Taking Root: A Glimpse at Agriculture in the Inner City

1. Taking Root: A Glimpse at Agriculture in the Inner City
Erin Rudegeair
Did you ever wonder how a city can change so drastically within the span of just a
few short blocks? Standing within the limits of University City, the boundaries of the
University of Pennsylvania’s campus, it comes as a surprise that only a few blocks away
there are declining low-income neighborhoods, crumbling abandoned row houses, and
littered, neglected streets. Such an area is commonly labeled a pocket of urban poverty,
and despite a myriad of engines of economic growth – two universities, hospitals, charter
schools, the Philadelphia Zoo, the Please Touch Museum, Fairmount Park, etc. – poverty
persists. This is the region of West Philadelphia, where my research began. As students in
the Philadelphia Field Project: Rethinking Urban Poverty, we looked at the issue of
poverty with the idea that economic development was not the sole solution. In a way, this
idea is legitimized by the very existence of these pockets of urban poverty where
opportunity exists but poverty persists. The Project brings a small group of undergraduate
students from The Pennsylvania State University for the purpose of affecting immediate
change within the West Parkside community based on three fundamental goals:
improving the quality of life, decreasing the cost of living and creating jobs. My project
focused on urban agriculture. The remainder of this paper is to be read with the
understanding that urban farming is not a new concept, it is actively on-going in the city
today, but it can be improved upon and expanded.
The project involved four weeks of research on four urban
farms: Greensgrow in New Kensington, Weaver’s Way into
Mount Airy, The Mill Creek Farm (MCF), and Preston’s Paradise,
both located within walking distance of West Parkside. The
objectives of the farm shape its model, its intended market and its
business style. In order to satisfy the needs of the community and
fulfill the goals of the Project a farm must be diversified in its
market, its production and its means of distribution. Figure 1: Preston’s Paradise

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Where to dig?
Despite the openness and insecurity of public spaces, crops are typically not
vandalized or disturbed. Ben Reynolds of Sustain London, a leader and advocate for
sustainable food security, explained that crops grown in public spaces in London are
rarely vandalized because most people do not know what kind of crop it is or that it is a
crop at all. With that in mind, we can envision creative places to plant our crops such as
roof-top gardens, sidewalks, windowsills, and spaces in between houses. Another option
Figure 2: Greensgrow Before (1995) and After (2009)
in West Parkside is the enormous Fairmount Park, an area with over 4,000 acres of land a
just a stone’s throw away. Preston’s Paradise (Figure 1) is located in its owners’ back
yard. MCF is located on a plot of land where there once stood collapsed, abandoned
rowhouses. And Greensgrow (Figure 2) lies on the site of an old galvanized steel plant
turning inner-city rubbish into just some of the potential benefits that urban farming
brings. These farms have turned unused and unsafe plots of land in the city into cleaner
streets and a more beautiful neighborhood while increasing local food supply.
Who will do the digging?
But who will do all this work? The harsh reality is that without youth
involvement, sooner rather than later, urban agriculture will die out again. It does not take
a high school diploma to plant a garden but farming is a primary industry. As Jade Rosen,
a farmer at MCF, explained there is a rich history of farming in the area among Southern
blacks and Caribbean island immigrants and Caribbean-Americans. The tradition is not
being passed down to the younger generations (personal communication, June 2, 2009).
One way to get youth involved is through educational tours and programs such as the
ones that all of the farms I studied have incorporated. Another critical aspect to engage

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youth involvement is to make it profitable. That means urban entrepreneurial agriculture.
Profits and job creation do not have to be prioritized over the goal of local food security
for low-income neighborhoods But a well thought out business plan is necessary to
balance the affordability of fresh, local food with the sustainability of urban farms. But
affordable does not mean free (or almost free). People do not place value on things that
are free and fresh, quality food is definitely something to be valued.
So what’s the plan?
Whether this is going to be a non-profit or a for-profit venture, it must be treated
like any other business. First and foremost, the farm’s distribution outlets must be
diversified including wholesale distribution to local restaurants and stores, and selling
directly to customers via on-site farm stands, farmers markets, and community supported
agriculture (CSA). There is not a lot of familiarity with the CSA model among low-
income communities but we could adapt the current CSA models to incorporate a pay as
you go system. People who live paycheck to paycheck cannot afford to pay up front for
their next five months of food.
Production must also be diversified
and not just crop production. Value-added
goods are a crucial component to business
sustainability. Value-added goods can include
a multitude of things such as: honey, baked
goods, jams, preserves, canned goods, sauces,
cheeses, hard candy and seasonal items. In
addition to food sales, the farm could include
a garden center for gardening tools and
equipment. For example, Zack Seidenberg, an
Figure 3: Weaver’s Way Farm with Mayor
Nutter, City Hall Farmers’ Market undergraduate at Drexel University, explained the
children’s pizza garden at Weaver’s Way Farm. The children’s garden produces all the
ingredients and toppings (except the dough and cheese) to make a delicious pizza (e.g.
tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, broccoli, red and green peppers, herbs, etc.). Ideally there
would be an oven constructed at the farm site to demonstrate cooking classes and even let

