Urban farming in Baltimore: Designing economic sustainability
Mira Azarm Thesis publication Master of Arts in Social Design Maryland Institute College of Art 2012–2013
CONTENTS
1 Introduction 2 Urban farming in Baltimore 3 Chart: Urban farms address ‌ 5 Chart: Urban farming revenue by source 6 Chart: Urban farm expenses 7 Implementation post-graduation 8 Sources and definitions 10 Interviews 11 Photographs of Whitelock Community Farm
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Introduction About Mira Mira studies the intersections of strategy, design thinking and positive social change as a M.A. in Social Design candidate at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). She’s worn a “meat suit” in Fells Point, rebranded a nonprofit design center, written and illustrated a short book on the value of creative failures, and investigated issues affecting Baltimore’s urban farms for her thesis. An award-winning graphic designer, she spent 12 years in the University of Maryland’s Office of Marketing and Communications designing publications for a range of clients. She was a staff advisor on two environmentally focused trips led by UMD’s Alternative Breaks program, allowing her to investigate social justice and service-learning issues in an educational context. Mira’s held leadership positions in AIGA, the professional association for design: as president and board member of the DC chapter, and president’s council chair on the national board.
Why urban farming? Mira’s interest in local farm systems was sparked by the many summers she spent during her youth on her grandparents’ farm and orchard in Alabama. She earned pocket money picking peaches and apples with her grandfather and selling bushel baskets on the porch alongside her grandmother. She also made frequent deliveries to several local Piggly Wiggly supermarkets. The produce was seasonal and delivered at peak freshness into a regional food system that otherwise depended on industrial farming and processed foods coming from extreme distances. The farming practices my grandfather upheld were similar to those practiced by large-scale industrial farms, however. He sprayed large quantities of pesticides and fertilizers throughout the year in order to manage pests and harvest unblemished fruit. These chemicals took their toll on my grandfather’s respiratory system, and undoubtedly leached into the soil and surrounding waterways.
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Urban farming in Baltimore Urban agriculture is the activity of growing plants and raising animals in and around urban areas. Intensive production methods recycle nutrients, improve soil, and encourage plant and animal growth without the use of hazardous chemicals. Products are processed, distributed, and consumed within the same urban area, often within the same neighborhood, in which they are produced.1 In Baltimore urban farming is emerging as a potential solution to daunting challenges of poor nutrition, food access and security, and a property surplus of 30,000+ city-owned vacant lots. Urban farms also have job-creating potential—in theory. Early on I asked urban farmers and local agriculture experts whether they saw potential in job creation. The answer I heard time and again: “No one makes a living in urban farming.” Why would anyone want to work at a farm if they can’t make a living doing it? Why is this considered acceptable? And worst of all, if there’s no living wage running a farm, how long can urban farming sustain itself? Without financial success, urban farms will fail to achieve the lasting societal impacts inherent in many of their missions. For that reason, I decided to apply my thesis work towards economic sustainability in urban farming.
Low-hanging fruit: food benefits Maya Kosok, the director of the Farm Alliance of Baltimore2 (a network of 12 urban farms), also worries about urban farming’s reliance on grant funding3 and inability to sustain itself financially. Together, we identified a tangible goal that would help Baltimore’s farms in the immediate here and now: maximize the usage of food benefits4 at the individual farm stands. A large portion of these funds, offered by the state or foundations, remain unspent by their beneficiaries, which translates into lost potential income for the farms—this is an issue not only in Baltimore at farm stands, but also at farmer’s markets across the state. For urban farms, the numbers are small at first glance (for example, last year, Whitelock had a total of seven EBT transactions, which probably amounted to $30 of additional income), but over time, they can make a difference. I teamed up with Whitelock Community Farm in Reservoir Hill to focus on this issue. We identified two potential barriers to benefits usage in their neighborhood: lack of awareness that benefits are accepted, and lack of desirability for the food. Focusing on the former seemed like a good place to start, so I advised them to first and foremost begin talking consistently about the benefits to residents. We painted the following wording on their shed, which is highly visible from the street: “Yes, we accept EBT, FMNP and WIC/Senior FVC!” Since then, they’ve incorporated this messaging into nearly everything they’ve done; the wording is painted on their brand new mobile market (a bicycle with a cart attached), a foldable sign at their weekly farm stand, and butcher paper on the tables at last week’s community potluck. In conversations I’ve had with residents, or overhearing passersby while painting the sign onto the shed, this seemingly simple intervention has been effective in beginning to raise awareness. This is just the tip of the iceberg, however; we have more work to do, and plenty of ideas to try out. 2
Urban farms address:
POOR NUTRITION 40% OBESITY RATE IN BALTIMORE
UNSUSTAINABLE FARMING PRACTICES PESTICIDES, FERTILIZERS AND GMOS = ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND NEGATIVE HEALTH OUTCOMES
FOOD SECURITY AFFECTS 14% OF BALTIMORE’S LOW-INCOME FAMILIES
VACANT LAND 30,000 CITY-OWNED PROPERTIES AND LOTS IN BALTIMORE
FOSSIL FUEL CONSUMPTION CONVENTIONAL FOOD TRAVELS ≈ 1,750 MILES FROM FARM TO MARKET
ICONS FROM THE NOUN PROJECT Truck by Simon Child, original city houses by Adam Iscrupe
