Growlots

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GROWLOTS PHILADELPHIA INTEGRATIVE DEVELOPMENT FOR PHILADELPHIA’S URBAN AGRICULTURE MOVEMENT

MEGAN BRALEY & VICTORIA PEREZ



GROWLOTS PHILADELPHIA INTEGRATIVE DEVELOPMENT FOR PHILADELPHIA’S URBAN AGRICULTURE MOVEMENT MEGAN BRALEY & VICTORIA PEREZ

The University of the Arts Master of Industrial Design Program Philadelphia, Pennsylvania © May 2010



Growlots Philadelphia -

Integrative Development for Philadelphia’s Urban Agriculture Movement Megan Braley Victoria Perez This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Industrial Design at The University of the Arts Approved:

Michael McAllister Thesis Director Associate Professor of Industrial Design, The University of the Arts Joan Blaustein Director of the Environment, Stewardship, and Education Division of the Department of Parks and Recreation

Angel Rodriguez Executive Director, The Empowerment Group

Richard Voith Senior Vice President and Principal, Econsult Corporation

Alison Hastings Senior Environmental Planner, The Delaware Valley Planning Commission



TEGRATIVE VELOPMENT

NEWS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to thank the many individuals that have assisted in the development of our thesis. First, we would like to thank our thesis advisor Michael McAllister for helping us form our ideas and pushing us through times of going insecurity. o our thesis and we are still strong. Your voice of assurance was always appreciated. Next zing our researchwe and would conducting likea series to thank our thesis committee and faculty members that with nonprofit organizations, growers, contributed to our progress, including Joan Blaustein, Angel Rodriguez, l departments, we have identified three Richard Voith, Alison Hastings, Jonas Milder, Dr. Benjamin Olshin, and hiladelphia’s urban agriculture movement ddress as designers: Neil Kleinman.

munication is Key

is not shared.

This thesis is very focused on how to tie together individuals from separate spectrums of the urban agriculture movement. With that in mind we interviewed the following individuals to receive their opinions of s suggested by growers, nonprofits and how communication can be bridged. Without their time and patience this t do not align. thesis would not be possible. Thank you, Andee Mazzocco, Mami Hara, Dobshinsky, Jonathan McGoran, Greg Heller, Domenic Vitiello, n communication Andrew is at the root of each ems. As a result we arePierson, brainstorming Bob Jethro Heiko, Tony Guido, Skip Wiener, Gina Giazzoni, Karl ent of an interactive communication Ingram,and Nicmunicipal Esposito and Sarah Wu. llows growers, nonprofits o connect with one another. A clearer and transfer of information will ensure that We would also like to thank our families for their unwavering support not made more than once, events are not through this time. Last but not least we would like to extend a special the same day, and that resources are used We have enjoyed working with all of ly. Many new comers to the thank youmovement to both William and Wilson for their encouragement through you and would like to thank you for all ntioned a need for information about this semester. of the information and feedback you hiladelphia to be cataloged in one place, as em a better understanding of the current have given us to this point, and we ng place. We appreciate the input you all that haveyou provided and hope you enjoy the hope will continue to voice your opinions. thesis you helped grow. few weeks we will be prototyping

unifying mission coordinating everyone’s

tabase concepts, as well as setting up an ture wiki for members of the movement.

ge is the key to a successful urban teractive database. Please be on the link to the wiki. We look forward to your and your feedback.

Please be on the look out for our next newsletter coming March 26th and for up-to-the-minute activity visit our blog: www.lovephillylocalfood.wordpress.com

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“growing your own food is one of the most radical, revolutionary, empowering things you can do today.� -Jethro Heiko, Action Mill 2/9/2010

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements................................................................................................... ii Abstract & Keywords................................................................................................. vi CONTEXT: Introduction................................................................................................................ 3 Philadelphia’s Urban Agriculture Movement as a Wicked Problem Background................................................................................................................ 33 RESEARCH: Interviewing................................................................................................................. 45 I. Nonprofits II. Growers (Gardeners & Urban Farmers) III. Government City Comparisons....................................................................................................... 81 Literature Review....................................................................................................... 89 Key Terms................................................................................................................... 93 Mapping..................................................................................................................... 95 PROPOSAL & DEVELOPMENT: The Power of Coordinated Efforts............................................................................... 101 Strategy....................................................................................................................... 105 I. Listing II. Categorizing III. Framing Investigative  Activities...................................................................................................115 Project Prototype......................................................................................................... 125 Final Development....................................................................................................... 129 Future Engagement..................................................................................................... 153 Appendix...................................................................................................................... 155 Interview Questions Philadelphia Urban Agriculture Movement Contacts Resources Chart Glossary....................................................................................................................... 229 Definitions Thesis Generated Terms Bibliography................................................................................................................. 233 iv



ABSTRACT Philadelphia’s urban agriculture movement has been gaining momentum for the past 40 years. Throughout this period, new organizations have been developing rapidly, and an increasing number of individuals have become interested in growing in the city. However, the movement’s stakeholders have continuously struggled to create the unified voice necessary to push citywide initiatives forward. As a result, efforts are fragmented, redundant, and inefficient. The complexity of these interrelated factors demands that the movement be seen and understood as a cohesive system. This thesis proposes that the design process of observation, research, and interviewing, can be used to prototype and implement a system that enables communication and transparency for members of the urban agriculture movement. This study concludes that the histories and reputations of individuals and organizations are impeding open communication, and therefore should be presented secondary to the resources that have been developed. Further, a collaborative content management system has been designed to focus on the work that has been accomplished. The system acts as an organized database and a networking communication tool for Philadelphia’s urban agriculture movement.

KEYWORDS Systems Design Information Design Organizational Design Competition Communication Collaboration Content Management Urban Agriculture Philadelphia

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CONTEXT


INTRODUCTION 1. BHT. 2010. Environmental Working Group, 27 Apr 2010. < http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ ingredient.php?ingred06=700741> 2. Management Information Systems, 5 Feb 2010. <http://www.gregvogl.net/ courses/mis1/glossary.htm>

Systems Design: “A blueprint, plan or model of a system; deciding how a proposed information system will meet the information needs of end users.”2 3

The tools of the designer have an immense role to play in resolving social and environmental problems. One of the biggest problems our world faces today is the distant relationship we have developed with our food system. Many of our foods have become industrialized products. We are not told how our food is produced or where it comes from, and yet we eat it anyway. Our food is transported over such long distances that it needs to be injected with dangerous preservatives and additives to keep it looking fresh longer. One frequently used food additive, butylated hydroxytoluene, or more commonly known as BHT, has been recognized as “an agent that can induce an allergic reaction in the skin or lungs.”1 These overly processed foods have had detrimental effects on our health.


The global agriculture system involves a vast number of stakeholders who make decisions regarding production practices, transportation methods, and food accessibility.

IM-1. Currey, Bruce “Issues On Evaluating Food Crisis Warning Systems� Diagram. The Flinders University of South Austrialia 2010. 28 Apr 2010 <http://www.unu. edu/unupress/food/8F062e/8F062E06. GIF>

This diagram illustrates the many stakeholders involved in the national food system and how they overlap with one another. These interactions create a complex system with fragmented communication. 4


3. Building Shared Understanding of Wicked Problems. 2006. CogNexus, 9 Apr 2010. <http://cognexus.org/id42.htm> IM-2. Holsten, Joanna. Philadelphia Healthy Food Initiatives Map. Diagram. 2010. Jan. 26. 2010 <http://www. philadelphiahealthyfoodnetwork.org/>

The diversity of these stakeholders makes the global agriculture system a wicked problem. The concept of wicked problems, was developed in 1973, by Horst Rittel, an esteemed design theorist.

A wicked problem can be defined as any problem, “for which each attempt to create a solution changes the understanding of the problem.”3 Wicked problems, or complex problems, often affect systems because they are made up of many intertwined components. A problem with one component affects the whole system. Any attempt to resolve the component’s problems is rendered ineffective because of the complexity and interconnectedness of the entire system. This thesis proposes that the design process can be used to improve the agricultural system. The design process uses the tools of observation, analysis, interviewing, researching, and collaboration to understand and address wicked problems. We have used these tools to navigate and understand our relationship with food as a wicked problem.

Through this thesis we examine Philadelphia’s urban agriculture movement as a microcosm and scalable model of the global agriculture system. To the right is the Philadelphia Healthy Food Network map, which was designed by Joanna Holsten RN, MS. Many of the organizations represented in this map support local food and are proponents of urban agriculture. As the diagram shows, Philadelphia’s urban agriculture movement is an extremely complex system. The following diagrams illustrate how we navigated our way through multiple intertwined problems to reach the focus of this thesis.

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Philadelphia Healthy Food Network Map, by Joanna Holsten RN, MS

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Mapping a Wicked Problem Over the course of two years, we conducted a number of projects to understand more about the national food system and how its problems could be addressed on a local level. These explorations led to our interest in urban agriculture and its potential to help reestablish the distant relationship we have with our food. These projects eventually linked to the importance of communication as a means of aligning multiple stakeholders to create more efficient competition and collaboration within Philadelphia’s urban agriculture movement.

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Philadelphia Green Kitchen (PGK) Project The PGK project was focused on understanding the reciprocal relationships a user has with the kitchen space. The project made apparent that the kitchen is more than a stove top and storage space. The kitchen is a harbor for the home and brings together a number of systems. We identified that the intersection of these systems influence our habits within the space. To improve this relationship, we researched nine key areas including: Food Culture, Production, Consumer Habits, Waste & Resource Management, Retrofitting, Modularity, Education and Policy. This research created a number of insights which led to future projects.

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SognoVoyage: Nutrition & Fitness Video Game SognoVoyage is one project that came out of the Philadelphia Green Kitchen project. Research showed that as a nation we have developed a distant relationship with our food supply, and that children are at risk for perpetuating this pattern of detachment. SognoVoyage is a video game that was developed to address these issues. The game joined physical fitness with the ability to make healthy food choices in relation to nutrition suggestions from the USDA food pyramid. The game enabled children to discern food facts based on nutrition labels. The project developed one way to improve childhood eating, and suggested alternative solutions.

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LOVE Philly Local Food LOVE Philly Local Food is another project that developed out of the Philadelphia Green Kitchen Project. It also focused on the distant relation we have developed with our food system and tackled the issue by creating methods for reconnecting consumers to the stories behind their food. One method, a website, aimed to brand the local food movement and to educate consumers about where their food comes from. The project emphasized the health and environmental advantages of buying local. As the project developed, it became clear that without more food outlets, it would be impossible to transform Philadelphia into a more localized food system.

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The Kensington Project The Kensington project, grew out of LOVE Philly Local Food, and sought to point out the potential of utilizing vacant land throughout the city for local food production in order to reestablish the relationship between the farmer and consumer and beautify the city. The project concentrated on Kensington because of its high number of vacant lots. While working it became clear that if maintained gardens had the potential to flourish as businesses that help revitalize the surrounding neighborhoods. Yet, throughout the project it was very difficult to find the information for growing in the city. The resources were fragmented and confusing.

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Educating Youths

Food Culture

We have developed a distant relationship with our food

Production

Policy

2.

Sogno Voyage

1.

Education a game to reconnect kids with food

Foster the ability to make healthy food choices

Consuming Habits

Philadelphia Green Kitchen Waste vs. Resources

Modularity Retrofitting

Metering

Growlots Farm Centers The difficulty of finding resources in the Kensington Project led us to develop the concept of Growlots Farm Centers, which would be developed on vacant lots and act as central hubs for organizing food production, creating green jobs, building community, and education. The project proposed methods for replicating the model throughout the city and outlined the jobs that would be available at the centers. The project revealed that inefficient communication was taking place between entrepreneurial farmers and gardeners, nonprofit organizations and the city government.

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poor health

damaged environment

dangerous preservatives


Branding alone does not clarify the local food system branding local

3.

education

LOVE Philly Local Food

Reconnecting consumers to “the people behind their food�

prioritize urban Connect ag. impediments urban ag. organizations

networking

Organize urgan ag. stakeholders

Stakeholders focused on money not social capital Participants too focused on names and reputations

Current system is not efficient enough to make money to create jobs

Access to healthy food does not mean it gets eaten

Make it easier for people to find local food outlets

creating a central hub

Economics Integrative Development

Need to expand local food outlets beyond Center City

redefine competition

high population loss

7.

high unemployment

Integrative Development

Forum inefficient. No one agrees on the problem holding urban ag. back

Growlots Philadelphia

6.

Food Acces

connect multiple lots to create a garden network that ensures that gardens are sustained

5.

teens are bored

lacking grocery stores

neighborhood beautification

4.

The Kensington Project

Fieldwork revealed a need for increased communication between government, nonprofits and growers

hire agricultural students

high crime

create green jobs

Collaborative Forum

train people to grow and distribute food

surplus of vacant lots

Urban Agriculture develop vacant lots

Green Jobs Land Ownership Issues

Kensington offers an opportunity

organize community volunteers

Growlots Farm Centers

catalog community interest in growing

hold growing workshops

Create a repeatable business model to organize local food production for increased city growing

analyze available resources

community building

Confusion over land ownership decreases use of vacant lots

analyze vacant land catalog gardens

Lack of interest due to the complexity of finding the info. needed to start urban growing

Gardens often fail Fragmented resources and efforts makes growing in the city difficult for newcomers

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Collaborative Forum To address the issue of inefficient communication we held a Collaborative Forum. We invited local food experts, economists, city officials, and representatives of nonprofit organizations to discuss the problems surrounding growing food in the city. The group discussed economics, integrative development, green jobs, land ownership, and food access issues. Everyone in the meeting discussed various problems in the urban agriculture movement, but they were unable to agree on a single problem that the discussion could focus on. The meeting confirmed that inefficient communication was responsible for many of the other problems occurring in the movement.

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Integrative Development Improving communication between nonprofits, growers, and city government officials will reduce redundant efforts and will accelerate the resolution of other problems in the movement. This will allow Philadelphia to gain all of the benefits of urban agriculture, including its ability to reconnect people with their food, revitalize community, beautify neighborhoods, create green jobs, increase the number of food access points, improve health and rehabilitate the urban environment.

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4. Business Dictionary, 5 Feb 2010. <http://www.businessdictionary.com/ definition/organizational-design.html>

Philadelphia’s urban agriculture movement is most often analyzed by urban planners, architects, and landscape architects, who contribute solutions including the design of an urban farm site plan, the mechanics of a hydroponic system, or the landscaping necessary to integrate a garden into a community or a rooftop garden into the cityscape. Each of these solutions is essential to the progression of urban agriculture in Philadelphia and it is evident that without these designers, the advancements that do exist would not have been possible. However, we have examined Philadelphia’s urban agriculture movement under a new lens. We have utilized the concepts of organizational design and systems thinking to unravel the convoluted network that currently exists among growers, nonprofits, and city government, as a means of addressing this wicked problem. .

Nonprofits We spoke with a number of nonprofits that are connected to urban agriculture, including those interested in greening, nutrition education, sustainability and local food.

Growers Organizational Design: “The method in which management achieves the right combination of differentiation and integration of the organizations operations, in response to the level of uncertainty in its external environment.”4 23

We met with gardeners and urban farmers who are all affected by the resources and support provided by nonprofits and city government programs.

Government We interviewed members of the departments given the responsibility to lead and develop the urban agriculture initiatives outlined in Philadelphia’s Greenworks Plan.


Through intersecting the design process with the urban agriculture movement, the barriers to communication and transparency became apparent. Presently in the urban agriculture movement there are three main stakeholders: nonprofits, government, and growers. Nonprofits are based on generative thinking5, or social benefits, as opposed to making a profit. As such, they have trouble maintaining a steady income. To compound matters, there are an unusually high number of nonprofits in Philadelphia, especially when compared to the national average.

5.Johanssen, Frans. The Medici Effect. Boston: Harvard School of Business Press, 2004. 6. Twombly, Eric C. and Carol J. DeVita. Mapping Nonprofits in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy. October 2000. 7. Interview, Domenic Vitiello. Philadelphia, PA. February 2nd, 2010

In 2000, the number of nonprofits in Philadelphia was up to 4,211. “There are more than 14 secular groups for every 10,000 residents, compared with eight nonprofits per 10,000 persons nationally. If religious organizations are added, the density increases to nearly 27 community-based organizations per 10,000 residents.”6 This has lead to “turf wars between the nonprofits because their missions overlap.”7 We have observed that competition over limited resources affects the movement as a whole. Not only are there a large number of nonprofit organizations, there are an increasing number of local government agencies becoming interested in urban agriculture for their own agendas. In addition, each day new growers move to Philadelphia and become a part of the burgeoning young farmers network. The following diagrams give and example of a turf war and explain the adverse effects of competition.