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the kids make their own pizza and watch it rise! (Preston’s Paradise offered a workshop
in August on cob oven construction.)
Now, in order to sell to a variety of consumers at different locations there must
be a lot of produce. In order to grow a lot of produce the farming technique must be
intensive. In order to implement successful intensive farming techniques the soil must be
fertile. And in order to have fertile soil, either luck, or a fertile parcel of land is required;
time, to implement remediation strategies; or resources, to truck fertile topsoil. Small plot
intensive (or SPIN) farming is an excellent technique to maximize production. In
addition, crop rotation must be implemented to give the soil a rest and to help replenish
nutrients. There have been endless farming techniques developed over the years (in all
parts of the world) to maximize production. One natural means to keep the soil fertile and
its chemical composition in balance is companion gardening (i.e. planting agreeable
crops together) so oats are planted next to peas, rye with clover, and buckwheat with
soya. These crop pairs form symbiotic relationships sustaining each other’s lives (for
more on this see Carrots Love Tomatoes and Roses Love Garlic1).
Finally, let us to the idea of culturally appropriate food. It should be emphasized
that this fundamental concept directly impacts the success of the farm. If a farmer grows
for a particular community, he/she must know that community; know what it wants;
know what it eats; and most importantly know what it does not eat. All of the farms
studied incorporated this concept very well but it is something that is never to be
forgotten. The documentary The Garden2 is a moving story about the South Central
Farmers in Los Angeles and their fight to save their fourteen acre community garden. At
one point in the documentary, Senator Maxine Waters (D-CA) visits the garden and her
first question is “Do you guys have collards here?” Naturally, this group of Hispanic
farmers does not grow collards simply because this crop is not a part of their culture. But
go to West Philadelphia in the summer and you will find collars growing in every garden
you pass.
1
Riotte, Louise. (1998). Carrots Love Tomatoes and Roses Love Garlic: Secrets of Companion Planting
for Successful Gardening. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, LLC.
2
Kennedy, Scott Hamilton. The Garden. USA: Oscillo Scope Laboratories.

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So, what’s the problem?
There are many criticisms about urban agriculture and the alternative food
movement. Many of these critiques are noteworthy but it is also important to keep in
mind that it is far easier to critique than it is to come up with your own viable solutions.
Many say that farmers’ markets are spaces of whiteness. The values pursued by those
who frequent these markets, mostly white, middle-class Anglo-Americans, are white
values that are universal and normalized and as argued by Julie Guthman, associate
professor of Community Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz (2008).
When those “seemingly universal ideals do not resonate, it is assumed that those for
whom they do not resonate must be educated to these ideals or be forever marked as
different” (p. 391). It would be absurd to claim that African Americans do not frequent
farmers markets in proportion to white customers because African Americans do not
know the benefits of locally grown food. I would agree with Guthman that there are
fundamental structural problems at play rather than perception-related issues. For
example, where the market is located, what type of clientele the market caters to and
hence, what food it sells and at what price. Guthman states that “no space is race neutral”
(p. 389) and instead of striving to reach race neutrality, I think we should strive for
diversity because no person is race neutral. Even in West Parkside where the majority of
residents are African American, there is diversity in their community so there must also
be diversity in the businesses that cater to that community.
In conclusion, it has not been determined if an urban agriculture venture can fully
encompass all three goals (increasing the quality of life, decreasing the cost of living, and
creating jobs in low-income areas). I believe that urban agriculture is an undervalued
community asset, even unheard of by some. Food insecurity is not an issue most
Americans have to deal with, yet. When we do not value the food we eat, we must ask
why. Despite current trends of increasing inequality, erratic climate change,
overpopulation and worse, overconsumption; there is comfort in these four farms, the
work they’re doing, and the lives they’re impacting. In the words of Minnie Aumônier,
“when the world wearies, and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden.”3
3
Smith, Alisa and J.B. Mackinnon. (2007). Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100 Mile Diet. New York:
Random House, Inc.

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About the Author
Erin Rudegeair is a senior at the Pennsylvania State University with a major in
Geography and a minor in Spanish. She has studied abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina and had
traveled several times to Honduras with the non-profit organization Global Medical Brigades. She
is planning to graduate in May of 2010 and hopes to intern with Global Brigades in Honduras or
Panama for a minimum of one year before continuing her education in graduate school.

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Works Cited
Guthman, Julie. ‘If They Only Knew’: Color Blindness and Universalism in California
Alternative Food Institutions. The Professional Geographer, 60, 387 – 397.
Rosen, Jade, personal communication, 2 June 2009.
Reynolds, Ben. “How can we feed Philly?” Urban Sustainability Forum. Philadelphia. 21
May 2009.
Seidenberg, Zack, personal communication, May 2009.