Calliope's Table

           Portland, Oregon

The 2009 CSA season gave me many insights about where we should be heading with urban farming in order to effectively grow more food in the city, and an idea that presented itself early on was to concentrate our efforts within a single neighborhood. Which neighborhood? Well, the ones that we each live in seems to make the most sense.

As the season progressed it became apparent that much time was being spent moving the produce from several different neighborhoods where the gardens were, to a different neighborhood where folks would pick up their produce, and then they had to take it back home to yet another neighborhood where they lived. It seems like it would leave us much more time for cooking and eating all that food if this could take place closer to home.

So this coming season I'm going to grow as much produce as I can right in my own neighborhood, starting with my own backyard. Some of what I grow will end up with CSA subscribers, some will likely make it to the Hawthorne Urban Farmers Market, and a good deal of it will stay right in my neighborhood to share with my neighbors. We've already started reaching out to our neighbors to find out who is already doing some gardening, finding others who'd like to do some gardening but can't or don't know how to get started, and finding available space to grow in whether it's other yards or unused space such as vacant lots. Next we'll start to identify fruit and nut trees nearby and get those neighbors involved, start figuring out who has or would like to have chickens that lay eggs, and pretty soon we're making some good progress at having a substantial amount of food to share right in our neighborhood. And the sharing is an important part too. Think about potlucks, a weekly neighborhood food exchange, and garden projects for those that could use some extra help.

It turns out that not only is there a name for this, Neigborhood Foodsheds, but there are neighborhoods already getting started. One place this is happening is Santa Barbara, CA, and the top video to the right is a Peak Moment episode with Owen Dell talking about Neighborhood Foodsheds in Santa Barbara. The other videos show the same idea in a couple other places.

Owen has also done some writing on the subject and you can find his writing and some others on the Links page under "Foodsheds".

I think Neighborhood Foodsheds are a great idea, and I'm going to list below some of the reasons why Owen thinks so too. If you'd like some help getting a Foodshed started in your neighborhood send a note to:

One of the best ways to get a Neighborhood Foodshed started is to work with an urban farmer already farming in your area. You can find a listing of neighborhoods and any farmers known to be working in that area, here at:
Your Neighborhood Farmer, a wonderful resource created by
SE Portland Seed Bank Project.

Thanks,
Calliope

What are the advantages of a foodshed?

• Fossil-free food - no shipping, pollution, etc.
• Get corporations out of food.
• (almost) Free food - no cost other than initial investment, water, fertilizer.
• Organic, wholesome, absolutely fresh. Lip-smackin' good.
• Everybody is responsible for one or two elements of a balanced diet, so nobody has to be an expert in growing everything.
• Free technical help from experienced growers.
• Growing food is fun!
• Social benefits - meet your neighbors, share ideas as well as food, have fun.
• Builds community.
• Saturday farmer's market in your own neighborhood - more fun.
• Great for the kids, too.
• Not necessary to grow anything if unable, but you can let part of your yard be used for a community fruit tree, etc. and still be able to take part in the program.
• No licenses, no permits, no inspections, no rules, no hearings, no corporations, no fees, no contract, no salespeople, no driving, no tiny annoying labels to peel off your fruit. You don't need to ask anybody's permission. Just do it!