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Turf Wars in the Urban Agriculture Movement Turf wars in the urban agriculture movement happen within and between nonprofits, government and growers. In the example below, two growers are responsible for their respective plot at a local community garden. Collaboration is often discussed within community gardens, but is ignored when the prospect of garden awards arise. These awards are a great source of funding that keep community gardens afloat. Unfortunately, they also lead to competition between growers. Funding is a high source of frustration for many members of the urban agriculture movement, and has most often been the source of competition and fragmentation in the movement.

John and Cindy both plant produce at their community garden.

Cindy proposes that they work together to increase the growth of their plots. 25


John sees Cindy’s offer as a way for her to get ahead and for him to lose credit for his work.

John declines and they continue to work separately. 26


Initial Excitement As individuals enter the urban agriculture movement they are full of excitement to contribute to a larger cause. Many join the movement to further initiatives connected to nutrition education, food equity, and city beautification.

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Realities of Sustaining Your Efforts Over time, individuals come to the realization that their work cannot continue to grow and reach people unless funding is constantly provided. The limited availability of funding and resources leads to competition, and a general loss of trust between members of the movement.

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8. Schuler, Douglas and Aki Namioka. Participatory Design: Principles and Practices. Hillsdale, NJ: Eribaum, 1993.

To address these problems we took on the role of researchers, planners, and consultants, and used participatory design to guide the development of a strategy that encourages open communication and transparency.

Participatory design, “involves all stakeholders to create the most relevant solution,” because it “assumes that workers (the user/ client) themselves are in the best position to determine how to improve their work and their work life.”8 The process of participatory design allows for the creation of solutions that individuals from separate groups can feel personally connected to, invested in, and interested in using. We believe that it is paramount that this connection is made or else the designed solution will ultimately fail. Throughout Philadelphia’s urban agriculture movement, a number of action plans have been proposed to improve cohesive efforts, but they have failed to be implemented. Most action plans developed to this point include five key steps: 1. Organize Missions Toward a Common Purpose 2. Formulate Clear Leadership 3. Design and Maintain a Navigable System (Create a Project Database) 4. Develop a Strategic Approach for Using Limited Resources 5. Outline Action Steps for Defined Needs

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While each of these steps is necessary for urban agriculture to move forward in Philadelphia, something is diminishing their effectiveness. We have identified that a lack of open communication and transparency has prevented each of the action steps from being accomplished. To breakdown the barriers of communication we focused on creating a tool that:

1. Displays the system as a whole. 2. Coordinates present efforts between organizations. 3. Creates a system that shows where the future plans of stakeholder groups could align in order to accelerate the movement’s progression. As long as competition is unorganized, redundant efforts will continue to occur and prevent the potential for future collaborations. From our interviews we found that, while many tools are available to members of the movement, they are often dismissed because of the associations they have with their providers.

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To understand this we mapped the movement. While mapping we attempted to layer who was connected to who, where funding was coming from, and how the missions of organizations and individuals related. It was also evident that many of the available resources are still unknown to the people that need them most because there is no centralized hub housing the information. As a result, the needs of growers in the city are not being met. If growers were given the information they needed, they could more successfully organize growing projects and farmer’s markets, allowing nonprofits to act as supporters rather than organizers.

We applied the concepts of communicative action, shaping strategy, and a multiple constituency approach to organizational effectiveness to the development of our strategy. We believe that competition should be redefined so that funding and other resources are distributed based on a group consensus, rather than stakeholder manipulation. In this way, the available funding and resources would benefit everyone’s mission. However, for this coordinated effort to happen, each stakeholder group must be aware of what the other groups have already accomplished.

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We have concluded that in order to address the barriers to communication, the names, histories, and reputations of the individuals and organizations involved, must be presented secondary to the resources that have been developed. To do this, we have categorized all of the tools and services presently forming Philadelphia’s urban agriculture movement. We have disregarded the egos attached to these tools and services, and have focused only on what has been accomplished. Through mapping out a revised system, we have put reputations aside in order to equalize the movement and create the infrastructure for a unified voice. Through the process of framing we demonstrated that their tools are essentially each other.

With this strategy we designed Growlots Philadelphia, an online collaborative content management system that acts as an organized resource database and a networking communication tool. The system has been designed as a resource to be used by each of our stakeholder groups in order to create a unified voice and a bond between all of the stakeholders.

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BACKGROUND 9. “Growing A Nation: The Story of American Agriculture.” A History of American Agriculture, 1607-2000. 200. Economic Research Service. 23 Feb.2010 < http://www.agclassroom.org/gan/ timeline/index.htm> 10. ibid 11. ibid Im-3. Handy, Larry. “A Bergner and Engel Brewing Company Refridgerator Railroad Car, Circ 1880.” Print. Explore PA Hotory.com 2010. 5 May 2010 < http://explorepahistory.com/displayimage. php?imgId=4875>

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As early as 1810, American farm manufacturers had begun to establish factories to process crops. By 1830, John Deere and Leonard Andrus machinery began to minimize the time spent plowing fields. This machinery increased the number of plots that could be tilled at any given time. This encouraged farmers to transition into commercial farming, which included the use of new technologies and chemical fertilizers. Simultaneously, railroad development skyrocketed, with approximately 30,000 miles of tracks laid down by 1860. Within a few years, refrigerated freight cars were introduced, “increasing national markets for fruits and vegetables”.9 American farmers began to export portions of their crops abroad, creating revenue in the millions for the nation and laying the groundwork for a globalized food system. Farm exporting steadily increased until the Great Depression, when it experienced a momentary lull. In the 1940’s, the agricultural industry experienced a second technological boom through the use of pesticides and the popularization of frozen foods.


By the 1970’s, biologists and chemists had discovered methods for transferring DNA to create genetically engineered food sources. The first example of bioengineered food was lancota wheat, which was injected with protein to improve the “quality”10 of grains and bran. The agriculture sector prospered until the 1980’s, when a short period of backlash ensued. A number of unfortunate incidences impacted farmers, including: USDA reports that revealed agricultural chemicals were severely permeating the nation’s ground water supply; the establishment of the PaymentIn-Kind program, which lead to the “third-largest acreage reduction ever”recorded;11 and the implementation of the Food Security Act, which decreased government support for farms and left farmers in tremendous debt. However, in the 1990’s, farmers were able to bounce back through the development of increased processing and shipping methods, which increased food production. The national net income grew to $54.9 billion, and food exportation added another $48.2 billion. Revenue increases were aided by information technology and the expansion of biotechnology for corn, dairy and livestock. Through bioengineering, soybean and cotton crops were created with resistance to weeds and insects. The “first whole food produced through biotechnology [was] the FLAVRSAVR™ tomato.”12

12. “Growing A Nation: The Story of American Agriculture.” A History of American Agriculture, 1607-2000. 200. Economic Research Service. 23 Feb.2010 < http://www.agclassroom.org/gan/ timeline/index.htm> 13. Palmberg,Elizabeth”A Human-Made Disaster”. Sojourners 37, No.7. 2008

To ease economic and political consensus toward global food, the United States Congress approved a General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. These farm policies proved to be harmful to many small third world countries, while extremely helpful to large agribusiness companies. For example, “Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland, and Bunge dominate the global grain trading. Four companies account for almost all fertilizer sold, and five control the world seed market.”13 Over the past decade, this has resulted in agribusiness leaders conferring on what crops and food should be produced, the practices that should be used to produce those items, and how much those food items should be sold for, in order to yield the highest possible return from production, processing, distribution and sales.

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14. Naylor, Rosamond and Walter Falcon. Our Daily Bread. Boston Review. No.5 September/October 2008. Im-4. Knoblock, Charles. “Hay Harvest 1971”. Photo. The Associate Press Images 2010. 14 April 2010 <http://0apimages.ap.org.catalog.library.uarts.edu/ Search.aspx?st=k&remem=x&cfas=__p &kw=&kwstyle=and&intv=None&prds =&dteaf=&dtebf=&sh=14&PERSON_ FEATURED_NAME=&sort=relevance&TIT LE=&SOURCE=&PHOTOGRAPHER_NA ME=&rids=7106080133&city=&state% 3Astatename=&phototype=&country%3A countryname=&colorspace=&cfas=-1>

In recent years, the food supply has been used in the creation of alternative energy sources. Soy and corn, in particular, are being produced at unprecedented rates to create enough ethanol to fuel our automotive driven society. It is estimated that by 2015, corn and soy based ethanol production will jump to 15 billion gallons—a six billion gallon increase in just seven years. “Larger biofuel mandates mean a corn dominated ethanol industry for at least the next five years, accompanied by the inevitable price pressures on food.”14 Today, the United States agricultural system has greatly influenced the worldwide food crisis.

15. Pollan, Michael. In Defense of Food. New York: Penguin Press, 2008. 16. “Obesity Related Statistics in America”. The Get America Fit Foundation< http:// www.getamericafit.org/statistics-obesityin-america.html > 25 Jan 2009 17. Travaline, Katharine. Urban Agriculture: Enhancing Food Democracy in Philadelphia- Thesis Document. Drexel University. September 2008

The food system’s transformation represents a cultural shift away from whole foods towards chemically altered products. In today’s grocery stores, almost every food item includes a packaging label with a myriad of nutrition and ingredient facts, including terms such as: “polyunsaturated, cholesterol, monounsaturated, carbohydrate, fiber, polyphenols… probiotics, and phytochemicals [which have] colonized much of the cultural space previously occupied by the tangible material formally known as food.”15 A convenience-driven culture has caused fast food to consume our society, resulting in a loss of the cooking-it-from-scratch mentality. The extreme success of fast food chains has lead to a change in “our retail economy, eliminating small businesses and encouraging the spread of uniformity”.16 This break down of the retail economy has also effected Philadelphia, even though the city has strong agricultural roots. Its long standing history goes back to 1673 when Philadelphians wove small scale farm plots into their developing urban landscape. Even William Penn called Philadelphia, a “ ‘greene Country Towne’ ”.17

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18. Scraton, Phillip B. “Philadelphia’s Industrial History: Context and Overview.” Workshop of the World. 2007. Oliver Evans Press. 28 Feb. 2010 <http://www. workshopoftheworld.com/overview/overview.html>. Im-5 West, Benjamin “The Treaty of Penn with the Indiands 1771-72”. Painting. Wikipedia 2010. 28 Apr. 2010 < http:// upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Treaty_of_Penn_with_Indians_by_Benjamin_West.jpg>

Philadelphia’s urban development was balanced with rural growth until the 1880’s, when the Industrial Revolution spread through major cities across the United States and Europe. “From roughly 1880 through the 1920’s, Philadelphia’s industrial districts supported an array of mills and plants, whose diversity has scarcely been matched anywhere in the history of manufacturing.”18 Industries ranged from textiles and metals to transportation and machinery. The Industrial Revolution touched all aspects of daily life, including agriculture. During its height of manufacturing, Philadelphia heralded a number of processed food factories such as Breyer’s Ice Cream and Nabisco.

Im-6 Public Ledger “A View of Kensington Mill District c.1870- 1920” Photo. Workshop of the World 2010. 28 Apr. 2010 < http://www.workshopoftheworld.com/kensington/kensington_files/page3_1.jpg>

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19. Pollan, Michael. “Farmer in Chief.” 2008. New York Times: Food Issue 29 Nov 2008 < http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/ magazine/12policy-t.html> 20. Division of Adolescent and School Health. “Nutrition and the Health of Young People.” 2008. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention. 30 Jan 2009 21. Philadelphia School District Testing Statistics. 20 March 2009 < https://sdpwebprod.phila.k12.pa.us/school_profiles/ servlet/> Im-7. “Southwest Philadelphia, 20th Street Photo. Flickr 2010. 28 Apr 2010. <http://farm1.static.flickr. com/157/428757794_69ca5048e.jpg>

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As a result corner stores and fast food have become a staple within low-income communities, where there are fewer fresh food alternatives, because it is affordable and readily available. Through the combination of “fake” and fast food, obesity has become an epidemic in America, often concentrated in low-income neighborhoods, where there is less access to healthcare and nutrition education programs. Major obesity related diseases include heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Since the 1960’s, there has been a dramatic increase in Type II diabetes among children. Studies had shown that, “of children diagnosed with Type II diabetes, 85% are obese.”19 Today, public spending on healthcare has increased from 5% to 16%, while the amount spent on food has decreased from 18% to 10%.20 A number of studies have shown the correlation between food and physical and mental health. In Pennsylvania, 18% of 8th grade students are overweight and another 17% are at risk. The mental effects of less nutritious foods are seen in Philadelphia, where 33% of eighth grade students test below basic reading and math levels.21 Americans are paying the price for their food choices, and children in low-income communities are the most effected.


22. Pirog, Rich, et al. “Food, Fuel and Freeways: An Iowa Perspective on how Far Food Travels, Fuel Usage, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions”. 2001. Leopald Center for Sustainable Agriculture- Iowa State University. 2 Dec 2008. <http://www.leopald.iastate.edu/pubs/ staff/ppp/>

In addition to declining health, the agricultural system has contributed to the demise of our environment; most markedly in transportation emissions and chemical run off. Transportation makes up 11% of the energy spent in the food system, while chemical production makes up 18%. Overall, the food system contributes 37% of the total greenhouse gas emissions, which have caused a two-degree increase in the earth’s average temperature.22 Industrialized farmlands deplete nutrient-rich soil through monoculture plots, and the immense production of methane gas from pesticide use and animal feedlots. Our industrialized agricultural system and fast food culture has dramatically altered our world, including the environment and our bodies. However, a growing awareness of its many consequences has resulted in a range of food culture crusaders determined to transform our food system back into a healthy, sustainable system. 38


23. “Growing A Nation: The Story of American Agriculture.” A History of American Agriculture, 1607-2000. 200. Economic Research Service. 23 Feb.2010 <http://www.agclassroom.org/gan/ timeline/index.htm>

Beginning in the 1970’s, and continuing today, a large number of greening and health conscious groups have developed across the American landscape in reaction to the industrialized food system. In 1970, after the first Earth Day celebration took place, various states began forming organic farmer and gardener associations. Finally in 1990, Congress passed the Organic Food Production Act, which approved a national definition of organic food. In 2000, the USDA created an official organic seal and developed the Community Food Security Initiative, which aided grass root organizations in fighting hunger and improving health.23

Today, many nonprofit organizations in Philadelphia are interested in promoting urban agriculture and local food as a way to address the lack of fresh produce in low-income communities. Philadelphia, once known as the “Workshop of the World,” was hit hard by a decline in textile manufacturing during the 1960’s when large manufacturing factories were shutting down across the country. Deindustrialization led to a loss of jobs and depopulation throughout the city. As the city’s population decreased dramatically, business activity became stagnant. A significant decline in grocery store development, laid the foundation for declining health in Philadelphia’s low-income neighborhoods. 39


With many of Philadelphia’s low-income residents left with limited access to fresh produce, fast food chains were able to move in and dominate the market. Deindustrialization and population loss also contributed to the overwhelming number of vacant lots existing in Philadelphia today, as well as the city’s elevated crime rate. Vacant lots often “contribute to crime and render neighborhoods unattractive, unhealthy, and unsafe for residents, particularly families with children, and they contribute to further disinvestment as they discourage maintenance of the existing housing stock.”24

24. Birch, Eugenie L. and Susan M. Wachter, Growing Greener Cities: Urban Sustainability in the Twenty-First Century. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008.

To combat the illegal activities taking place on derelict lots, nonprofit organizations emerged to take on the responsibility of community revitalization through gardening and urban farming.

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25. Goldstein, Libby J. “Philadelphia’s Community Garden History” 1997. City Farmer 29 Jan 2010. <http://www. cityfarmer.org/Phillyhistory10.html>

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Philadelphia is known for its farming and gardening initiatives, which started as early as 1827, with the birth of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS). In the late 1800’s, The Lot Cultivation Association was established and in 1914, The Women’s National Farm and Garden Association formed. Organizational development continued to grow slowly until the 1970’s, which marked the beginning of a new health and environmentally conscious era. In 1973 both Weaver’s Way Co-op and Mariposa Co-op started selling fresh, local produce. A year later, PHS started Philadelphia Green, and in 1976 the Penn State Cooperative Extension began sponsoring its Urban Garden Program.25 Organizations continued to establish and expand their programs at an accelerating rate through the 2000’s. Today, there are between 200 and 300 community gardens in Philadelphia, and a handful of larger urban farms. Unfortunately, the sustenance of these cultivated plots still rely heavily on the efforts of nonprofits. Presently, the establishment of the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability in 2007, suggests that the government will be playing a larger role in the future development of urban agriculture in Philadelphia.


