PRODUCTION

Overview

Production of food, flowers, medicinal plants, and fiber (such as hemp) requires adequate agricultural resources. This chapter of Growing from the Root focuses on access to and the availability of resources for growers, seed keepers, and stewards of land and animals. Necessary resources include the various inputs needed to grow food or tend farm animals: water infrastructure, tools, storage, organic materials (e.g., compost, mulch), seeds, and farm equipment, as well as new City legislation, code amendments, and guidelines that enable people to increase harvests and safely raise animals in the city.

Why Philadelphia Needs To Invest In Production And Infrastructural Support For Agriculture

When public meeting participants were asked, “Whatdoesyour communitygardenneedtothrive?” the majority said growing materials (e.g., soil, seeds/seedlings, and tools) and growing infrastructure (e.g., raised beds, hoop houses or greenhouses, and compost bins), followed closely by long-term land security and water infrastructure Participants described various barriers to increasing their production and investing in agricultural infrastructure, including lack of land security and access to growing space.

Participants also described the potential of urban agriculture: mitigating climate change impacts such as flooding, heat islands, and biodiversity loss; retaining stormwater and lessening the impact on Philadelphia’s combined sewer systems and overflows; and storing carbon that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere, a process called carbon sequestration. All of these benefits are core to urban agriculture that employs the principles of agroecology, which takes a holistic approach to growing food. Agroecology brings growing food back in harmony with biology and the environment, people, and our cultural and political structures.37 Whereas conventional agriculture exacerbates climate change and food waste, small scale farming and urban agriculture that employs agroecology and agroforestry principles can reduce both.

Many participants also emphasized that urban agriculture can increase access to nourishing food and bring communities together. The COVID-19 pandemic led to empty grocery store shelves, especially in disinvested communities, where - participants said - many residents turned to neighborhood gardens and farms to access quality, affordable, and nutritious foods. With the physical distancing constraints brought on by the pandemic and the collective heartbreak and outrage at the continued loss of Black lives that led to racial justice uprisings across the city and country, gardens remained safe spaces where people could come together to heal and take collective action. Food-producing spaces and organizations became ever-more critical in feeding Philadelphia’s population and providing safe spaces for gathering during difficult and painful times.

In addition to plants and growing spaces, animals are a key part of urban agriculture in Philadelphia. Many participants indicated support for animal keeping in Philadelphia: nine out of every 10 participants said they support keeping bees, and three-quarters said they support goats. Participants mentioned wide-ranging benefits that these animals provide to local ecosystems, including bees’ essential role in pollination and propagation.

Participants also described the social benefits of infrastructure improvements. Seating, tables, outdoor kitchens, washing stations, and sun shelters can transform gardens from functional growing spaces into welcoming and comfortable common spaces. Walkways and raised beds can make gardens and farms more accessible to elders and people with limited mobility. More permanent infrastructure, such as water lines, electricity, cold storage, tool storage, and fencing, gives growers a greater sense of permanence, with investments reflecting an understanding that the land will be used for agricultural purposes for the foreseeable future.