This season, the city of Akron is getting involved in the urban agriculture movement with a new program called Akron Grows.  Eight city-owned vacant lots have been turned into community gardens, and community members can acquire plots in which to grow food for a small fee of $20-$30.  “We recognize, especially in today’s economy, the need for people to put affordable, fresh food on the dinner table; the city itself also has a need to put vacant lots to productive use.  I’m excited to watch Akron Grows spur community involvement a

Braddock Farms, one of the largest projects run by the non-profit Grow Pittsburgh, is a farm run on a stretch of vacant lots on one of the main streets of the suburb of Braddock.  It sits in the shadow of the last steel mill in Braddock, a town that has lost 90% of its income and population. The area is dotted with overgrown vacant lots, and the mayor, an enthusiastic supporter of the local food movement, hopes to turn them into useful growing spaces.  The existing farm is now in its second full growing season.

The attached PDF file of the Community Gardening Toolkit was distributed in hard copy at the June 8, 2009 Urban Agriculture / Farming Roundtable meeting.  This document was written by Bill KcKelvey, MU Extension Associate, as part of the Healthy Lifestyle Initiative.  It is available for online viewing or download on the MU Extension website.

Thanks to Susan Shockey, OSU Extension, for providing this information at the meeting!