The urban agriculture movement in Philadelphia brings together many different groups including gardeners, farmers, businesses, educational outlets, local food proponents, and donation food stations

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RESEARCH


Throughout our thesis we used various methods of engagement to understand our problem. They included interviewing, city comparisons, writing literature reviews, applying specific concepts and mapping. • Interviews were conducted to gain personal insights into how the urban agriculture movement has developed and how it should continue to progress. • City comparisons were performed to examine how Philadelphia’s urban agriculture movement compares to other more successful urban agriculture models. • Literature reviews were completed to more clearly understand nonprofit structure and functionality. • Key concepts were used as filters to clarify and organize our research. • The process of mapping out information allowed us to better understand the connections existing between organizations.

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Working with Stakeholders Researching History

Examining Models

Applying Key Concepts

Observing a Problem

Mapping the Movement

Developing the Proposal Verifying with Stakeholders

Strategizing a Plan

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Understanding the Movement

Our research was driven by the interviews we conducted with members of Philadelphia’s urban agriculture movement. The knowledge we gained led us to our subsequent methods of engagement. Each person we interviewed explained their perspective on the roles of nonprofit organizations and growers, as well as the responsibilities of the city government. They also discussed the ability for urban agriculture to supplement the city’s current food supply, the difficulties the city’s land policies create for growers; and the wants and needs of gardeners and farmers. Our research led us to develop the concept of “the power of coordinated effort”.

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INTERVIEWING To prepare for our interviews, we extensively researched Philadelphia’s urban agriculture movement to find the key players involved. We divided the groups and individuals found into three stakeholder groups including nonprofits, growers, and city government. Although we were unable to interview every influential person, we were able to determine key individuals that could act as representatives from each stakeholder group. Before each interview we formed a list of questions based on issues of communication, competition, and collaborations currently occurring in the movement. We also researched the roles each of our stakeholder groups play in Philadelphia’s urban agriculture movement.

To gain the perspective of nonprofits we interviewed: Jonathan McGoran, the Communications Director at Weaver’s Way, a food cooperative and urban farm located in the Mt. Airy region of Philadelphia. Gregory Heller, the Managing Director for The Enterprise Center’s Community Development Corporation, a non-for-profit that offers workshops for developing entrepreneurial skills among minorities. Domenic Vitiello, Philadelphia’s urban agriculture guru, President of the Philadelphia Orchard Project and an Assistant Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design. Bob Pierson, the Founder and Director of Farm to City, an organization that offers a number of services to farmers from the regional area to help them sell in the city. Jethro Heiko, the Organizing Director of Action Mill, a social justice campaigning firm based out of Philadelphia.

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To gain the perspective of growers we interviewed: Tony Guido, a city gardener and part of the Lemon Ridge nonprofit, as well as a professor at the University of the Arts. Skip Wiener, one of Philadelphia’s oldest and most respected gardeners. Gina Giazzoni, a grower interested in promoting food sovereignty. Karl Ingram, a grower interested in creating food access and stronger communication among growers and nonprofits. Philadelphia Urban Farming Network, a group of farmers and gardeners working in Philadelphia. Nic Esposito, a grower interested in developing stronger communication and networking among Philadelphia growers.

To gain the perspective of government we interviewed: Joan Blaustein, the Director of Philadelphia’s Department of Parks and Recreation. Andee Mazzocco, Mami Hara, and Andrew Dobshinsky, from Wallace, Roberts, and Todd, an urban planning, architecture and landscape architecture firm located in Philadelphia. The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, where city, county, and state representatives are working on a Greater Philadelphia food system study and plan for sustainability. Sarah Wu, the current developer of the Office of Sustainability’s new urban agriculture website.

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Jonathan McGoran, Weaver’s Way Cooperative We met with Jonathan to learn more about the components of a successful urban farm. We spoke with him about their cooperative business model and their nonprofit organization. Each part of Weaver’s Way is successful because of the strong sense of ownership community members have for their respective roles in the business, nonprofit, and farm. While visiting we also met Shani Taylor, a farmer’s market coordinator, who explained that the city’s economics and policies had to change before local food could become affordable. She also explained that for urban agriculture and the local food movement to be taken seriously, the city government would need to hear a unified voice from growers and nonprofits. 51

“Organize yourselves. Get a critical mass behind you. Light a fire under us.”26 26. Interview, Shani Taylor. Weavers Way Coop-Philadelphia, PA January 27th, 2010.


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Gregory Heller, The Enterprise Center We met with Greg to understand more about urban agriculture as a viable business. We wanted to understand if there was a way to create supplemental    income and food for an entire neighborhood. He explained that it depended greatly on the level of public involvement. He felt the most prosperous urban agriculture ventures were plots intended for niche markets, and farming methods like Aquaponics, which require minimum investment while producing a high yield. Greg also discussed how the Enterprise Center collaborates with other organizations and how it creates public investment by connecting to well-established community groups. Their most recent collaborative effort is the Center for Culinary Enterprises, which brings together urban farming, cooking, restaurant practices, and retail spaces for aspiring entrepreneurs. 53


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Domenic Vitiello, University of Pennsylvania Design and the Philadelphia Orchard Project Domenic is well connected in the movement and has worked within community gardens, nonprofits, government and academia. He believes that land ownership laws have slowed the progress of the urban agriculture movement. He also explained that there is no single organization in control of urban agriculture in the city. Instead organizations hold urban agriculture as one of many initiatives, which leads to overlapping missions and turf wars. He mentioned the following as key points that need to be addressed before the movement can progress. They included: defining clear leadership, reconciling all contributors, and clarifying land policies. Domenic also made a point of expressing his strong interest in the development of a project database to help unify the movement. 55

“There must be a physical meeting space attached to [a] website, in order to give the system both a physical and virtual presence.�27 27. Interview. Domenic Vitiello. Philadelphia, PA. February 2nd, 2010.


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Bob Pierson, Farm to City We met with Bob to gain more insights on leadership in the movement. He explained his role as the director of Farm to City, as well as an urban agriculture connector for Penn State Extension. He believes that, while urban agriculture cannot support the food demands of the city, it must be valued for the social capital it creates within a struggling city. In his eyes, urban agriculture must be incorporated into the expanding regional food system. In order for this to happen, he explained that the government would need to avoid inhibiting growth and nonprofits would have to gain a better sense of business practices. When urban agriculture is better supported, he believes that the public will be able to reconnect with their food and recreate a “cook-it-from -scratch”28 mentality. 57

“Urban agriculture is not about producing as much food as possible, it is more about creating a number of valuable benefits that are essential to improving Philadelphia’s quality of life.”29 28, 29. Interview, Bob Pierson. Philadelphia, PA. February 9th, 2010.


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Jethro Heiko, Action Mill With the previous interviews in mind, we brainstormed methods for addressing the issues that had been brought to our attention. One method was the use of campaigning to unite the urban agriculture movement. To better understand campaigning and its impacts, we spoke with Jethro, who believes that a focus on the movement’s core actions could highlight possible areas of collaboration. He suggested that we look into the concept of shaping strategy, which is focused on redefining the terms of competition in a market so that all participants yield the highest outcome. We also spoke about the government’s involvement in the movement. He explained that it is more effective to focus on framing the project in a way that pulls the government into collaboration rather than pushes demands on them. 59


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Skip Wiener, The Urban Tree Connection As one of the most well-respected and oldest gardeners in Philadelphia, Skip was able to provide us with information on his successful method for growing in the city. He explained that his method is successful because he has gained and maintained a high level of neighborhood investment “by being there and building trust.”30 Skip enjoys planting in the city, but has little tolerance for the politics of the urban agriculture movement, which, in his eyes, often leads to lost time and no compensation for farming efforts. It was clear from our conversation that there were many needs which were not being met for urban farmers and gardeners in the city.

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How do you create community investment? “by being there and building trust.” 30 30. Phone Interview with Skip Wiener. Philadelphia, PA. February 25th, 2010.


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Tony Guido, Lemon Ridge Community Garden and Industrial Design Professor at The University of the Arts We met with Tony to learn more about his dual role as a community gardener and head of a nonprofit organization. He explained that while there are many resources available to people involved in urban agriculture, they are fragmented and difficult to find and utilize. He agreed that a project database would be a great help, but its design must allow users to easily access the who, what ,when, where, and why of the movement. We also discussed how this clarification of available resources could serve as an awareness tool for the public.

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Gina Giazzoni, Northwest Philadelphia Food Justice Alliance As a gardener, Gina has experienced the struggles of creating a business model for selling her produce. She explained the difficulty of balancing growing and selling produce, as well as the problems that arise from growers competing against one another. She explained that farmers often find it difficult to market themselves and their goods, and usually are forced to depend on farmer’s market managers for guidance. Gina also explained that she is not convinced that nonprofits always have the same goals in mind as the growers and community members. She believes that growers and communities should mobilize themselves to grow food and if anything, nonprofits should support, rather than direct these efforts. 65


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Karl Ingram, Foundations Inc. Karl explained that many farmers need to better understand business principles so that they can function more efficiently in the market. We discussed the future of urban farming in Philadelphia. Many of the young farmers currently working on gardens and farms travelled to the city and most likely will not feel compelled to grow long-term. He believes that it is imperative that there be a focus on cultivating growers from within Philadelphia so that they are “community minded.”31 We also discussed communication and the best way for people to connect. Karl suggested that we tap into the technology we have, by connecting community members to areas where technology is available, in order to “use technology to get things done, creating real community.”32 67

“ You should use the resources we have [the internet]. What’s important is to connect people in the community and then use technology to get things done.“32 31, 32. Interview with Gina Gianzzoni and Karl Ingram. Philadelphia, PA. March 2nd, 2010.


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Nic Esposito, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and the Philadelphia Urban Farm Network

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We met with Nic because he has experienced the problems surrounding nonprofits and entrepreneurial growing projects. He attributed these problems to what he calls the “nonprofit industrial complex.”33 He explained that, “self-perpetuating industries living by grants is no way to live and a bad way to do business.”34 In his opinion this causes competition that “is not healthy, [and] makes good people act in devious ways, [making] them loose sight of their original mission.”35 While he feels that there is good work being accomplished in the current movement, he believes it would be more productive to build a communal economy, so that good food and health are interweaved into society, instead of perpetuating nonprofit organizations.

[Competition] “is not healthy, [and] makes good people act in devious ways, [making] them loose sight of their original mission.”35 33, 34, 35. Interview with Nic Esposito. Philadelphia, PA. March 3rd, 2010.


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Joan Blaustein, The Department of Parks and Recreation We met with Joan to learn more about the multiple city agencies interested in urban agriculture. She explained that their interest varies from one department to the next. In her opinion, it will be very difficult to bring them together. Also, there are not as many resources as originally planned, because much of the funding for the Greenworks Plan has been focused on energy development. She announced that the Department of Parks and Recreation was recently put in charge of the city’s urban agriculture initiatives, and as a result, they will be making land available to the public for growing. They are currently working on two projects set for spring 2010. The department is also working on creating a Food Policy Council that will advise the decisions the government makes in regards to urban agriculture. 71


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Mami Hara and Associates, Wallace, Roberts & Todd We met with Mami Hara, Andee Mazzocco, and Andrew Dobshinsky to discuss the city’s GreenPlan. The plan focuses on ways for preserving and expanding open space in the city, including urban agricultural development. We discussed the city’s consideration to convert parkland into farm plots that produce food for surrounding neighborhoods. However, there is a lot of confusion concerning how parkland will be used, who will be in charge, and whether or not money can be made from the land. The interview made clear that the development of farm plots on city parkland is an option, but that the logistics of ownership and profit must first be negotiated between the city and the potential farmers and gardeners. 73


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Sarah Wu, The Office of Sustainability We spoke with Sarah to understand more about her role in developing the city’s urban agriculture website. She explained

that the site is intended to show all of Philadelphia’s vacant lots that are available to gardeners and farmers. She realizes that growers and nonprofits are confused about which departments own land, and admits that it is difficult to discern how regulations change from one parcel to the next. The website will be organized geographically and will focus on resolving land ownership issues by making the process of gaining land from the city more transparent and navigable. 75


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Attending Stakeholder Meetings to Learn More

36. DVRPC meeting, Kimberly Hodgson. Philadelphia, PA. March 2nd 2010.

Philadelphia Urban Farm Network (PUFN)

Our first interaction with growers was at a PUFN meeting. The meeting discussed the creation of a gleaning network, communal greenhouses to produce starters and seeds, and the need for a farm collective and farmer’s cooperative. Questions brought up during the meeting included: How to find land to grow on? How to find an administrator to market your produce? How to distribute your produce? Where people were selling their produce? Who people were selling their produce to? How to make people more aware of what you have to offer? And, how to attract new markets, especially markets that are not well informed about the social and environmental benefits of buying local or have the funds to support those products. The growers also voiced the need to have a stable website, as well as the need to unite to create a voice for themselves, since the city is ready to listen to their requests. Organization is key to pushing growing in Philadelphia forward, and the meeting was a great start on the road to uniting farmers and gardeners. By the end of the meeting we had become interested in the idea of creating a website that could help bring together members of the movement.

Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC)

We also attended a stakeholder meeting for the Greater Philadelphia Food System Study at the DVRPC. The keynote speaker, Kimberley Hodgson, the Manager of the Planning & Community Health Research Center at the American Planning Association, brought up successful food system collaborative models from all over the country. After the discussion we broke up into groups to complete an activity that asked everyone in the group to put problems related to collaboration in order from most immediate to least immediate. An online inventory network was brought up as a way to bring separate groups together in one “space”.Many agreed that an inventory space would be helpful to them and those growing food. Others argued that even if such an inventory existed, there was no guarantee that everyone would report to it. In any case everyone agreed that, “The food system is very complicated. It’s a multidisciplinary problem so it needs a multidisciplinary solution.”36

“The food system is very complicated. It’s a multidisciplinary problem so it needs a multidisciplinary solution.”36

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37. Phone Interview with Skip Wiener. Philadelphia, PA. February 25th, 2010.

Key Interview Quotes

38. Interview with Sarah Wu. Philadelphia, PA. March 4th, 2010.

• “It would be nice to know what people are doing, to share resources, get physical help, and share ideas.”37

39, 40. Interview. Domenic Vitiello. Philadelphia, PA. February 2nd, 2010. 41. Observation. Pufn Metting. Philadelphia, PA. February 18th, 2010. 42. Observation. DVRPC Metting. Philadelphia, PA. March 2nd, 2010.

• “ The city’s role is a provider of land. People feel that the issue is not transparent and is confusing, so we are working with city land owners [to improve].”38 • “There is no clear leadership for Food Equity in the Greenworks Plan.”39 • “There are turf wars between nonprofits because missions overlap.”40 • “What needs are still lacking fulfillment for us as farmers? How do we keep an active voice going? Our voice is ready to be heard.”41 • “A lot of people are working on the same thing, how do you compliment that work?”42 The interviews we conducted and the meetings we attended gave us an understanding of the problems with Philadelphia’s urban agriculture movement. To learn more about ways for addressing these problems, we looked to other cities with successful urban agriculture models.

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CITY COMPARISONS We performed city comparisons to understand how Philadelphia’s urban agriculture movement compares to other more successful urban agriculture models. Today, almost every city in the United States has a greening program. Our research and interviews lead us to examine Vancouver and Seattle further. To learn more about Vancouver, we researched their Food Charter and Food Policy Council, as well as the Vancouver Urban Agriculture Network (VUAN), a Google group list serve. To learn detailed information about Seattle’s movement we researched their urban agricultural history, as well as their P-Patch website, an inventory of urban agriculture resources. Both cities offer examples of cohesive urban agriculture systems that developed through open communication.