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Corner stores retail strategy Another project on the list is the food display and marketing in Whitelock’s corner store, which is funded by the B’more Healthy: Communities for Kids (BHCK)5 corner store program through the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Last year, both Whitelock and Real Food Farm participated in this pilot program to sell fresh produce in a neighborhood store. RFF’s store was unsuccessful; Whitelock’s is struggling, but the store continues to participate. The display case is diminutive at best, and the produce on its own can’t compete with the heavily advertised store products. There’s nothing compelling or aspirational about buying the food as it is currently displayed. My hypothesis is that increasing the desirability for the food will also increase sales. Baltimore residents are very proud of their city and their neighborhoods, so I want to emphasize the hyper locality of urban farm-grown food, while making the food brands themselves more visually appealing. This idea has huge potential for scalability: any farm that wants to participate can. Because the corner store program is funded and administered through BHCK, I’m also working with one of the coordinators to propose including design in the next stage of the study, which would begin in July. This kind of access would put me at the table with Hopkins researchers and my work in the context of rigorous research methodologies, while simultaneously exposing the research practitioners to social design practices.
Other opportunities Because of the work I’ve done so far with Whitelock, I’ve been approached by a nonprofit organization, Eat Fresh Maryland6, to consult with them on food benefits outreach strategies, and by the Baltimore Food Policy Initiative7 to get involved in some way with the public markets program8. In addition, the Farm Alliance of Baltimore has received funding for design implementation this coming year and is interested in working with me to create targeted design and marketing materials that can be used across the 12 participating farms. It’s gratifying and exciting to see my partners get inspired by the possibilities. As I become increasingly skilled at social design and learn more of the many challenges surrounding urban farming, I’m both amazed and intimidated by how much more can be done. Farmers are by nature risk takers and experimenters—they have to be, because so many elements are out of their control. I’ve seen time and again the willingness to accept new ideas and try them on the ground. I am currently seeking post-graduation opportunities to collaborate with Baltimore’s urban farms to help them become more financially sustainable. This in turn will allow them to fulfill their goals of addressing issues of public health, food access, sustainability and vacant land. Last but not least, maybe one day soon thanks in part to my work, an urban farmer can make a living wage, and in this way, urban farming can become a viable employment opportunity in Baltimore.
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Urban farming revenue by source
43+3+54
54%
43% FOOD
GRANTS
3% OTHER
SOURCE *Schutzbank, Marc H. “Growing Vegetables in Metro Vancouver: An Urban Farming Census.” Thesis. University of British Columbia, 2012. Print. This funding projection applies to nonprofit farms only.
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Urban farm expenses with revenue <25 k
FARM 12
2010
FARM 8
2010
FARM 7
2011 2010
FARM 4
2011
FARM 1
2011
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
GROWING EXPENSES
LABOR EXPENSES
SELLING, GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATION EXPENSES (E.G., FUEL, MARKETING, SIGNS, WEBSITE, ETC.)
SOURCE *Schutzbank, Marc H. “Growing Vegetables in Metro Vancouver: An Urban Farming Census.” Thesis. University of British Columbia, 2012. Print. Above numbers are from a survey of urban farms in Vancouver using Canadian dollars.
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Implementation post-graduation I’ve applied for a few awards, including two through MICA: The Launch Award Baltimore (LAB) and the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation Social Design Fellowship. Should I receive any of this funding, I will apply it as seed money for experimentation and prototyping of the previously mentioned concepts. This would allow me to proceed without burdening the farms, and expand on existing ideas in small scale ways, and can lead to larger scale activation as the year progresses. Every partner I’ve worked with so far has some amount of grant funding set aside for design, marketing and sales. In every case, it’s intended specifically to cover implementation costs. Unfortunately, in most cases this funding doesn’t get used very effectively or to its full potential. This may happen because they don’t have volunteers or staff with design skill sets—the work has to be pro bono, which limits the farm’s/org’s ability to connect with skilled designers—or because the ideas themselves aren’t fully realized. As a Deutsch fellow, I can be a design resource for my partners, helping them find cost-effective and strategic ways of using their existing funding towards implementation that will ultimately serve their goals more effectively. Farms are extremely resourceful, and have many willing volunteers that assist on a regular basis who can help implement projects in a grassroots way. This is often more appropriate for the farm than something glossily produced. In the case of Whitelock’s shed signage, for example, I originally intended to do a vinyl banner that would hang on the shed, thinking that would be the most cost-effective, and fastest, option. Elisa Lane, Whitelock’s farmer, proposed instead that one of the farm volunteers and a skilled sign painter, Caleb Lin, paint it directly on the shed. This was an unexpected but elegant solution to the task. Once I determined the wording, size and location of the message, Caleb did the hand lettering directly on the shed. They already had white exterior paint on hand, so the cost of implementation was a grand total of $4 for one fine-tipped paint brush.
