Hundreds flock to
Findlay Market every week to stock their pantry, snack on samples and pay homage to the local agro-businesses that surround the city.
But Findlay Market also gives residents the opportunity to learn about
sustainable farming from the ground up, literally. In partnership with
the
USDA,
The Corporation for Findlay Market has been training de facto urban
farms hand since 2009 to cultivate produce on local farm land that will
eventually be sold at the market, thus increasing access to locally
grown foods to Cincinnatians.
The project, dubbed Findlay Markey Farms!, recently received another
$30,000 grant from the Greater Cincinnati Foundation
http://www.gcfdn.org/ to continue the farming on urban acres within the
city.
"We created to the project because we knew we had more demand for local
produce than we had supply," says Karen Kahle, resource development
director for Findlay Market.
The grant allows Findlay Market Farms! to hire an urban farming manager, in partnership the
Civic Garden Center. It also helps train two dozen apprentice farmers and provides funds for equipment and supplies.
The four plots of land used by Findlay Market Farms! are located in
Over-the-Rhine, Hartwell and Westwood. Hundreds of volunteers from local
organizations, schools and universities have helped with the project,
Kahle says. They recently hired their fourth co-op student in urban
planning from the University of Cincinnati's College of Design,
Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP)
Kahle says that the skills Findlay Market Farms! teaches could help residents make a career of urban farming.
"We feel confident that on a quarter acre lot with an extended growing
season, folks can make living as an urban farmer after a couple years,"
she says.
Do Good:
•
Volunteer. Donate a few hours a week to help maintain a plot in your area.
Email for details.
• Go shopping. Support the local growers by purchasing produce at Findlay Market.
• Join the
Friends of Findlay Market. Stay up-to-date on the latest news and opportunities at the Market.
By Ryan McLendon
Photo courtesy Friends of Findlay Market
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