Phildelphia vs. Vancouver (International Model: Collaboration) Interest in the benefits of urban agriculture began to take form in both Philadelphia and Vancouver around the early 1970’s. While both movements were established through the efforts of individuals, they have since been supported by numerous nonprofit organizations. Today,

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Vancouver

IM-8. “Vancouver Skyline” Photo. Terra OPINIONES 2008. 13 Feb 2010. <http://opiniones.terra.es/tmp/swotti/ cacheDMFUY291DMVYQ2L0AWVZLURLC3RPBMF0AW9UCW==/imgvancouver4.jpg> 43. Levenston, Michael. “44% of Vancouver Grows Food says City Farmer” 2001. City Farmer 5 Feb 2010. < http://www. cityfarmer.org/44percent.html>

traditional gardening is the most common form of urban agriculture found in both cities. However, each city has identified that within the upcoming years gardening and farming efforts will connect to form sustainable food regions.

44. City of Vancouver. “Food Policycommunicty Gardens & the 2010 Challenge” 2010. City of Vancouver Community Services and Social Planning 9 Feb 2010. <http://vancouver.ca/ commsvcs/socialplanning/initiatives/ foodpolicy/projects/2010gardens.htm>

Vancouver and Philadelphia have both recognized the importance of gaining government support for urban agriculture efforts. In recent years, Philadelphia and Vancouver developed urban agriculture systems through similar initial steps, but several key differences have led the movements to where they are today. Vancouver ambitiously set the target of 2,010 garden plots by 2010. In early 2008, gardeners and city policy makers quickly joined to form a Food Policy Council, create a Food Charter, and develop operational guidelines for community gardens grown on city-owned land. Vancouver is often described as having one of the most comprehensive urban agriculture systems in Canada, with approximately 44% of the city’s residents growing a portion of their food.43 However, David Tracy, a member of Vancouver’s food policy council, clarified that today, Vancouver has around 1000 community gardens. While they are not yet at 2,010 gardens,44 they are continuing to actively work toward that goal. Tracy explained that it was a struggle to get land because there were a lot of questions about ownership and the location of lots. Today the land is divided between four city departments, including: Engineering, the

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45. Philadelphia Food Charter Oct 2008. Leadership for Health Communities. 21 Feb 2010. <http://www.leadershipforhealthycommunities.org/images/stories/philadelphia_ food_charter1.pdf> IM-9. Grasso, Justin. “Philadelphia Skyline� Photo. MMT 2010. 13 Feb 2010. <http://api.ning.com/files/ouJoN5UiZXzGRJkcR2idcS*j*uoDqoykgWFHPI6IdV 7L2uhwK7hr8hrbaYVFKNRexcObttC7M BIPg3Y0IMu7RqIrozQPUbOB/philadelphia_skyline_3_FULL.jpg>

School District, City Parks, and Social Planning, as well as a mix of provincial and private owners. About a year and a half ago, land issues began to improve because the right wing administration shifted over to a left wing administration that is much more receptive to urban agriculture. The government created an Urban Agriculture Committee to begin integrating food issues into all of the city departments, but there were conflicting views on whether that was the best action to take. While the Food Policy Council is actively working in Vancouver, Tracy explained that another source of conflict is that the members are appointed by the city, but their suggestions are not being taken seriously.

Philadelphia

In mid 2008, Philadelphia published the Greenworks plan and attempted to create a Food Policy Council. The Philadelphia Food Charter was created in 2008 under the direction of Mark Allen Hughes, the first Director of the Office of Sustainability. Since then, the Philadelphia Food Charter45 has not been enacted, and the proposed Food Policy Council has failed to become a reality. However, in 2010, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission began discussing the creation of a Food Policy Council as part of their Greater Philadelphia Food System Study, so it may soon become a reality.

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Farmers and gardeners in both Vancouver and Philadelphia have developed forums and discussion boards to coordinate efforts and schedule events. Philadelphia’s discussion board, PUFN-Philadelphia Urban Farm Network46, was formed in 2007 and holds 632 messages. Posts are submitted by a variety of users, even some farmers and gardeners new to growing in Philadelphia. Messages include job postings, upcoming events, workshops and skill sharing activities, information on supplies, and meeting dates.

46. Philadelphia Urban Farming Network. 2 Feb 2010. <http://groups.google. com/group/pufn> 47. Vancouver Urban Agriculture Network, 18 Feb 2010. <http://groups.google.com/group/ vancouver-community-gardens> 48. Interview-Phone, David Tracy. Philadelphia, PA. February 24th, 2010.

Vancouver’s discussion board, VUAN- Vancouver Urban Agriculture Network47, was also developed in 2007. David Tracy took a leading role in forming VCAN (Vancouver’s Community Agriculture Network), a precursor to VUAN. VCAN was a mix of multiple nonprofits focused on the environmental, health, and nutritional aspects of urban agriculture. They were all unified under urban agriculture, but they were also competing with one another for limited funding. Tracy stated that, “competition is not sustainable, it is unhealthy.”48 He later went on to take responsibility for the VUAN list serve. He explained that VUAN grew out of 50 gardeners who were meeting together and wanted a way to reach the city. Today, after four years of existence VUAN holds only 40 posts. The most apparent difference between VUAN and PUFN, is that a vast majority of VUAN’s 40 posts are focused on setting up meetings to discuss issues inperson, and documenting what was discussed at the meetings. The most recent meeting took place in May of 2009. There are very few people involved in the discussions on VUAN, but it is clear that they were instrumental in the formation of the Community Garden Guidelines used by the city. One guideline they created stated that community gardens should be considered a service to the city because they act as a form of beautification, and therefore should receive water service for free. VUAN also included in depth conversations focused on developing methods for involving people unaware of the discussion board.

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Philadelphia’s discussion board tells a very different story. Among the 632 messages posted on PUFN, only 4 messages posted between February and August of 2007 attempt to set up meetings. Recently, nonprofits have set up numerous meetings to discuss urban agriculture, local food, and food security, yet a Food Policy Council, Food Charter, or operational guidelines for community gardens have failed to be successfully created and utilized. Multiple action plans have been presented to local government, outlining the steps necessary to develop these committees, but they have not been used.

Comparing Facts & Figures

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Vancouver

Philadelphia

Working toward their goal of 2010 gardens citywide

Number of gardens decline from 500 to 300 over the past 15 years

Local government and growers have joined to create growing guidelines

Local government, growers, and nonprofits are stuck in conversation

Food Policy Council has been formed and is advising local government

The plan for a Food Policy Council has been proposed

Food Charter was written and enacted in 2007

Food Charter was drafted in 2008 and has yet to be put into practice

44% of Vancouver’s population is growing a portion of their food.

The number of people growing their food is unknown


It is necessary to consider the differences in the government structures of Vancouver and Philadelphia, and the effects they have had on the advances in urban agriculture. Philadelphia has a democratic system, while Vancouver has a parliamentary system with democratic elements. Both the USA and Canada can be considered capitalist nations with socialist elements. Canada, however, appears to have an even balance between the two. This may explain why it has been easier for Vancouver’s nonprofits, growers, and government to come together and create the open dialogue necessary to quickly establish and enforce their Food Policy Council and Food Charter49. On the other hand, nonprofits, growers, and municipal departments in Philadelphia seem to be more focused on individual agendas. This lack of open communication, both internally and externally, appears to be preventing Philadelphia’s urban agriculture system from gaining a cohesive direction and advancing as quickly as Vancouver.

49. Vancouver Food Charter. Jan 2007 City of Vancouver-Initiatives and Policy Work, Food Policy 21 Feb. 2010. <http://vancouver.ca/COMMSVCS/SOCIALPLANNING/initiatives/foodpolicy/ tools/pdf/Van_Food_Charter.pdf >

David Tracy believes a web presence is critical for establishing an infrastructure for increased open communication. In his opinion, a detailed explanation of the services available to growers is a necessary component of the website. However, he made it very clear that a website is not a means to an end—in person, face to face, physical exchange, is the only way real change will occur.

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50. Alexander, Gemma D. “Part 2: 19831993, Program’s Second Decade a Time of Rebuilding” P-Patch Community Gardens, Department of Neighborhoods.

Seattle (National Model: Communication) Seattle’s urban agriculture movement started around the 1970’s. Since then, the local government, gardeners and volunteers have worked together to develop garden and farm plots throughout the city. The P-Patch program started in 1973 when the City of Seattle bought a plot of farmland for community gardening. Through the 1970’s the P-Patch program gained momentum, yet it was not strong enough to establish its legitimacy beyond interim land use. During the 1980’s the program went through “a severe economic downturn, and P-Patch funds were limited to plot fees. Services to gardens, such as rototilling and fertilizer were cut.”50 This all changed toward the end of the decade when a number of P-Patch plots won awards in national gardening competitions. Afterwards, the program gained more control over itself and in the 1990’s the P-Patch Trust was able to buy insurance to cover its own land. They were assured that their plots would be permanent features throughout the city’s landscape and gained true reinforcement when the P-Patch program was included in the City’s Department of Neighborhoods. Through the life of the P-Patch program the city has been an essential supporter. As a result, there is a direct connection between growers and government. It is clear that gardeners and farmers have many of their growing needs met by the city. When the program was incorporated into the Department of Neighborhoods a website was developed to help gardeners and the public navigate garden sites and programs taking place throughout the city. The site includes information on how to start a P-Patch garden, growing guidelines, how to market your gardening, resources, and an events page. Each page is filled with paragraphs of text and extensive information on garden policies and procedures. We feel that the information is extremely helpful, but that it would be more engaging if the site incorporated images of gardeners working on plots. It is clear that having all the information easily accessible in one place has assisted in the city’s continued gardening growth. As a result, Seattle is now known as one of the nation’s leaders in community garden development.

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LITERATURE REVIEWS We completed a number of literature reviews to more clearly understand nonprofit structure and functionality. Philadelphia has an overwhelming number of nonprofit organizations, so we wanted to learn more about how nonprofits compare to government social services. Throughout our research we also found that nonprofit structure often creates inefficient work, so we became interested in applying a business concept, Shaping Strategy, to nonprofit management. The information gained from our literature reviews was supplemental to our fieldwork research.

We read the following texts: 1. A Challenge to Traditional Economic Assumptions: Applying the Social Theory of Communicative Action to Governance in the Third Sector By, M.E. Miller and A. Abraham - 2006 2. Systems Thinking and Organizational Learning: Acting Locally and Thinking Globally in the Organization of the Future By Peter M. Senge and John D. Sterman - 1990 3. Managing Not-For-Profit Organizations, Public Administration Review By Fredrick S. Lane - 1980 4. Nonprofit Organizational Effectiveness, Research Brief The Kronkosky Charitable Foundation -2007 5. Rethinking Nonprofits Time Magazine – 2007 6. Shaping Strategy in a World of Constant Disruption - Harvard Business Review.. Hagel, John III - 2008 7. The Medici Effect by Frans Johanssen - 2004

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Nonprofits are at the heart of the urban agriculture movement. They create a structure for many of the growing activities that are taking place throughout the city. However, nonprofits are a bit of a conundrum. While they are technically businesses, they are also a mix of the public and private sector. Many nonprofits are connected to the government because they are often used to enact public service programs. For example, both government and nonprofits are mostly services oriented, have no single performance measure, are often staffed by professionals with little management experience, and funding regularly intrudes internal management. Nonprofits focus on providing services to communities that the government is unable or unwilling to support. As a result, non-profits receive a number of benefits, the most obvious being tax exemption. However, government has also been known to work against nonprofit groups. At times, the government can decide to seize control of a social concern, which can lead to cuts in nonprofit funding. This is rare and most often nonprofits act on the behalf of public advocacy and are increasingly thought of as “an alternative to government bureaucracy.”51 However, because nonprofits are not government agencies they cannot depend on taxes for support. They also are unable to gain revenue in the same way as businesses because they do not exchange goods and services for payment. Instead they depend on donations, grants, and often on a volunteer workforce. Many nonprofits have trouble gaining and maintaining stable sources of funding for their projects and for their employees. This is due to the fact that “the number of US based nonprofits has grown twice the rate of for-profit ventures in recent years”, and, “with an estimated 2.8 million charities out there, your idea may already be in practice.”52 Competition has become a natural feature among nonprofits and the problem is compounded by the fact that there is little organizational effectiveness. “Organizational effectiveness is the extent to which an organization has met its stated goals… and how well it performed in the process.”53 There are four approaches to reaching those goals, two of which specifically describe the nonprofit situation in Philadelphia. They are the Multiple Constituency Approach and the

51. Lane, Fredrick S. Managing Not-ForProfit Organizations, Public Administration Review, Vol. 40, No. 5. Sept-Oct 1980. 52. Kadlec, Daniel J. Rethinking Nonprofits. Time Magazine. 2007 53. The Kronkosky Charitable Foundation. Nonprofit Organizational Effectiveness, Research Brief 2007

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Social Constructionism Approach. In a Multiple Constituency Approach, effectiveness is multi-tiered and complex due to multiple stakeholders. The effectiveness of a Social Constructionism Approach is based on the beliefs, knowledge and actions of people.54 Organizational effectiveness is also very closely linked to the management structure of nonprofits. They generally have inadequate management because they “are more complex than businesses and government agencies”55 because they mesh elements of both. The management and organizational structure of a nonprofit can be improved through “communicative action,”56 which is communication free of manipulation so that the conversation is open and transparent. If used between nonprofit organizations it could help address some of the competition between them. Communicative action is also related to the concept of “Shaping Strategy,” in which competition is not only addressed, but also redefined so that the limited resources available can be distributed based on the decision of the parties in need. This collective decision ensures that the resources available have a greater impact.57

Im-10. Twombly, Eric C. and Carol J. DeVita. Mapping Nonprofits in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy. October 2000. 54. The Kronkosky Charitable Foundation. Nonprofit Organizational Effectiveness, Research Brief 2007 55. Lane, Fredrick S. Managing Not-ForProfit Organizations, Public Administration Review, Vol. 40, No. 5. Sept-Oct 1980. 56. Millar, M. E. and Abraham, A. A Challenge to Traditional Economic Assumptions: Applying the Social Theory of Communicative Action to Governance in the Third Sector. University of Wollongong. 2006. 57. Hagel, John III, et. al. Shaping Strategy in a World of Constant Disruption. Harvard Business Review. October 2008.

• Nonprofits are a mix of the public and private sector. • Nonprofits depend on donations, grants, and on a volunteer workforce. • Competition has become a natural feature among nonprofits. • A Shaping Strategy could change nonprofit competition.

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KEY CONCEPTS 58. Simon, Herbert. The Sciences of the Artificial. Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1996.

We used a number of key concepts as filters to clarify and organize our research. They included:

59. Jones, Andrew. The Innovation Acid Test. Axminster, United Kingdom: Triararchy Press. 2008.

1. Design Thinking: “A process for practical, creative resolution of problems or issues that looks for an improved future result. “ “[The] ability to combine empathy, creativity and rationality to meet user needs and drive business success.”58, 59

60. Schuler, Douglas and Aki Namioka. Participatory Design: Principles and Practices. Hillsdale, NJ: Eribaum, 1993. 61. Business Dictionary, 5 Feb 2010. <http://www.businessdictionary.com/ definition/organizational-design.html> 62. Management Information Systems, 5 Feb 2010. <http://www.gregvogl.net/ courses/mis1/glossary.htm> 63. Hagel, John III, et. al. Shaping Strategy in a World of Constant Disruption. Harvard Business Review. October 2008. 64. Gay, L. R., and Airasian, P. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Applications. Merrill Prentice Hall: Columbus, OH. 2003.

2. Participatory design: “Assumes that workers [the user or client] themselves are in the best position to determine how to improve their work and their work life.”60 3. Organizational Design: “The method in which management achieves the right combination of differentiation and integration of the organization’s operations, in response to the level of uncertainty in its external environment.”61 4. Systems Design: “A blueprint, plan or model of a system; deciding how a proposed information system will meet the information needs of end users.”62 5. Shaping Strategy: “An effort to broadly redefine the terms of competition for a market sector through a positive and galvanizing message that promises benefits to all who adopt the new terms.”63 6. Single Subject Design: “An effort to broadly redefine the terms of competition for a market sector through a positive and galvanizing message that promises benefits to all who adopt the new terms.”64 We enforced the concept of participatory design through interviews. This ensured that our work included the desires of those we were designing for. The concepts of organizational design, systems design, and information design helped us understand how to create a strategy that meets the information needs of our users, and allowed us to design a final prototype that integrated each stakeholder while allowing them to maintain their individual identities. We utilized shaping strategy to redefine the terms of

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competition for the urban agriculture movement. Our final development, a collaborative content management system, benefits users by enabling more efficient collaboration and competition. The collaborative content management system can be thought of as a single subject design because it acts as a small scale model of a solution that could improve the larger agri-food system.

