WHO IS GROWING FROM THE ROOT FOR?

For Growers

This plan is for people who have been doing this selfdetermined community work for generations, people who just started because of the COVID-19 pandemic, people who do this for survival, and people who do this for the safety and mental health of the kids on their block. It is for everyone who grows food, medicine, flowers, pollinator gardens and orchards in the city, everyone who stewards animals and the land, all seed keepers and seed rematriators, all food and land justice educators, all organizers and advocates, everyone who wants to make a living from agricultural work, everyone who wants to learn about agriculture and be the next generation of growers, and everyone who wants a healthier, more just local food system that centers BIPOC presence/resistance/histories/and ancestral knowledge and practices. The plan is for young people looking to learn about farming and for elders who have knowledge and experience to share. It lays the groundwork for formerly incarcerated residents in need of work to create new connections within the community, and it honors Indigenous people who are still here and whose ancestors first inhabited and stewarded this land.

For City Agencies

This plan is also for the City agencies poised to invest in, support, and help evolve our local food system. These agencies are key in moving Philadelphia toward a system that is more just -- one that understands the value of urban agriculture, honors the visions and needs of residents who make up the urban agriculture constituency, and contributes to realizing those visions. This includes members of City Council who will be responsible for supporting the plan, crafting legislation that supports the ideas contained in the plan, supporting land use decisions that protect and expand the footprint of agriculture in their districts, and approving budgets that enable plan implementation. This also includes City agencies or entities whose work intersects with urban agriculture, among them:

> Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and its Farm Philly program, which supports 60 farming projects on Parks & Rec land, including youth education gardens, community gardens, vegetable farms, orchards, community composting programs, and a public greenhouse for growing seeds and plant cuttings. Farm Philly supports communities to design and lead their own agriculture projects, redistributes resources to communities impacted by food apartheid and displacement, and ensures equitable distribution of food produce on public land.

> The Philadelphia Land Bank, established in 2014 and housed at the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation, which manages the City’s portfolio of surplus property and grants leases to gardeners and farmers tending public property, to acquire privately owned, vacant, tax-delinquent properties for garden preservation, and to transfer surplus public properties that host gardens and farms to private owners who will steward those growing spaces.

> Philadelphia City Council members, who are responsible for representing their constituents. District Council offices field requests for land and are key players in the Land Bank’s process to acquire or dispose of property. They legislatively approve all transfers of land into and out of the Land Bank. City Council also approves the City’s budget each year.

> The Philadelphia City Planning Commission, which drafts changes to the Zoning Code, advises on land use and development decisions, and undertakes comprehensive planning efforts for the City, including strategies that support urban agriculture.

> The Office of Sustainability, currently home to the Food Policy Advisory Council (FPAC), and whose Greenworks Plan includes policies and strategies to increase access to healthy food and drinking water, reduce emissions, improve air quality, preserve natural resources, and reduce waste.

> The Department of Public Health’s Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention, which works to ensure access to affordable, nutritious food choices for residents citywide and develop good food purchasing policies and standards for City meal programs.

> The Philadelphia Water Department, whose programs provide water access and stormwater fee exemptions for urban farmers.

> The Philadelphia Department of Prisons, which has converted unused green space into a smallscale farm, orchard, and compost facility that offer agricultural workforce development and re-entry support for incarcerated individuals.

For Supporting Groups

Additionally, this plan is for the many individuals and groups who collaborate with City government and will help implement the plan and effect the change that the plan proposes. This includes diverse groups outside City government that steward and support Philadelphia’s urban agriculture sites, programs, and advocacy agendas. These appointed bodies, nonprofits, advocacy groups, and other community-led projects work to fill gaps in the City’s institutional support network and systems to protect and promote urban agriculture in Philadelphia.

> The Food Policy Advisory Council’s Urban Agriculture Subcommittee guides the development and implementation of new laws and policies that support the conversion of Philadelphia’s vacant and underutilized lands into sustainable community assets that increase food access, food security, and food sovereignty for all city residents.

> The Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia’s Garden Justice Legal Initiative (GJLI) provides pro bono legal support, policy research and advocacy, and community education and trainings to community gardeners and market farmers interested in land access.

