS A SERIES OF INTERLINKED SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS THAT PRODUCE ENERGY AND HEAT, COLLECT RAINWATER, PROCESS COMPOST AND SORT WASTE WITH AN OFF-GRID INFRASTRUCTURE.

AT THE HEART OF THE PROJECT IS THE KITCHEN CLASSROOM, WHERE UP TO THIRTY STUDENTS CAN PREPARE AND ENJOY MEALS TOGETHER. THE KITCHEN’S BUTTERFLY-SHAPED ROOF CHANNELS RAIN WATER FOR RECLAMATION. CONNECTED TO ONE SIDE IS THE MOBILE GREENHOUSE, EXTENDING THE GROWING SEASON BY COVERING 1600SF OF SOIL IN THE COLDER MONTHS AND SLIDING AWAY IN THE SPRING, OVER THE KITCHEN CLASSROOM. ON THE OTHER SIDE IS THE SYSTEMS WALL: A SERIES OF SPACES THAT INCLUDE A CISTERN, SPACE FOR COMPOSTING AND WASTE-SORTING, SOLAR BATTERIES, DISHWASHING FACILITIES, A TOOL SHED AND A CHICKEN COOP.

copyright work architecture company

AQUAPONICS HYBRID OF HYDROPONICS AND AQUACULTURE

bacteriabreaks down theammonia intonitrates forplants to use as fertilizer

fishproduceammonia richwaste

plantsabsorb nitratesand filter waterto be sent backto the fish

wat

er

excellent source of protein.usually tilapia or perch.

collects in growtrays and on plantroots

housed in growing trays,either floating or in gravel

can grow much moreper square footthan in soil

water is cycledcontinuously betweenthe fish tank andgrow beds with a pump

AQUAPONICS IS A CLOSED LOOP SYSTEMIN WHICH FISH ARE FARMED AS WELL ASVEGETABLES. THE FISH AND PLANTS HAVEA SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP, EACHPRODUCING WHAT THE OTHER NEEDS. THISMETHOD IS VERSATILE, CAN BE DONEINDOORS OR OUT, AND SCALABLE, CAN BEDONE AT HOME OR COMMERCIALLY.

FOOD HUBSWHAT IS A FOOD HUB?THE WORKING DEFINITION OF A REGIONAL FOOD HUB IS A BUSINESS OR ORGANIZATION THAT ACTIVELY MANAGES THE AGGREGATION, DISTRIBUTION, AND MARKETING OF SOURCEIDENTIFIED FOOD PRODUCTS PRIMARILY FROM LOCAL AND REGIONAL PRODUCERS FOR THE PURPOSE OF STRENGTHENING PRODUCER CAPACITY AND ACCESS TO WHOLESALE, RETAIL, AND INSTITUTIONAL MARKETS. FOOD HUBS HAVE POSITIVE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES, AND FILL A CRITICAL GAP IN REGIONAL FOOD SYSTEMS.

ACCESS FOR CONSUMERS AND PRODUCERS

FOOD HUBS CAN PROVIDE A SINGLE DROPOFF AND PICKUP POINT FOR PRODUCE TO BE DISTRIBUTED TO CONSUMERS, RESTAURANTS OR INSTITUTIONS SUCH AS UNIVERSITIES, HOSPITALS AND OTHER LARGE BUSINESSES. FOOD HUBS CAN IMPROVE ACCESS TO HEALTHY FOODS IN LOWINCOME, UNDERSERVED AREAS BY MAKING IT EASIER FOR FARMERS TO OFFER THEIR PRODUCTS IN THESE AREAS. FOOD HUBS CAN FACILITATE RELATIONSHIPS...AND PROVIDE SERVICES THROUGH SUCH THINGS AS FACILITATING RELATIONSHIPS WITH PURCHASERS OF THEIR PRODUCTS IN THESE NEIGHBORHOODS AND PROVIDING SERVICES LIKE INSURANCE, QUALITY CONTROL, AND DISTRIBUTION AND PROCESSING.

TEXT COPYRIGHT HEALTHYFOODACCESS.ORG AND NGFN.ORG

FOOD HUBS OFTEN WORK UNDER THREE MODELS TO BETTER CONNECT LOCAL FOODS PRODUCERS TO DISTRIBUTORS AND/OR CONSUMERS:

1. FARM TO BUSINESS/INSTITUTION MODEL 2. FARM TO CONSUMER MODEL 3. HYBRID MODEL