The Unattainable Trifecta of Urban Agriculture

Abstract

Urban agriculture (UA) has emerged as a promising way to address many important issues, including growing food for local communities, preserving open space, promoting health, and developing local leaders. A worrying expectation, however, has developed that UA can meet these important and ambitious goals while also being financially sustainable without outside funding. We call this expectation the unattainable trifecta of urban agriculture: the myth that urban agriculture, without long-term funding investments, can a * Corresponding author: Sarita Daftary-Steel, project consultant with Food Dignity, Brooklyn, New York 11207 USA.Daftary-Steel can be contacted at 345 St. Johns Place;

Does Urban Agriculture Improve Food Security? Examining the Nexus of Food Access and Distribution of Urban Produced Foods in the United States: A Systematic Review

“…Unless significant grant funding or donations exist, the goals of food security are in tension with capitalist economic realities to pay living wages and sell the product (urban produced foods) at below-market costs [72,73]. This speaks to the "unattainable trifecta of urban agriculture," that is the idea that UA can simultaneously achieve community food security, provide on-the job training and fair living wages, and generate revenue through sales to cover these costs without substantial outside investment [72], as well as the tension between farm security and food security [41,74], a theme expanded on in Section 5.1 below reviewing economic viability of urban agriculture.…”

“…Unless significant grant funding or donations exist, the goals of food security are in tension with capitalist economic realities to pay living wages and sell the product (urban produced foods) at below-market costs [72,73]. This speaks to the "unattainable trifecta of urban agriculture," that is the idea that UA can simultaneously achieve community food security, provide on-the job training and fair living wages, and generate revenue through sales to cover these costs without substantial outside investment [72], as well as the tension between farm security and food security [41,74], a theme expanded on in Section 5.1 below reviewing economic viability of urban agriculture. In examples such as City Growers and Higher Ground Farms in Boston, and Dig Deep Farms and Planting Justice in California, organizational efforts to provide jobs and job training lead to marketing of produce to high-end restaurants, retail food establishments, farmers markets, and CSAs at prices unaffordable to food insecure households [37,73].…”

“…They combine mission-driven values, education, and public "goods" with growing food in order to attract investment for their inherent value to a community; they are seen as desirable and "worthy" places to volunteer one's time; and they attract numerous partnerships with other businesses, schools, or non-profits within the city. Building connectivity through strong social relationships with nonprofits, schools, donors, and city governments appears to be a promising mechanism for improving food access while meeting the operating expenses of an urban agriculture operation [72]. A particularly well-connected, city supported network of UA is the NYC GreenThumb program, a network of over 550 community gardens with employees/youth interns, tools and resources provided through the City.…”

Triple-rigorous Storytelling: A PI's Reflections on Devising Case Study Methods with Five Community-based Food Justice Organizations

“…In response to interest from other partner CBOs, she developed a market guide (Daftary-Steel, 2014) and, later, a youth program guide (Daftary-Steel, 2015). Drawing on her expertise regarding unattainable demands some funders made of ENYF, she led a collaboration with someone at DDF and an academic partner to document it (Daftary-Steel, Herrera, & Porter, 2016). She developed those ideas and the fuller story of ENYF into a book chapter, in partnership with people still at ENYF and academic partners (Daftary-Steel, Porter, Gervais, Marshall, & Vigil, 2017).…”

Indicators of Land Insecurity for Urban Farms: Institutional Affiliation, Investment, and Location

“…Operations are often dependent on outside funding as sales commonly do not generate enough income to be self-sufficient [12]. With little funding and support, UA is expected to meet ambitious social goals while being financially sustainable [13]. Urban agriculture projects often compensate for lower profits by focusing on education and food security initiatives through donations from non-profit organizations, non-governmental agencies, and local governments.…”