> The Neighborhood Gardens Trust (NGT) provides land security for over 50 gardens across Philadelphia, offers technical assistance and capital improvements to preserved gardens within the NGT network, and works with City partners to remove barriers to land security for all gardens and farms.

> The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) Community Gardens programs offer educational workshops, gardening supplies and materials, seedlings, access to the PHS tool library, technical assistance, volunteer support, and infrastructure improvements to Philadelphia-area community gardens.

> The Philadelphia Garden Data Collaborative (PGDC) is a coalition of organizations formed in 2017 to track and steward data on public and community-based gardens and farms within the city. The Collaborative includes members from the GJLI, NGT, PHS, Soil Generation, and researchers from Haverford College and Villanova University. Together, and with the trust of Philadelphia’s urban agriculture community, these entities designed and implemented a citywide groundtruthing and garden census effort, and created a database documenting the footprint of public and community-based gardens and farms.

> A network of organizers and community activists including, among others, Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Association Coalition (SEAMAAC), Sankofa Community Farm, Urban Creators, Soil Generation, VietLead, Urban Tree Connection, Norris Square Neighborhood Project, Philadelphia Coalition for Affordable Communities, Philadelphia Orchard Project, Philadelphia Backyard Chickens, Cesar Andreú Iglesias Community Garden, Eastwick Community Garden and other grassroots and community-driven organizations that work directly in and with communities to advocate for a more just and equitable local food system in Philadelphia.

For Philanthropic Partners

This planning effort was supported by philanthropic partners. Going forward, and in keeping with Growing from the Root’s commitment to allocating power and resources to community partners most impacted and best positioned to co-lead implementation efforts, it will be necessary to invest philanthropic and government resources into city programs and projects and a range of community-based organizations, large and small, established and emerging, diverse and reflective of the communities practicing urban agriculture in Philadelphia.

For Everyone

If you eat food, Growing from the Root is for you, too. Because of the interconnectedness of urban agriculture, the people who are impacted by or have a stake in the outcomes of this plan are not limited to urban farmers and gardeners. The plan has the potential to influence the entire local food system of Philadelphia, making it relevant for virtually all who consume food within city boundaries.

INTERESTED IN A CERTAIN TOPIC?

Use the next page as a guide to the recommendations. Each element of the food system has its own chapter, goal, and series of objectives. A set of recommendations follow each objective.

Goals Of Growing From The Root

Six chapters, one for each element of the food system, organize Growing from the Root’s recommendations. Each element has an overarching goal and a subset of measurable objectives to gauge progress toward the goal.

Land

GOAL: Increase land security for growers, access to growing space in all neighborhoods, and stewardship of the land.

> Preserve existing growing spaces

> Create new growing spaces

> Invest in land stewardship to increase climate resilience

Production

GOAL: Build long-term support for urban agriculture initiatives into the City’s infrastructure, policies, and programs.

> Ground Philadelphia’s urban farming programs and practices in agroecology

> Make physical improvements to growing spaces more feasible

> Support safe and appropriate animal keeping

PREPARATION & DISTRIBUTION

GOAL: Invest in existing and new local systems necessary to support a sustainable, just, and equitable food system in Philadelphia.

> Invest in a network of food-processing facilities

> Fill gaps in the food transportation system

> Support opportunities to sell fresh produce

Consumption

GOAL: Build long-term support for locally sourced, nutritious meals and increased fresh food access into the City’s infrastructure, policies, and programs.

> Increase access to nourishing food

> Support safe foraging of wild foods

FOOD WASTE REDUCTION & RECOVERY

GOAL: Be accountable to existing zero-waste commitments and create new ones.

> Improve and expand City operations to recover food waste

> Increase residential, business, and institutional participation in food waste reduction

> Prevent food waste by increasing food rescue and donations

People

GOAL: Recognize the role urban agriculture can play in the lives and livelihoods of people and communities.

> Affirm and solidify community gardens and inclusive spaces for cultural preservation and community healing

> Offer educational opportunities and programs for young people

> Provide agricultural education and programs for adults

> Create pathways toward economic justice through agricultural jobs and business opportunities

LAND, LAND CARE, AND LAND SECURITY ARE CENTRAL TO FOOD PRODUCTION

The goal is to increase land security for growers, access to growing space in all neighborhoods, and stewardship of the land.

1. LAND