Historic Urban Agriculture Funding Put to Use in Communities Nationwide | Article

While most farming in the United States takes place in rural areas, there is a growing movement to bring agriculture into cities and suburbs. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this movement; since March 2020, over 20 million Americans planted a vegetable garden for the first time.

Urban farms can range from large commercial vertical farms, to community gardens, to green roofs and can be located in backyards, empty lots, or multi-story buildings. Their benefits are equally diverse, including: improving access to nutritious food, strengthening community bonds, providing educational opportunities, and keeping cities cool. These extra sources of local, nutritious food can improve food security for communities living in food deserts—areas with limited access to healthy foods.

Policymakers in Washington, D.C., have recognized these benefits, along with the challenges urban agriculturalists face in accessing grants and services more readily available to their rural counterparts. The 2018 Farm Bill (P.L.115-334) provided historic investments in urban farming, establishing an Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production within the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Office administers two competitive grant programs: grants for Urban Agriculture and Innovation Production (UAIP) and Cooperative Agreements for Community Compost and Food Waste Reduction (CCER).

Since 2020, UAIP grants have funded 31 urban farm planning and implementation projects across the country. USDA granted $4.75 million through UAIP in 2021, about a $1 million increase from the first round of funding in 2020.

Examples of Urban Agriculture and Innovation Production (UAIP) Projects

UAIP funds both urban farm planning and implementation. Projects include:

The Center for Land-Based Learning in Sacramento, California, received a three-year planning grant totaling $440,182 during the 2020 UAIP grant cycle, intended to fund an assessment of current urban agriculture activities in West Sacramento and identify opportunities for growth in low-income, food insecure communities.
Arkansas Interfaith Power and Light used a 2020 grant to improve local food access and assist Little Rock urban farmers in project implementation, providing 13 chicken coops, 76 garden beds, 25 beehives, 100 shiitake mushroom logs, 4 greenhouses, and more than 150 egg-laying chickens and ducks.
Other projects funded through UAIP grants include sustainable agriculture training programs for at-risk youth in Texas and hydroponic farms in schools in New York City.

CCER cooperative agreements are intended to help local governments plan or implement compost and waste reduction strategies. Winning projects must provide a 25 percent match of the federal prize money. Funding has been awarded to 37 projects so far, with $1.92 million awarded in 2021, up from $1.09 million in 2020.

The 2018 Farm Bill also helped expand access to these and other programs and inform broader urban agriculture policy decisions by directing USDA to launch two new committees.

Farm Service Agency (FSA) Urban and Suburban County Committees were launched in 2021 in 11 cities to facilitate communication between urban farmers and federal programs. Such committees have already existed in rural areas since the 1930s, in each of the roughly 2,500 counties in which FSA has an office.

According to the USDA website, committee members, elected by local urban agricultural producers, will “provide outreach to ensure urban producers understand USDA programs and serve as the voice of other urban producers and assist in program implementation that support the needs of the growing urban community.”

In February 2022, the Department of Agriculture announced the creation of a Federal Advisory Committee on Urban Agriculture, which would “provide input on policy development and […] help identify barriers to urban agriculture.” Committee members come from diverse backgrounds and from a wide array of regions around the country. They will hold regular public meetings to solicit recommendations to bring to USDA leadership.

By 2050, 90 percent of the U.S. population is expected to live in cities. Urban agriculture can connect communities to local foods, while providing a variety of other social, economic, and environmental benefits. The 2018 Farm Bill denoted a positive shift in federal engagement and support of urban agriculture, and new federal programs from the bill are already showing promise in expanding opportunities for urban farmers nationwide.

Author: Amber Todoroff