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MAPPING 65. Philadelphia Healthy Food Initiatives Map, Jan. 26. 2010. <http://www. philadelphiahealthyfoodnetwork.org/> IM-11. Holsten, Joanna. Philadelphia Healthy Food Initiatives Map. Diagram. 2010. Jan. 26. 2010 <http://www. philadelphiahealthyfoodnetwork.org/>

While conducting interviews, we used the process of mapping to clarify and consolidate the information we were gathering. We mapped out the relationships and alliances that many of the city’s nonprofit organizations have with one another. We also mapped out the funding relationships that nonprofits have with city, state, and federal government departments, as well as private agencies. This allowed us to gain a clear understanding of the reasons why collaborations were only taking place between some organizations. To improve communication between separate groups, we thought it would be useful to first understand who was collaborating. We realized that this would simultaneously present where collaborations were lacking. We began by mapping out the relationships that many of the city’s nonprofit organizations have with one another through organizational alliances. We also mapped out the funding relationships that nonprofits have with private agencies as well as with city, state, and federal government departments. We searched for examples of mapping projects already existing in the city and came across the Philadelphia Healthy Food Network map,65 designed by Joanna Holsten RN, MS, while studying as a nursing student at UPenn. We found that many of the organizations on her map overlapped with organizations in the urban agriculture movement. Her map was a great resource while we were organizing all of the players involved, because she showed the relationships existing between nonprofit organizations and government departments. However, we found a major problem with her map. Her design creates an overload of information, which makes it incredibly difficult for the viewer to discern who is collaborating with who and why. This occurs because there are too many overlapping relationships, with little differentiation in the way they are presented to the viewer. In her map, a relationship between two organizations is represented with a connecting line, yet there is no distinction between lines, making it difficult to determine the type of relationship the line represents. For example, according to the map, the relationship that The Food Trust has with Greensgrow is the same or of equal weight to the relationship it has with the Grocer’s Alliance.

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Philadelphia Healthy Food Network Map, by Joanna Holsten RN, MS

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However, these are two very different relationships—one having to do with nutrition education and classes on growing, while the other has to do with the Fresh Food Finance Initiative, which is focused on creating more supermarkets in low income neighborhoods to improve food access. We did find one useful distinction made in the map. Green lines indicate funding sources. The color difference makes it much easier to determine the organization with the most funding, because the green lines stand out among the black.

Nonprofit Alliances and Funding Support

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We combined information from the Philadelphia Healthy Food Network Map with additional research to break down the national, state, and city wide alliances and funding relationships of different nonprofit organizations. These maps made clear how citywide competition and the hierarchical structure of urban agriculture movement has come to fruition.

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PROPOSAL


THE POWER OF COORDINATED EFFORT While mapping we attempted to layer who was connected to who, where funding was coming from, and how the missions of organizations and individuals related. However, we eventually realized that if we organized our information based on these qualities, it would be just as confusing as previously created maps. Instead, we considered the words of the growers, members of nonprofits, and the government officials we had

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interviewed. After much deliberation we concluded that for the three problems we identified to be solved we would need to find a way to remove the names, histories, and reputations of the individuals and organizations involved in the movement. We decided that the only way to really show what was available for use in the movement, was to map out all of the services, tools and programs each group has contributed. This would help set aside the negative associations that members of the movement have for one another, while simultaneously showing everything that has been accomplished. We named this concept “The Power of Coordinated Effort�.

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66. Interview. Domenic Vitiello. Philadelphia, PA. February 2nd, 2010.

The Power of Coordinated Effort is Defined As: • The ability to put WHAT is being accomplished before WHO is contributing the work. • Acknowledging all tools and resources presently available to a group so that future steps are not redundant. Members of the movement must know what is available to them so that they can potentially work together to accomplish larger projects. However, we know that collaboration cannot be pushed. Even Domenic Vitiello said that,”Forced collaboration is not the best way to improve the current situation. It is more effective to recognize that competition can be healthy when it is organized.”66 Thus, we have recognized that competition will always exist between members of the movement. While competition is often instrumental in advancing the development of projects and movements, we feel it will be more productive when the competitors are aware of the resources available to them and feel entitled to utilize them. This allows for the development of more focused and innovative resources in the future, rather than redundant efforts. Once this happens, the movement will be able to advance and become a productive, cohesive system.

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STRATEGY Based on our research and interviews we developed a strategy to respond to the lack of transparency and honest communication that currently exists in the urban agriculture movement. The strategy addresses the three problems we identified: the inability for stakeholders to see the whole system, uncoordinated efforts, and stagnant future plans. Our strategy addresses each of these problems to ensure communication. First, we visualized the system as a whole by listing all of the resources (tools, services, and programs) available to members of the movement. Next, we coordinated the available resources by categorizing them based on their functions, rather than their developers. We believed that this method of organization would open up communication because it removed the names, egos, histories, and general reputations that were associated with organizations and individuals in the movement. Finally, we used the process of framing to present the information in a way that allows each member of the movement to focus on developing innovative solutions for the areas lacking resources, rather than contributing redundant efforts. Step 1. Listing

We searched through a large number of nonprofit organization websites to catalogue what they offered. As we went through the information, we began to see a pattern. There were three main resources available, and they included tools, services, and programs. Tools included guides and maps. Services included consulting and training. And programs included classes focused on nutrition, gardening/farming, greening, and farm animal care for children, teens, and adults. After gathering these resources we decided to categorize them based on their function.

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Reorganizing the Movement The urban agriculture movement is currently name and reputation driven, which blocks potential collaboration. This causes individuals in the movement to focus on the organizations they are most closely related to, creating repetition and inefficient competition.

Farm to City

Reputations

THE ILL HEMILL CREEK REEK FARM ARM

weavers waycoop FARM

White Dog Cafe

Mariposa Food Co-op

ROW GREEFNS A RGM S

Current Organizational Hierarchy

Greening Education and Resources

Farm to City

THE ILL HEMILL CREEK REEK FARM ARM

weavers waycoop FARM

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White Dog Cafe

Mariposa Food Co-op

Services

ROW GREEFNS A RGM S

Growing With Youths

Farmer’s Market Support

Food Distribution Support

Nutrition Education Campaigning

Farm Start-Up Support

Equal Market Opportunity

Farmer Sustainable Skill Farming Development Model

Setting Reputations Aside

Grow Wi You


We removed the names, egos, histories, and general reputations that are associated with organizations and individuals to represent the movement in a new way.

Growing With Youths

Nutrition Education Campaigning

Start-Up Support Skill Development

Equilibrium

Networking

creating a need-based system Market Support

Sustainable Models Greening Education and Resources

Food Distribution Support

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67. Interview, Tony Guido. Philadelphia, PA. February 23rd, 2010.

Our initial categories included: 1. Farm Start- Up 2. Skill Development 3. Farmer’s Market Support 4. Equal Market Opportunity 5. Food Distribution 6. Greening Education and Resources 7. Sustainable Models 8. Nutrition Education Campaigning 9. Growing with Youths Step 2. Categorizing After finding all of the tools, services and programs available in the movement, we began to carefully consider the initial categories we had envisioned. We realized that they could be consolidated into five sections that more fully covered the needs of anyone involved in the movement. This decision was also supported by our interview with Tony Guido. He helped us understand that if we were going to create an effective website, we would have to narrow our fields of information. We worked towards coordinating resources so that people in the movement could get to the “Who, What, When and Where of the essential information as quickly as possible.”67 Our five sections included: 1. Start- offered any and everything available for learning how to start gardens and farms, plant trees and keep bees. 2. Network- was dedicated to showing the user how to broadcast their message in the market, and how and where to meet other people in the movement.

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3. Market- included consulting services for starting your own farmer’s market and methods for reaching your target buyers. 4. Distribute- included methods for handling and packaging goods, locating distribution venues, and locating sites to donate surplus produce. 5. Teach- focused on available courses for advancing children, inspiring teens, and impacting adults. We used this method of categorizing to quickly show the user all of the resources they have available to them, rather than the brand names of the organizations, departments or people that provided the resources. The brand names are presented secondarily, as contact information. For a full list of all Tools, Services, and Programs, as well as the names of the organizations that provide them please see the appendix.

Step 3. Framing As we noted in our discussion of Seattle’s urban agriculture system, having an online presence is essential for the movement and will ensure the continued development of garden plots throughout the city. However, we did not want to add to the problem by creating another separate effort. Recently, each of Philadelphia’s urban agriculture stakeholder groups has begun to create a stronger online presence. Unfortunately, the stakeholder groups are continuing to work individually to create redundant and fragmented efforts. Presently, the growers have the Philadelphia Urban Farm Network (PUFN), a discussion board group. The list serve interface offers a limited virtual space, with few customization abilities. The information located in the discussion board is stacked post upon post with no options for differentiating information. Searching for a specific post can quickly become a tiring task because only “newer” and “older” buttons are available to choose from. As a result, many farmers and gardeners desire an inventory web space with an easily navigable

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system. They believe this will help them work together more productively to share resources, supplies, funding, and ideas. A web space would also offer them a place to present a unified voice to both the nonprofit sector and to the government. Recently, one farmer decided to take it upon himself to transform the PUFN list serve into an expanded website. A similar story can be told about Sherry Reisner and her development of the Greater Philly Environmental Network, a nonprofit website dedicated to showing all of the nonprofits involved with environmental issues in and around Philadelphia. Categories range from recycling to wildlife.

Nonprofits

Local Government

Growers

Growers

Unified Voice showing the players that their tools are each other

Local Government

Nonprofits

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Growers

Nonprofits

Local Government


The website also includes a section on food, which covers many of the nonprofit organizations we researched for our work, but the impact made by growers is missing from the site. In addition, the government has also decided to design their own website, which will be primarily focused on directing people to vacant city land available for growing on.

To move beyond separate efforts, we have used the feedback we gained from all of the growers, nonprofits, and government officials we interviewed to develop an online collaborative content management system that involves the interest of each of the stakeholder groups. We have organized all of the available resources and have located them in one place so that growers can easily access them and start planting in the city. Resources are categorized based on function, so that nonprofits and government officials can go to the site to see the areas that are lacking resources. This allows them to focus their future efforts toward creating needed resources, rather than wasting time and money recreating initiatives. Anyone visiting the site can become a member and then add to and edit the information to keep it as up-to-date as possible. This allows for any user to contribute to the site and feel a connection to it. We approached key individuals from the stakeholder groups to ask if they would be interested in linking their current sites to our collaborative system. We believed that this was necessary so that members of the movement could access the system’s information through mediums they were accustomed to using. By linking the content management system to existing sites, users are able to take part in the process of partial assimilation, because they can remain within the comfort zone of their own stakeholder group, while connecting out to others in the movement. This process opens communication throughout the movement as a whole. The collaborative content management system enables individual members to connect to a collective purpose and a unified voice, which conveys the message, “this is for you, for each other.�

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INVESTIGATIVE ACTIVITIES AND THESIS COMMITTEE Throughout the semester, while researching we created a number of activities to begin consolidating and making sense of our research. We also held two committee meetings to receive guidance and feedback on our work. Our committee included a mix of influential individuals from inside and outside of the urban agriculture movement. Our committee members were:

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Michael McAllister Thesis Director

Joan Blaustein

Associate Professor of Industrial Design at The University of the Arts

Director of the Environmental, Stewardship, and Education Division of the Department of Parks and Recreation


Angel Rodriguez

Richard Voith

Alison Hastings

Executive Director of The Empowerment Group

Senior Vice President and Principal at Econsult Corporation

Senior Environmental Planner, The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission-Greater Philadelphia Food System Study

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Study of Group Behavior and Communication Collaborative Forum Towards the later part of our fall semester we hosted a collaborative forum to understand the wants and needs of people involved in the urban agriculture movement. We invited local food experts, economists, city officials, and representatives of nonprofit organizations to discuss the problems surrounding growing food in the city. At the beginning of the meeting, we presented a previous project that focused on developing farm centers on vacant lots in the city. We used our presentation as a tool to prompt discussion and brainstorming for the group. Afterwards, we posed a question to the group: if urban agriculture cannot work right now, what is holding it back form succeeding? To help them determine an answer, we asked everyone in the group to place five subject cards on the wall in order of most affecting the movement to least. The cards discussed five topics that we had found through research to be causing the most problems for urban agriculture in the city. They included making urban agriculture more economical, creating green jobs, integrating development between various groups, increasing food access, and clarifying land ownership issues. Each card included three bullet points that explained the meaning of each category in the context of our discussion. In the end, each person placed his or her cards in a different order, but we quickly noticed a common thread between them. No one had put integrative development first. Every other category was chosen at least once as being the most important, except integrative development. We designed the activity so that we could learn the extent of each person’s collective purpose in the movement. Not only were the cards arranged differently from one person to the next, but when asked about the importance of collaboration and an inclusive mission for the movement, each person decided it was of less importance than the alternatives. The Collaborative Forum confirmed our initial research, which highlighted the need for increased integrative development among members of Philadelphia’s urban agriculture movement.



Study of Conveying Information Graphically The Agri-Finder One of the first problems we discovered about Philadelphia’s urban agriculture movement was that it has had difficulty integrating because of a lack of organization and communication. We initially believed that if we organized all of the available information into one, cohesive location, we would simultaneously address the communication problem. This thinking led to the development of The Agri-Finder, a document intended to be a “How-To” Guide for all things concerning: farming, gardening, distributing, greening, and teaching. As we began to organize and map the urban agriculture movement’s resources, we quickly realized that we were not simplifying the information. As we attempted to visually represent all of the extensive information we had gathered, we quickly realized that the graphics added new meanings to the text and further complicated the topic being discussed. For example, we attempted to visually represent the steps it takes to start a food coop. Unfortunately, there were so many steps that the iconography for each section was overwhelming to understand. We also brainstormed how that book’s information would be given back to each of our stakeholder groups and emitted to the public. We determined that the book would need to be delivered directly, or placed in public venues such as supermarkets and libraries. Our hope was that once the book was given to the public, it would encourage them to get involved in urban agriculture and connect to the missions that were already in place. We envisioned that there would be a final event that brought together members of the movement and the public at City Hall to proclaim their commitment to healthy, unprocessed, local food sources. However, there were a number of holes in our plan. For example, we realized that a book, at this day in age, is unlikely to create a public push for urban agriculture expansion, especially over the course of four months. We also understood that if we attempted to show the information

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visually, we would need to over-simplify tasks, which would result in the user losing some of the crucial information he or she needed to grow. The most important take away from working on the book was that we decided to narrow our audience. We realized that our final deliverable could not address the public, growers, nonprofits, and the government all at once. This study helped us decide that we were not going to directly address the public with the tool or action we designed. Instead, our design would focus on people currently working in the urban agriculture movement. We believe that this is the first step in involving more people in the movement. If we help members of the movement interact more productively, they in turn will help the general public gain access to the fresh, healthy, local food they need, faster.

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Study of Broadcasting Information Integrative Development Blog and Newsletters Since our thesis is focused on increasing communication and collaboration, we wanted to create venues for interaction throughout our project’s entire development process. We kept a blog to document our work, and every three to four weeks we sent out a newsletter to all of our contacts to update them about our project’s progress. Neither one of these tools were intended to integrate the entire movement, but they did allow us to learn about different forms of outreach communication.

Our newsletters laid the foundation for communicative action, because we used them to present information gained from interviews back to the people we had talked to.

Users only felt compelled to respond to posts or newsletters that discussed organizations or individuals they were connected to.

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We did not manipulate the information and we invited people to question the problems we had listed. We realized that when the information was provided by only one source, it was unlikely to receive responses from all of the stakeholder groups. It was clear from speaking to many members of the movement that they found the information in the blog and newsletters to be interesting and truthful, yet they were not compelled to respond. We found this to be interesting because while interviewing our stakeholders, they suggested multiple times that a newsletter would be a great way to connect to people and let everyone know what other members of the movement were doing. However, it was clear that users only felt compelled to respond to posts or newsletters that discussed organizations or individuals they were connected with. Throughout the course of the semester we continued to regularly update our blog and to send out newsletters. We acknowledge that these methods of communication are more useful as a means of announcement rather than as a means of feedback and response. We found our in-person meetings to be much more effective at contributing feedback and responses to our work.


