Create a Department of Urban Agriculture

I call on the city to create a Department of Urban Agriculture to guide the creation of a thriving urban agricultural industry. After all, it was agriculture that helped the very first civilizations form and grow.

Furthermore, our city has the space to accomplish this, we have excessive parking structures, open lawns, riverfront land, and vacant lots. We just need to determine whether the land is arable or could be made as such. I would also encourage the centering of native edible foods such as wild rice and pawpaw trees. This would require increasing education about these foodstuffs and this may require building alliances with indigenous groups with a historical connection to the land..

This could be a solution to the inflating grocery prices, food deserts, and shrinking tax base of our city. The state and federal government are clearly going to continue their hostility toward us. They are unlikely to fully fund transit expansion, tornado relief, public schools, and SNAP benefits. Furthermore, large corporate agricultural industries are attempting to squeeze out local farmers. By building an industry based on urban agriculture, our city could rebuild our economy, create new jobs, and serve local needs. If successful, we could even export goods to our neighbors.

A Department of Urban Agriculture should do the following:

(1) Create a plan to expand the urban agricultural industry.

(2) Designate whether land is arable or can be made arable easily.

(3) Create grants for local farmers and farming cooperatives to settle and work in the city.

(4) Facilitate educational programming and messaging to promote the overall mission.

(5) Promote overall food independence and economic independence.