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Sources and definitions 1 SOURCES: Definition derived from Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security (RUAF) and United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
2 The Farm Alliance of Baltimore City is a network of producers working to increase the viability of urban farming and improve access to urban grown foods. They are united by practices and principles that are socially, economically, and environmentally just. The idea for a network of Baltimore’s urban farms grew out of informal farmer gatherings and existing collaborations. With help from an Open Society Institute Community Fellowship and a USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grant, the group began to take shape in fall 2011 with Maya Kosok coordinating the effort. Civic Works has graciously served as both the host organization and fiscal sponsor for this project. www.farmalliancebaltimore.org
3 Urban farming revenue by source: 54% grants, 43% food, 3% other SOURCE: *Schutzbank, Marc H. “Growing Vegetables in Metro Vancouver: An Urban Farming Census.” Thesis. University of British Columbia, 2012. Print. This funding projection applies to nonprofit farms only.
4 Food benefits are monthly government subsidies for low-income residents that can be used to purchase food. Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) Can be used like a debit card at any participating vendor; amounts allocated monthly. Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) Issued to the recipient in the form of a coupon that can be redeemed at a farmer’s market or farm stand. Women, Infants and Children (WIC) + Fruit and Vegetable Check (FVC) Issued to the recipient in the form of a check that can be redeemed at a farmer’s market or farm stand.
5 B’more Healthy: Communities for Kids healthy stores program aims to develop and evaluate a community-based obesity prevention program, which operates at multiple levels of an urban food system (policy, wholesaler, corner stores, carryout, household, individual; in Baltimore, MD), and will improve the healthy food supply chain to increase affordability, availability, purchasing and consumption of healthy foods within low-income minority neighborhoods. http://healthystores.org/projects/b-more-healthy-communities-for-kids-a-multi-level-obesity-prevention-study/
6 Eat Fresh Maryland is a statewide effort to expand federal nutrition benefits redemption at farmers markets through a partnership of more than 20 farmers markets, non-profits, and government agencies. The goals are to expand food access for low-income Maryland residents, increase revenue for local farmers, and foster development of best practices and amongst farmers market managers. http://eatfreshmd.com
7 The Baltimore Food Policy Initiative (BFPI) is an inter-governmental collaboration with the Department of Planning, Baltimore Office of Sustainability, Baltimore Development Corporation and the Baltimore City Health Department. The goal of BFPI is to increase access to healthy and affordable foods in Baltimore City food deserts. BFPI is doing this through a holistic and comprehensive food systems approach. www.baltimorecity.gov/Government/AgenciesDepartments/Planning/BaltimoreFoodPolicyInitiative.aspx
8 Get Fresh Public Markets, a BFPI program, will increase healthy food availability through a healthy carryout strategy, improve access to local produce, increase demand among consumers through nutrition and fitness activities, and effectively coordinate existing health and educational resources in the public markets. www.baltimorecity.gov/Government/AgenciesDepartments/Planning/BaltimoreFoodPolicyInitiative/PublicMarkets.aspx
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Interviews conducted Big City Farms Alex Persful Bmore Healthy: Communities for Kids Hannah Coakley Center for a Livable Future, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Amanda Behrens Charles North Cooperative Garden Kevin Ghaffari Clagett Farm Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Carrie Vaughn Farm Alliance Maya Kosok Future Harvest CASA Renee Brooks Catacalos Real Food Farms Zach Chissell Reservoir Hill Improvement Council Teddy Krolick Riverdale Park Farmers Market Jim Coleman Urban Farmhouse Chrissa Carlson Whitelock Community Farm Elisa Lane and Erin Bowman
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Whitelock Community Farm Food benefits signage
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Whitelock Community Farm This page: Mobile market with benefits wording Opposite page: Shed exterior as of May 6, 2013. I advised on logo placement, size and format; the staff implemented it on their own with volunteer assistance.
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Whitelock Community Farm Community potluck on May 1, 2013. Photos courtesy of Dana M. Chang.
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Whitelock Community Farm Linden Market: current refrigerator display
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Whitelock Community Farm Linden Market: current display at top of refrigerator case; market exterior
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Whitelock Community Farm Linden Market: current food display, close ups of product and labeling
Whitelock Community Farm Inside the â&#x20AC;&#x153;tunnel,â&#x20AC;? early Spring. Photo courtesy of Dana M. Chang.
Mira Azarm mazarm@me.com