INTEGRATIVE DEVELOPMENT

NEWS Making Sense of Things We started our graduate thesis three weeks ago, and have been focused on defining the connections between non-for-profits, businesses and municipal departments involved in urban agriculture initiatives. Our process for defining these relationships has been to interview many of you. We have asked you what you think needs to happen to transform the urban agricultural movement into a cohesive, effective system. Many opinions have been voiced. Some of you believe that with more public interest, the local government would be forced to change the zoning codes and land ownership laws necessary to expand the available farmland in the city. Others believe that there is a lack of defined leadership, which is needed to organize all of the individual efforts. While the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Office of Sustainability are now in charge of enforcing the food equity goals of GreenWorks Plan, many feel that it has been difficult for the government to take on these responsibilities because non-for-profits and community-based businesses have been addressing them for so long. Some of you believe that it would help the movement if there were a betterestablished meeting place for collaboration and the exchange of ideas to take place. Others have voiced a need for a general inventory of the available resources including: land, people, tools, events, etc, while there also seems to be a bit of confusion about the ability to garden/farm on park lands and if money can or should be made from public property. We are processing all of your perspectives in an attempt to reconcile your needs. We hope to align them with our goal of using design to “make sense of things” in order to help the urban agriculture movement develop into a cohesive, effective system, that will enable the production of more affordable, healthy food for all of Philadelphia.

We have enjoyed working with all of you and would like to thank you for all of the information and feedback you have given us to this point, and we hope that you will continue to voice your opinions. Please be on the look out for our next newsletter coming February 26th and for up-to-the-minute activity visit our blog: www.lovephillylocalfood.wordpress.com

CHECK POINT- Committee Meeting #1 February19th, 2010 At our first committee meeting, we presented our observations of nonprofit organizations based on our interviews and readings. We had a long discussion on why Philadelphia’s urban agriculture movement is stagnant in comparison to cities like Vancouver and Seattle. Our committee brought up interesting points including socioeconomic and demographic differences. Next, we discussed our audience and considered who we were trying to reach through our deliverable. As a group we discussed whether or not we should focus on the public or the members of the movement. We explained our future steps and asked them about directions for our final proposal. We discussed the potential of us hosting forums, creating a website, making a signage system, filming a short movie, assisting in a community garden, or creating a guide. For the most part they were interested in the website, but agreed that how we organized information would be key to our progress and whether or not a website would be of use.

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68. Committee Meeting, Joan Blaustein. Philadelphia, PA. March 23rd, 2010.

CHECK POINT- Committee Meeting #2 March 23rd , 2010 At our second committee meeting, we shared the information we had gained from speaking with growers and government officials, as well as how that compared to nonprofits. We then explained our conclusions, which included our strategy for organizing the resources of the urban agriculture movement. We went on to show that presenting all the resources available to growers was essential for the movement to transform into an organized system. We ended the presentation by showing a PDF prototype for a collaborative content management system and how it would function as a website. The committee was impressed and thought the prototype was both functionally and aesthetically appealing. They stated that our prototype could be thought of as a “conduit to the action plans that had previously been suggested.”68 They believed that our decision to organize the movement’s resources, rather than the alliances and funding relationships between organizations, was an innovative direction. However, they questioned who would be responsible for managing the site.

[Your prototype can be though of as a] “conduit to the action plans that had previously been suggested.” 68

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PROJECT PROTOTYPE 69. Interview, Tony Guido. Philadelphia, PA. February 23rd, 2010.

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In order to visualize how our final strategy would be translated into a functional website, we designed an interactive PDF prototype with buttons built in to each page. The PDF prototype showed the information that would be displayed on each page, and demonstrated how the user would transition between the various pages. The basic structure followed the five categories Start, Network, Market, Distribute, and Teach, which we had designated for the tools, services, and programs we had found. While forming the prototype we decided that it would be most interesting to create a visual environment for the user. We were also interested in creating a horizontal-scrolling site that showed a panoramic of scenes from Philadelphia’s urban agriculture movement. While interviewing Tony Guido, we were reminded that, “as designers we have the power to present information in a new visual way that no one else has attempted.”69


We wanted to design a visually engaging and entertaining site that created a new experience for the user as they gained the information they needed. To create our panoramic we connected a series of photos that showed examples of Philadelphia’s urban farms, farmer’s markets, and educational workshops. These human-centered images allowed us to show the vast number of people involved in the movement. As we were designing our prototype, we realized that it was essential that we find the right interface to support our concept. After researching numerous content management interfaces, we eventually decided that Apostrophe software, created by P’unk Ave, a local Philadelphia website design and development firm, would be the best interface for our system. Apostrophe CMS (Content Management System) is open source software that a client can purchase to set up their site. Apostrophe CMS allows websites to be completely edited and updated by multiple parties.

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Our prototype included one example of how this type of editing would function. In order to contribute new information, a user must first become a member of the site. After logging in to the system, users are able to see their websites with a new framework, in which every text box, picture, video, or other form of media can be altered and then saved. By encouraging the user to contribute to the site, we ensure that the information is kept upto-date. This system encourages and allows members inside and outside of each stakeholder group to find and use newly developed resources. As a result, people within the movement become well educated on the resources that are available to them, creating more efficient competition and collaboration.

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The project prototype was designed to be a visually engaging and entertaining website that created a new experience for the user as they gained the information they needed. The prototype website also demonstrated membership functions such as editing pages to add resources.

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FINAL DEVELOPMENT After our second committee meeting we went on to construct the online version of our interactive PDF. Unfortunately, we were unable to gain the services we needed from P’unk Ave within our time frame. After searching through more content management interfaces we decided to construct our website through a horizontal-scrolling Wordpress CSS template. We integrated visual elements from our prototype into our online site and maintained the page structure we had previously developed. However, we decided to alter the number of categories in order to make the horizontal-scrolling template more efficient. Instead of five major sections, we expanded our subject heads to fill ten smaller sections. As a result, we were able to place a more manageable amount of information into each section.

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Our final deliverable is a single subject design system, and an example of a scalable model that can be used to address macro level agriculture. At this time our final deliverable is being used as a vehicle for honest communication and transparency in Philadelphia’s urban agriculture movement.

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Growlots is a horizontalscrolling website divided into ten categories. Unlike Seattle’s P-Patch Community Garden Website, Growlots Philadelphia is focused on a visually stimulating experience. Each page conveniently separates information so that categories do not overload the user with unnecessary text.

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Finding Land

Growing Gardens & Farms

Marketing Your Goods

Distributing Your Goods


Composting

Meeting Your Peers

Planting Trees

Impacting Teens & Adults

Beekeeping

Advancing Children 132


Navigating Growlots Philadelphia

The website includes an about page, directory, calender, a link to Growlots Philadelphia Network, and posts that attach to a list of resources. Users can click on any of the resources to read a brief description and to receive contact information. If users would like to learn more, they can click on the image for a direct link to the resource’s external website.

1. Choose a Category

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2. Choose a Resource

3. Connect to External Websites

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Becoming A Growlots Member

Users that have additional resources they would like to contribute are encouraged to visit the register page. The page has three quick instructional videos that describe how to use the site. To become a member of the site, users must download a new membership form to fill out, and then send it to one of the site’s administrators for approval. Once a member, users gain the ability to contribute new resources.

1. Register to Become a Member

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2. Download New Membership Form

3. Fill Out Form and then Send Form to an Administrator

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Adding a Growlots Resource

To add a resource, users first locate the proper category. Once on the resource list page, users must check to make sure that the resource has not already been added. The list is intended to reduce redundant efforts. Next, the user signs in using the log-in information they received after being approved to use the site. They will arrive at the site’s dashboard, in which they can select Pages, to view the pages that already exist. There users will find a template page.

1. Choose The Category You Will Add To

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2. Select Edit Under Pages

3. Select Example Page to Modify

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Adding a Growlots Resource

Once the template is selected, each text box can be edited. The template also includes simple instructions for uploading an image. The template makes adding a new resource easy, while also creating uniformity and simplicity for the website. Once the template is edited with the new resource’s information, the page can be published, and the user can view the new resource they just added.

1. Edit the Example Page with Your Information

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2. Publish the New Page

3. View the New Resource

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Updating a Growlots Category List

After a new resource page has been created, the user must add their resource to the appropriate category’s list page. Instructions for adding a resource and editing list pages are found on the register page. To edit the list page the user must first select the category their resource will be placed in. Next, they click Edit Entry in order to add the title of their resource page to the resource list. Then the user must select their title and link it to their page.

1. Select Category

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2. Select “Edit Entry”

3. Add Resource to the List and Link It

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Verifying the Growlots Resource Link

The user’s final step is to verify that their new link works properly. The user must Publish the category list page after the resource has been linked, in order to see the updated information. With the addition of a resource, users add to the collaborative content management system and to the unified voice of the urban agriculture movement.

1. Publish the New Resource

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2. View the Link

3. See the Resource in Action

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70. Block, Peter. The Answer to How is Yes. San Francisco, CA. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. 2003. The Practice of Leadership, 20 Feb. 2010. <http://www. thepracticeofleadership.net/2008/03/24/ leader-as-social-architect/>

Connecting With Peers

With each resource page linking out to the external websites of the resource providers, all of the organizations involved in the movement become linked to each other. In addition to the resource pages, the site also includes a directory and a calendar of events. The directory links to an additional social networking site called Growlots Philadelphia Network, where growers, nonprofit employees, volunteers, and local government officials can become members and create personal profiles, have discussions, form groups, and post activities. While designing Growlots Philadelphia and Growlots Philadelphia Network, we acted as social architects by providing a place for our stakeholders to “act on what matters to them.� 70

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The Network is a bridge between the resource pages on the website and potential face to face interactions that can occur. If website visitors would like the advantages of social interaction without the responsibility of adding resources, they can join the Network and become a part of groups and discussion boards. The Network allows for activities to be added and updated, and provides a space for users to post pictures of their farming and gardening experiences.

Both Growlots Philadelphia and Growlots Philadelphia Network acts as spaces to exchange resources, ideas, and support.

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The Roles of Website Administrators

We addressed our committee’s concerns for the website’s management, by contacting key individuals from each stakeholder group to discuss their interest in becoming administrators for the website. For farmers and gardeners, we contacted Nic Esposito, because he is currently at the forefront of organizing the Philadelphia Urban Farm Network (PUFN) and is interested in increasing collaboration in the movement. For nonprofits, we contacted Paul Glover from the Philadelphia Orchard Project, because he is well connected to many nonprofits throughout the city, and also runs Green Jobs Philly, an online inventory system related to sustainable jobs in Philadelphia. For government, we contacted Sarah Wu because she is currently in charge of developing the Office of Sustainability’s urban agriculture website. We also spoke with her about having Growlots Philadelphia and Growlots Philadelphia Network act as the social networking components of the city’s website.

Nic Esposito Philadelphia Urban Farm Network

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Sarah Wu The Office of Sustainability

Paul Glover Philadelphia Orchard Project


“The Garden Party in the Living Room”

To complete the project and promote the website’s use we hosted an event. We joined with a group of undergraduate industrial design seniors to host a garden party in the “Living Room”, the University of the Arts’ rooftop garden. The event took place on Earth Day, April 22nd. The event brought together growers, nonprofits, and gardeners, as well as students and design professionals. The garden party, like the website, brought all of the stakeholders together in one space. The event gave them the opportunity to use the site together for the first time. We opened the event, with short presentations of Growlots Philadelphia and the development of the “Living Room” garden. Afterwards, we assisted individuals from each stakeholder group as they became members to the website. We reviewed how to set up a profile, use the site and edit content. The event was a success. Within the following weeks, members began to join both the network and the urban agriculture content management site.

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PRE-EVENT

DURING EVENT


“GARDEN PARTY in the LIVING ROOM” WEBSITE LAUNCH PARTY APRIL 22nd, 2010

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Based on our committee meetings, event feedback, and individual meetings with our stakeholders, it is clear that Growlots Philadelphia, an urban agriculture collaborative content management system, is a useful resource that can help each member of the movement find and use the tools, services and programs that are available to them. The content management system successfully links to a number of existing web tools, and acts as a connector between the separate worlds that make up the movement. By highlighting all of the resources and accomplishments, rather than the names of the organizations that have provided them, we have successfully set aside egos and personas. This has created a more unified voice for the movement and a system of open, honest communication. With this system in place, stakeholder groups will be able to compete more efficiently and collaborate when appropriate. The system should help the stakeholder groups develop cooperative action plans that can be implemented successfully. As the site continues to develop we recognize that the number of resources added will need to be monitored to ensure that members will not overload resource list pages, or upload promotional, rather than auxiliary information to the website. Growlots Philadelphia is a dynamic, living, online networking communication tool that bridges individual efforts, groups, organizations and departments, to create a cohesive, unified voice for Philadelphia’s urban agriculture system. We believe that our concept of The Power of Coordinated Effort and Growlots Philadelphia can be thought of as a scalable model that can be applied to other wicked problems in order to gain comparable outcomes.

“Growlots is Philadelphia’s newest and sharpest garden tool. This site will help urban gardeners and farmers take control of land to harvest a green city.” -Paul Glover, Philadelphia Orchard Project 4/22/2010

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FUTURE ENGAGEMENT We believe that Growlots Philadelphia is successful in many ways, but we recognize that several areas could be further developed. We would have preferred that our two websites, Growlots Philadelphia and Growlots Philadelphia Network, function as one. We are interested in discussing this problem with a web developer to learn more about fusing content management and social networking systems. Although we have placed administrators in charge of monitoring the site, we still plan to periodically check on the website’s growth and progress. We also would like to keep in contact with the stakeholder groups in order to receive any feedback they have on making the site more user-friendly. We would also like to develop and integrate a dashboard component that would simplify website updates for the administrators. A dashboard could gauge major trends of the website’s use and the categories of the website still lacking significant resources. We will also be speaking with the city’s developing Food Policy Council. It would be ideal for the Council to take on the responsibility of monitoring the website because the Council is composed of growers, nonprofit representatives, government officials, and other individuals involved in promoting food security in Philadelphia. In addition, we have considered how this website will be sustained. If the site was taken over by the Food Policy Council it could be supported by government funding, or if the administrators remain as separate entities, the site could incorporate an advertisements sidebar to sustain itself as a business, similar to other social networking or database websites such as Facebook or Google. The process we used to develop Growlots Philadelphia, as well as the system we created, would be useful in furthering urban agriculture and additional system development in other cities. We plan to continue developing the model offered by Growlots Philadelphia, as well as other tools and actions that further efficient competition, collaboration and communication between growers, nonprofits and local government.

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APPENDIX Interview Questions Joan Blaustein, Department of Parks and Recreation (Dec. 2nd, 2009): 1) How many divisions is the Department of Parks and Recreation comprised of? 2) How often do you have meetings with each other? -Have you all discussed urban agriculture or just your division? 3) What other city agencies are you currently working with? 4) What other city agencies do you feel you are in competition with? 5) Have you worked with Roxanne Christensen and SPIN-farming in the past? -What are you working on together? 6) Have you made connections with other for-profit and non-for-profit organizations? 7) From our meeting we understand finding funding for urban agriculture is difficult for many organizations in the city. How do you obtain funding for your urban agriculture initiatives? 8) We also realize that urban agriculture affects many city agencies, for-profit and nonprofit organizations. However, many of the meetings for urban agriculture are focused on nonprofits. Have there been any meetings between city agencies that are interested in urban agriculture? Like the Philadelphia Water Department, the Redevelopment Authority, the Department of Public Health, the Planning Commission, and the Zoning Department?

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Andee Mazzoco, Mami Hara, and Andrew Dobshinsky, WRT (Jan. 19th, 2010): 1) Is WRT directing the GreenPlan, if not what is your company’s role? 2) How did WRT become involved in the GreenPlan? How did you begin working on the project? 3) We realize that you are working with the DVRPC (Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission on the GreenPlan, can you tell us more about that relationships? -Are you working together for their Long-Range Plan: Connections 2035? 4) We understand that you are working with the Department of Parks and Recreation on some upcoming work, could you tell us a bit about that relationship? 5) On the GreenPlan website there is talk of implementing early-action projects, Have these projects already started, or what will be the first? 6) How are land-use projects funded from a planner’s point of view? How is the GreenPlan funded is it through grants or tax dollars and who designates that funding? 7) There are many city departments interested in urban agriculture, have you been a part of any of those meetings? -What are the interactions you have witnessed? -Who is making the decisions about the GreenPlan and urban agriculture? -How has their decisions effected individuals and organizations outside of city government?

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Jonathan McGoran , Weaver’s Way Coop (Jan. 27th , 2010): 1) How did you start here at Weaver’s Way? -How long have you worked here?? -What is your background? 2) Could you explain more about the cooperative business structure and why you think it’s been so successful within your community? 3) Who is your general customer base? Have you had trouble attracting residents from you immediate community to your farm? 4) In your opinion, how affordable is produce made at urban farms, is that produce sold at Weavers Way price competitive to products of other markets in the community? -If not what is holding Weaver’s Way back from reducing the price of produce to accommodate to the surrounding community? - Is it anything that could be helped by the power of government? 5) In your email you mentioned that Weavers Way has many partnerships in various areas could you explain to us the organizations you are working with and why? -How do you both benefit from that collaboration, how long have you been working together? -How was that interaction initiated? 6) When defining the regulations of your business what interactions have you had with government? What interactions have you had with nonprofits? 7) The website explained that Weaver’s Way is both a co-operative business and a nonprofit program. How does the organization exist in these two worlds? What are the differences of functioning as a farming business as opposed to a non-profit?

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8) What do you think about the urban agriculture movement in Philadelphia, is it organized in your view? 9) What would you get out of a more organized system? How would the city, businesses and non-profits working together help your business? -Do you think this would just lead to more competition for your business? -What form of a system would be most beneficial to this collaboration? 10) What collaborations are missing within and between nonprofits, businesses and government? 12) This is the list of businesses/nonprofits/and government agencies in the urban agriculture movement. Who else should be on this list is there anyone missing? 11) How do you think the urban agriculture movement in Philadelphia could be more productive? -What are some of the changes you would like to see made? -If they were to occur who would have to work with one another? Greg Heller, The Enterprise Center (Jan. 29th , 2010): 1) How did the Enterprise Center become interested in urban agriculture? 2) You mentioned that the Enterprise Center is working with UC Green, Penn State Extension and the Urban Tree Connection. Could you tell us a bit more about each of those interactions and what it is like to interact with the nonprofit and academia? 3) is the community farm TEC is developing for the culinary enterprise? Can you tell us a bit about the farm and the whole project? 4) Do any of The Enterprise Center’s programs direct entrepreneurs to

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specific fields? -What is the criteria you look for when considering a potentially viable market to direct your clients towards? -If not what is a potential viable market? -Does urban agriculture have that appeal? 5) In your opinion what are successful business models and entrepreneurial practices for urban agriculture in the city? -What are the financial differences and similarities with these models? 6) In your opinion, what is holding urban agriculture back from reducing the price of produce to accommodate its surrounding community? -Is it anything that could be helped by the power of government? 7) What do you think about the urban agriculture movement in Philadelphia, is it organized? -What would you get out of a more organized system? -How would the city, businesses and non-profits intersecting help entrepreneurs (future farmers, etc) prosper in Philadelphia? - What are some of the changes you would like to see made? -If they were to occur who would have to work with one another? 8) We searched through the community development website, in the Video, Della Clark talked about TEC’s biggest strengths as being community organizing and the ability to collaborate around business development. How does The Enterprise Center get community members involved in their projects? 9) This is the list of businesses/nonprofits/and government agencies in UA that we have identified as being connected to urban farming either directly or are interested in getting involved and benefiting from the urban agriculture system. In your opinion who else should be on this list? Is there anyone missing?

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Domenic Vitiello, PENN Design, Philadelphia Orchard Project (Feb. 2nd, 2010): 1) Could you tell us a bit about how you came into the movement? -What urged you to focus on food policy? 2) We know you have been working on many different projects in the city spanning from the Design Advocacy Group to the Philadelphia Orchard Project. Could to explain a bit about the differences between moving back and forth between the worlds of academia, community based work, nonprofits, government, and businesses in the city? -What connections to you see between these groups? -Where is there room for improvement for each with in their respective groups as well as among one another? -In your opinion what would be an indicator of collaboration? 3) What are the most and least successful urban agriculture projects you have worked on in Philadelphia and why? 4) While working on community projects in the city which neighborhoods or areas have been the most and least responsive? -How have you created community buy-in? 5) While researching campaign efforts for greening in the city we came across “Eden’s Lost & Found”, which was connected to a number of different groups one being the UPenn Initiative for Urban Research, What were their results? -Should more effort be invested in campaigning? -Do you think urban agriculture campaigning would be more effective if it were connected to neighborhood initiatives? -Are there any other campaigns that you have witnessed in the city??

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6) What is your opinion about locally grown food, urban agriculture development and supplying affordable food to lower income areas? -Are community gardens or urban farming the answer? Or is it a matter of expanding the number of grocery stores? -Can the public be expected to pay more even if they know all of the benefits of the extra dollars vs. the costs of future health and environmental detriment? 7) Having worked with city and regional officials on developing food policies do you believe that if the general public were mobilized to pass zoning codes and land laws in favor of urban agricultural development it would help create more healthy food access points in lower income neighborhoods? -Do you believe that will create more affordable local food? 8) Is there anything beyond land ownership, zoning, and public investment that you see as being crucial or lacking in moving urban agriculture forward in the city? Bob Pierson, Farm to City (Feb. 9th, 2010): 1) Could you tell us a bit about your history? How long have you been involved in the agriculture movement in Philadelphia? -How was it for you to transition from the Food Trust to Penn State Extension, what was the reason for your move? -Does the Penn State Extension support farm to city in anyway? -What is the Penn state extension doing for urban agriculture? -Is there anything you would like to see them doing differently? -In your opinion what changes does the entire system need to progress outside of zoning code reform and land ownership issues? 2) While researching each of the organizations in the urban agriculture movement we realized that there are many programs that advocate

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urban agriculture movement we realized that there are many programs that advocate for urban agriculture, but there is no organization with the pure mission of supporting and promoting urban agriculture. Is there anyone in your mind that should be responsible for the urban agriculture system or who would act as a liaison between nonprofits and the government? -Are there too many people/organizations involved or not enough? -Do you feel like there is any confusion within the urban agriculture movement? 3) We are trying to conclude what tool would help move the system into its next phase and are contemplated whether or not to create a plan of action steps for the government. At this point we want to better understand what would hold the government back from accepting those suggestions. -Is there anything that would not be in the governments best interest to progress urban agriculture? -Is there any reason for a hold up? 4) As one of the two largest farmers markets coordinators, what would happen if the government took control of the localized food system? What would be the result of the government controlling local food markets versus nonprofits? 5) Is any of the food sold from the Farm to City farmers market’s or csa’s grown directly in Philadelphia or is it all regional brought in? -If food were grown in Philadelphia would that change the how farmers markets functions in anyway, or would it affect the costs of the food sold? 6) Are there any farmers markets coordinated by Farm to City in lower income areas of the city? -What has been their success rate? -If there are not any have there been efforts to cater to those regions?

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7) What are some of the ways that the public can learn and become interested about the resources to grow in the city? -Do you believe revving up public support for urban agriculture will develop the system and create the support needed for government to enforce the action plans that have been suggested to them? 8) Are there any other problems in Philadelphia’s urban agriculture system that have not yet been brought up but you know is key to helping improve the situation? 9) The following is an excerpt from a map of healthy food initiatives in the city, these are the connections that were identified for Farm to City, are there any organizations not in this diagram that should be there? -Could you tell us who 3002 CB Moore LLC is? -What are some relationships that farm to city need if any? 10) This is the list of businesses/nonprofits/and government agencies in UA that we have identified as being connected to urban farming either directly or are interested in getting involved and benefiting from the urban agriculture system. In your opinion who else should be on this list? Is there anyone missing? Jethro Heiko, Action Mill (Feb. 9th, 2010-Phone): 1) Do you have any connections to urban agriculture either inside or outside of your time in Philadelphia? 2) What are your opinions about urban agriculture in the city? 3) Do you feel urban agriculture is successful or confusing? 4) Many of your projects include public input, how do you get so many people interested in a cause?

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-Do you think that campaigning could be a good direction to assist the problems of the urban agriculture system? 5) What makes an ACTION based campaign? 6) In your opinion how much of an effect can campaigning have on government policies? 7) What are some of the ways you go about initiating a campaign? -Once you have started what are signs that you are on the right path? 8) We have looked at other campaigns related to the green/local food system such as “Buy Fresh, Buy Local” and “Eden’s Lost and Found”. We decided if we were to design a campaign that it would have more far reaching effects. -How do you direct are particular campaign to multiple audiences at once (in our case we are considering the nonprofits and the government)? -Is a campaign feasible considering our time constraints? Tony Guido, The University of the Arts/ Lemon Ridge Garden (Feb. 23rd, 2010): 1) How do you balance your professional life with the time you need for gardening? 2) Have you interacted with any nonprofit or government agency to get your garden of the ground? 3) What services do you think your garden needs or what do you wish could be provided to make community gardening easier? 4) We have deduced five strategy steps based on nonprofits and think

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they could be applicable to gardeners as well. Do you think these steps could improve your workflow as a gardener? 5) After our committee meeting, we are considering the development of a navigable system as a communication tool. How do you think this would benefit gardeners? -What would you like to see incorporated into the system for gardeners or nonprofits? David Tracy , Vancouver Urban Agriculture Network/ Vancouver Food Policy Council (Feb. 24th, 2010-Phone): 1) Is it fair to say that Vancouver’s community gardening guidelines have been enacted successfully? -Is there still an open discourse between the government, nonprofits and those who are growing like gardeners and farmers? 2) Do you think that there is a more stable infrastructure in place now than was available to you as a gardener before the gardening guidelines discussion occurred? 3) Do you feel that Vancouver’s food charter and food policy council are supporting urban agriculture and gardening? 4) Has government contributions helped or hindered the movement? 5) While researching Vancouver the slogan 2,010 gardens by 2010 has come up a few times do you have a general idea of how many gardens are actually functioning at this time? -Has the city reached that goal? how close are you all to reaching it? 6) I originally came upon Vancouver’s blog site but it seems like it has not been maintained.

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-Have you used an alternative form of communication besides the list serve/discussion board to contact other gardeners? If so what other device? -Do any of these fully satisfy your communication needs, or the needs of the other gardeners? - What are some of the features on the blog that were most/least useful? - What are some of the features on the list serve that were most least useful? 7) Are there any campaigns that occurred in Vancouver that you feel really pushed the movement forward? -Did they help reach more of the public and get them growing or was it focused on those growing/people or organizations supporting gardening? 8) Do you feel like Vancouver has figured out urban agriculture? -Is there something still missing? -What do you want to be changed from a gardeners/ farmer’s perspective? -Where is the movement going? Skip Weiner, Urban Tree Connection (Feb. 25th, 2010-Phone): 1) What has been your experience with creating green spaces for the public? What is the difference between growing on land you have been allotted by the government, and squatting? -What are some of the problems you have run into growing in the city? 2) As someone who has been invested in gardening over many decades what are the keys that you need to know to grow? 3) What have your interactions been with government and nonprofits?

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-Who have you worked with most? -What are some of the challenges/opportunities of those relationships? 4) What do you think about the many food system action steps or ideas that have been developed over the past few years? (Some of which include zoning reform, creating a comprehensive plan, city programs to support food enterprise, support community gardens, adopting a food charter, etc.) How would that support or affect the work you do? 5) As a gardener is there a time when you want to know more about the other gardening or farming projects going on in the city? -Do you feel well connected in the gardening/farming community? -Did you always feel that way? -Can you remember what were some of the things that made you feel more connected to others as the movement developed? 6) How have you developed outreach programs? -Is there some level of campaigning connected to community organizing? -How difficult to get students (community kids) vs. their parents on board with gardening? 7) How was it to move from gardening into forming a 501(C)3 nonprofit? -What were some of the key things you wished you knew when you started? -What would be your advice to young gardeners/farmers starting their own plots? 8) We are working on a communication tool for urban agriculture in the city. We know that a web presence for the movement would be very helpful. In your opinion what would be some of the information that you would like to see on a site?

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Gina Giazzoni and Karl Ingram, PUFN Gardeners (Mar. 2nd, 2010): 1) Could you both tell us a bit about how you came into gardening and urban farming/ the urban agriculture movement? -Did your interest and work start before you got to Philadelphia and or were you always here? -What makes you care about urban agriculture in Philadelphia, what significance does it hold for you? 2) What are some of the developments you have witnessed in Philadelphia’s urban agriculture movement over the past few months and or years? 3) What are the keys to getting involved or growing in Philadelphia? What has stood in your way in the past? 4) While at the PUFN meeting you mentioned the “Northwest Food Justice Alliance” could you tell us a bit more about that program and any other urban agriculture related projects you are working on? -What are the goals? -Who is working with you? 5) How do you feel about government involvement in the urban agriculture system? Between the Greenworks plan and the many action steps that have been set up do you feel that anything has change for the better? 6) What have been your interactions with nonprofit organizations? What have been your interactions with government? 7) Do you feel that there is an infrastructure for urban agriculture? If not should one be created? How would it support growers most? 8) Besides PUFN how do you communicate with other gardeners, farmers, or people in the movement? Do you feel well connected?

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10) What are the components that you would want to see within an urban agricultural inventory website? 11) How would you feel about contributing your knowledge to this inventory? Nic Esposito, Pennsylvannia Horticultural Society and PUFN Gardener (Mar. 3rd, 2010): 1) Could you tell us a bit about how you came into gardening and urban -farming? -Did your interest and work start before you got to Philadelphia? -What makes you care about urban agriculture in Philadelphia, what significance does it hold for you? 2) What are some of the exciting developments you have witnessed in Philadelphia’s urban agriculture movement over the past few months and or years? 3) How do you feel about government involvement in the urban agriculture system? Between the Greenworks plan and the many action steps that have been set up do you feel that anything has changed for the better? 4) What are the keys to getting involved or growing in Philadelphia? -What has stood in the way in your past? 5) Could you tell us about you work at UNI, what do you do at the Netter Community Center? Are you staying or leaving? -How is the CGA/Enterprise project going? Can you tell us a bit more? -Is it a part of the Community Growers Alliance the Enterprise Center? 6) What have been your interactions with nonprofit organizations? What have been your interactions with government?

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7) Do you feel that there is an infrastructure for urban agriculture? If not should one be created? How would it support growers most? 8) Besides PUFN how do you communicate with other gardeners, farmers, or people in the movement? Do you feel well connected with other gardeners and farmers? 9) What are your frustrations (if any) with using PUFN as a communication tool? Are there other communication vehicles you use? Could you explain your likes and dislikes about them, and how successful they are with getting the “voice” that is needed. 10) Tell us more about creating a voice to face nonprofits and government. At the meeting you mentioned that this is the time for growers to come together with a unified voice to make a point of expressing growers needs, what should be the vehicle for the grower’s voice? -How do you want growers to be viewed by nonprofits and government? -And what will that voice yield? More money, resources, support? 11) In the past you also mentioned that there is competition between growers for grants what is that like? -Are you exemption from the situation now that you are working with the Enterprise Center/CGA? -Will having a voice mitigate or minimize competition between growers? Sarah Wu, The Office of Sustainability (Mar. 4th, 2010): 1) Is the website you are developing for the Office of Sustainability or for the Department of Parks and Recreation? 2) How long have you been connected to the urban agriculture movement? How has your office decided to organize information? By organization,

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mission, history, etc? How do you find your information has it been through online searches, meetings or interviews? 3) Will you website focus solely on urban agriculture or is it going to cover other areas of local food interest? If so what other subjects does your department have mind? 4) What is the intention or goal of the site? -Is it to create a web presence of the efforts in the city? -Is it to help new growers know what is happening? -Is it a promotional site for the government to advertise the city’s accomplishments? 5) What examples have you looked into? We have seen other city websites like Seattle’s P-Patch but notice that many are very text based. -How will the information be formatted will it be mostly text based similar to documents published by the government or diagrammatic/ image based? 6) If it is an inventory are you aware of some of the other Philadelphia based inventories that already exist like GPEN.org, phillygreenjobs.org or the Philadelphia Urban Farm Network? -Are you aware that some gardeners and farmers also developing their own growers site? 7) Both nonprofits and growers have mention that an aim for urban agriculture is to have a unified voice, and that perhaps an online presence can be used as a vehicle. But in both cases they are or have developed inventory/”how to” sites without consulting one another or without the other groups interests taken into consideration. How with the government be different? -While developing this website have you consulted with nonprofit groups or with those that are working the land?

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8) How do you and your team of web designers intend to represent the balance of work going on in small groups and individuals in action at larger organizations? 9) Nonprofits and growers have also mentioned that face-to-face interactions are essential to people feeling connected to one another in the movement. Does that government have anything in mind as far as offering up a physical meeting space in addition to this virtual hub?

Philadelphia’s Urban Agriculture Movement Contacts Chris Hill Media Online Send Message: http://www.chrishillmedia.com/contact/ http://www.chrishillmedia.com/index.html Common Market 2901 W. Hunting Park Ave Philadelphia, PA 19129 215-275-3435 Contact: James DeMarsh-General Manager james@commonmarketphila.org http://www.commonmarketphila.org/ The Culinary Center- The Enterprise Center 4548 Market St. Philadelphia, PA 19139 215-895-4075 Contact: Greg Heller-Managing Director gheller@theenterprisecentercdc.org http://philafood.net/wp/

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The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission 190 N. Independence Mall West, 8th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19106-1520 215.592.1800 Contact: Alison Hastings, Senior Environmental Planner alison.hasting@dvrpc.org http://www.dvrpc.org/Food/ The Environmental Leadership Program, Pennsylvania Office P.O. Box 907, Greenbelt, MD 20768-0907 info@elpnet.org http://www.elpnet.org/about-fellowship Fairmount Park – The Department of Parks and Recreation City of Philadelphia One Parkway, 10th Floor 1515 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 19102 215-683-0232 http://www.fairmountpark.org/ Farm to City 1315 Walnut Street, Suite 3125 Philadelphia, PA 215-733-9599 info@farmtocity.org http://www.farmtocity.org/ The Food Trust One Penn Center 1617 John F. Kennedy Blvd. Suite 900 Philadelphia, PA 19103

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215-575-0444 contact@thefoodtrust.org http://www.thefoodtrust.org/ Foundations Inc., Seeds for Learning at Martin Luther King High School 6100 Stenton Ave Philadelphia, PA 19138 215-424-5810 Contact: Chris Bolden-Newsome cbolden@foundationsinc.org http://www.foundationsinc.org/impact/seeds-learning Fox Chase Farms 8500 Pine Road Philadelphia, PA 19111 215-728-7900 Send Message: http://www.foxchasefarm.org/inquiry.php http://www.foxchasefarm.org/index.html Greater Philly Environmental Network Contact: Sherry Riesner - Founder/Director Sherry@GPEN.org http://www.gpen.org/index.htm Green Drinks Philly Hosted at: Standard Tap 2nd & Poplar St. Philadelphia, PA 19123 Tel: 215 238 0630 http://greendrinksdelawarevalley.blogspot.com/ Green Jobs Philly 140 W. Sedgwick St

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Philadelphia, PA 19119 Contact: Paul Glover paul5glover@yahoo.com www.greenjobsphilly.org/ Greensgrow Farm 2501 E. Cumberland Street Philadelphia, PA 19125 215-437-2702 farm@greensgrow.org http://www.greensgrow.org/farm/index.php Greensgrow Philadelphia Project World Headquarters 2503 E. Firth Street Philadelphia, PA 19125 215-427-2780 Send Message: http://www.greensgrow.org/philly/modules/liaise/ http://www.greensgrow.org/philly/ GRID Magazine Red Flag Media, Inc 1032 Arch St. 3rd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107 215.625.9850 http://www.gridphilly.com/ Mariposa Cooperative 4726 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19143 215-729-2121 mariposa@mariposa.coop http://www.mariposa.coop/

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Neighborhood Garden Association - A Philadelphia Land Trust 100 N. 20th Street 5th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-988-8797 nga-staff@ngalandtrust.org http://www.ngalandtrust.org/ Pennsylvania Buy Fresh Buy Local- Southeastern, Philadelphia http://www.buylocalpa.org/contact http://www.buylocalpa.org/philadelphia Pennsylvania Horticultural Society 100 N. 20th St. 5th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-988-8800 Send Message: http://www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety. org/contactus/general_form.html http://www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org The Office of Sustainability 1401 John F. Kennedy Blvd Suite 1000 Philadelphia, PA 19102 215.686.3495 mos@phila.gov http://www.phila.gov/green/greenworks/index.html The Pedal-Coop 4707 Chester Ave. Apt.1 Philadelphia, PA 19143 484-222-1231 info@pedalcoop.org http://www.pedalcoop.org/

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Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture Marilyn Anthony SE Regional Director 737 Constitution Drive Exton PA 19341 610-458-5700, ext. 305 marilyn@pasafarming.org http://www.pasafarming.org Penn State Extension PSU Outreach 111 N. 49th St. 3rd Floor North Suite KN3-100 Philadelphia, PA 19139 215- 471-2200 PhiladelphiaExt@psu.edu http://philadelphia.extension.psu.edu/Default.asp Philabundance 3616 South Galloway Street Philadelphia, PA 19148 215-339-0300 contactus@philabundance.org http://www.philabundance.org/programs/cfc.asp Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild Meetings Held At: Wyck House Farm 6026 Germantown Ave Philadelphia, PA 19144 webeebrothers@gmail.com http://www.phillybeekeepers.org/ Philadelphia Orchard Project

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Contact: Phil Forsyth 215-724-1247 phil@phillyorchards.org http://www.phillyorchards.org/orchards/develop Philadelphia Urban Farmer’s Network http://groups.google.com/group/pufn Philly Compost 550 Carpenter Lane Philadelphia, PA 19119 215-703-SOIL (7645) realperson@phillycompost.com http://www.phillycompost.com/ Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania Stadium Road & U.S.Route 220 Bellwood, PA 16617 814-742-7777 prop@proprecycles.org http://www.proprecycles.org/ SHARE Food Program, Inc. 2901 W. Hunting Park Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19129 (215) 223-2220 Send Message: http://sharefood.us/contact-II.htm http://www.sharefoodprogram.org/about_spa.htm SPIN Farming Roxanne Christensen President, Institute for Innovations in Local Farming rchristensen@infocommercegroup.com http://www.spinfarming.com/

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Teens4Good Federation of Neighborhood Centers c/o Teens 4 Good 1315 Walnut Street, Suite 1401 Philadelphia, PA 19107 Contact: Jamie McKnight, Director 215 989-3566 ext 1108 jamiem@federationnc.org http://teens4good.orbius.com/default.home Urban Nutrition Initiative 3451 Walnut Street, Suite P-117A Philadelphia, PA 19104 215-898-1600 Send Message: http://www.urbannutrition.org/contact.html http://www.urbannutrition.org/index.html Urban Tree Connection 5125 Woodbine Ave Philadelphia, PA 19131 215-877-7203 info@urbantreeconnection.org http://www.urbantreeconnection.org Weaver’s Way Coop 559 Carpenter Lane Philadelphia, PA 19119 215-843-2350 contact@weaversway.coop http://weaversway.coop/

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White Dog Cafe Foundation 1315 Walnut Street, Suite 522 Philadelphia, PA 19107 215-386-5211 info@whitedog.com http://www.whitedogcafefoundation.org/fairfood.html

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FINDING


FINDING LAND Land to Own: Name:

Vacant Land List

Vacant Land Map

Organization & Contact: The Office of Sustainability, 1401 John F. Kennedy Blvd Suite 1000 Philadelphia, PA 19102 215-686-3495 mos@phila.gov Redevlopment Authority 1234 Market Street Philadelphila, PA 19107 215-854-6500

Description & Link:

A list of available city-owned vacant land, including instructions on how to lease or purchase available lots. http://www.phila.gov/green/mos.html A google map created by a UArts student, showing the location of a large number of vacant lots owned by Philadelphia’s Redevelopment Authority. http://www.phila.gov/green/mos.html

Park Land Map

Fairmount Park City of Philadelphia One Parkway, 10th Floor 1515 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 19102 215-683-0232

A map of city-owned parkland available to grow on. Soon to be completed. http://www.fairmountpark.org/

Land to Volunteer: Community Garden Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Map 100 N. 20th St. 5th Floor Philadelphia, PA 215-988-8800

A map of community gardens, listing garden location, gardens that hold a land trust, and gardens that donate their produce. http://www. pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org/ phlgreen/current-communitygardens. html

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GROWING GARDENS Courses: Name:

Organization & Contact:

Description & Link:

Pennsylvania Horticultural Society 100 N. 20th St. 5th Floor Philadelphia, PA 215- 988-8800 gardentenders@pennhort.org

A training course geared toward community groups and nonprofit organizations interested in developing gardens in their area.

Penn State Extension PSU Outreach 111 N. 49th St. 3rd Floor North Suite KN3-100 Philadelphia, PA 19139 215- 471-2200 ext. 116 PhiladelphiaExt@psu.edu

A college level class on gardening with professional and social horticultural activities to help you influence more people through education and outreach campaigns.

Community Classes Penn State Extension PSU Outreach 111 N. 49th St. 3rd Floor North Suite KN3-100 Philadelphia, PA 19139 215- 471-2200 PhiladelphiaExt@psu.edu

Classes teach community members about garden design, installation of ornamental and vegetable gardens, soil, seeds, compost, and more.

Garden Tenders

Master Gardener Certification

http://www. pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org/ phlgreen/gardentenders.html

http://philadelphia.extension.psu.edu/ Agriculture/psebrochureprint04_2009. pdf

http://philadelphia.extension.psu.edu/ Agriculture/psebrochureprint04_2009. pdf

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GROWING GARDENS Guides: Name:

Community Start-Up Kit

Vacant Land Manual and VideoGuide to Vacant Land Management

Organization & Contact:

Description & Link:

Neighborhood Garden Association - A Philadelphia Land Trust 100 N. 20th Street 5th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-988-8797 nga-staff@ngalandtrust.org

A kit containing information on how to start an urban garden, how to preserve the garden, and how to start an urban land trust.

Pennsylvania Horticultural Society 100 N. 20th St. 5th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-988-8889 pginfo@pennhort.org

A guide to help city agencies, community organizations, block groups reclaim vacant land through cleaning and greening. The guide covers the basics on cleaning debris, planting, installing fences and much more.

http://www.ngalandtrust.org/save. html

http://www. pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org/ garden/vacantmanual.html Insects in the Garden

Fruit Production for the Home Gardener

Penn State Extension PSU Outreach 111 N. 49th St. 3rd Floor North Suite KN3-100 Philadelphia, PA 19139 215- 471-2200 PhiladelphiaExt@psu.edu

Fact sheets including detailed information on insects often found in vegetable garden.

Penn State Extension, See Above

A guide including detailed information on small-scale (one acre or less) fruit production.

http://ento.psu.edu/extension/ vegetables/fact-sheets/atct_topic_ view?b_start:int=20&-C=

http://ssfruit.cas.psu.edu/ 185


GROWING GARDENS Resources: Name:

The Wired Gardener

Organization & Contact:

Pennsylvania Horticultural Society 100 N. 20th St. 5th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-988-8800 mcleanlibrary@pennhort.org

Community Garden Penn State Extension PSU Outreach Support and Soil 111 N. 49th St. 3rd Floor North Testing Suite KN3-100 Philadelphia, PA 19139 215- 471-2200 PhiladelphiaExt@psu.edu Harvest Schedule

Seeds and Starters Nursery

Recipe Sharing Application

Description & Link:

A blog discussing gardening and greening educational programs and resources available at the PHS McLean Library. http://thewiredgardenerblog. wordpress.com/ The service provides handbooks, reports, programs and kits for soil testing and lab contact information. http://www.aasl.psu.edu/SSFT.HTM

Weaver’s Way Cooperative 559 Carpenter Lane Philadelphia, PA 19119 215-843-2350 contact@weaversway.coop

A list of vegetables that grow in Philadelphia, including growing season.

Greensgrow Farm 2501 E. Cumberland Street Philadelphia, PA 19125 215-437-2702 nursery@greensgrow.org

The nursery offers an array of starters and seeds for vegetabls and herbs available on site.

Weaver’s Way Cooperative, See Above

Find recipes or add recipes to the online Recipe Catalogue.

http://weaversway.coop/index. php?page=harvest_scheudles

http://www.greensgrow.org/farm/ overview/nursery.html

http://weaversway.coop/index. php?page=shared_recipes 186


GROWING URBAN FARMS Getting Started: Name: Vacant Land Manual and Video Guide to Vacant Land Management

Organization & Contact:

Pennsylvania Horticultural Society 100 N. 20th St. 5th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-988-8889 pginfo@pennhort.org

Description & Link: A guide to help city agencies, community organizations, block groups reclaim vacant land through cleaning and greening. The guide covers the basics on cleaning debris, planting, installing fences and much more. http://www. pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org/ garden/vacantmanual.html

Community Support and Soil Testing

2010 Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations Guide

Penn State Extension PSU Outreach 111 N. 49th St. 3rd Floor North Suite KN3-100 Philadelphia, PA 19139 215- 471-2200 PhiladelphiaExt@psu.edu

The service provides handbooks, reports, programs, and kits for soil testing and lab contact information.

Penn State Extension, See Above

A list of vegetables that can be grown in Philadelphia along with pdfs outlining detailed planting information about each.

http://www.aasl.psu.edu/SSFT.HTM

http://horticulture.psu.edu/node/465 Seeds and Starters Nursery

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Greensgrow Farm 2501 E. Cumberland Street Philadelphia, PA 19125 215-437-2702 nursery@greensgrow.org

The nursery offers an array of starters and seeds for vegetabls and herbs available on site. http://www.greensgrow.org/farm/ overview/nursery.html


GROWING URBAN FARMS Getting Started: Name:

Integrated Pest Management

Recipe Sharing Application

Organization & Contact:

Description & Link:

Penn State Extension PSU Outreach 111 N. 49th St. 3rd Floor North Suite KN3-100 Philadelphia, PA 19139 215- 471-2200 PhiladelphiaExt@psu.edu

Includes information about insects affecting vegetables, crop management and the quality of products.

Weaver’s Way Cooperative 559 Carpenter Lane Philadelphia, PA 19119 215-843-2350 contact@weaversway.coop

Find recipes or add recipes to the online Recipe Catalogue.

http://ento.psu.edu/extension/ vegetables

http://weaversway.coop/index. php?page=shared_recipes

Small Plot Intensive: Guide to Small Plot Intensive Farming

SPIN Farming Roxanne Christensen President, Institute for Innovations in Local Farming rchristensen@ infocommercegroup.com

Guides for starting sub-acre SPINfarms, including best practices, and general models of operation. http://www.spinfarming.com/buy/ farming.php

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GROWING URBAN FARMS Plasticulture: Name:

Organization & Contact:

Description & Link:

Introduction to the High Tunnels Design and Construction

Penn State Extension PSU Outreach 111 N. 49th St. 3rd Floor North Suite KN3-100 Philadelphia, PA 19139 215- 471-2200 PhiladelphiaExt@psu.edu

An introduction to high tunnels, including a list of resources and materials needed for construction.

High Tunnel Manual Penn State Extension see above

http://plasticulture.psu.edu/?q=node/2

A how-to guide including high tunnel construction and maintenance, and fruit and vegetable production. http://plasticulture.psu.edu/node/115

Drip Irrigation

Penn State Extension see above

Discusses the advantages and disadvantages of drip irrigation and includes a list of system components. http://plasticulture.psu.edu/?q=node/1

Plastic Mulches

Penn State Extension see above

Discusses the differences between clear and colored plastic mulches and their effects on soil temperature elevation. http://plasticulture.psu.edu/?q=node/4

Row Covers

Penn State Extension see above

Discusses the differences between clear and colored plastic mulches and their effects on soil temperature elevation. http://plasticulture.psu.edu/?q=node/5

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GROWING URBAN FARMS Plasticulture: Name:

Organization & Contact:

Description & Link:

Common Mistakes Made During Plant Establishment in Plasticulture

Penn State Extension PSU Outreach 111 N. 49th St. 3rd Floor North Suite KN3-100 Philadelphia, PA 19139 215- 471-2200 PhiladelphiaExt@psu.edu

Outlines the most common mistakes made during plant establishment in plasticulture, with solutions provided.

Farm Windbreaks

Penn State Extension see above

An introductory guide to the construction, orientation, and effective use of windbreaks when growing.

http://plasticulture.psu.edu/?q=node/2

http://plasticulture.psu.edu/?q=node/10 Production of Vegetables, Strawberries and Cut Flowers Guide

Penn State Extension see above

Pest Management List for Plasticulture

Penn State Extension see above

A how-to guide for growing flowers, vegetables and strawberries using plasticulture. http://plasticulture.psu.edu/node/118 A guide outlining methods for managing pests when using plasticulture. http://plasticulture.psu.edu/?q=node/7

190


COMPOSTING


COMPOSTING Courses: Name:

Organization & Contact:

Description & Link:

Composting at the Schuykill River Education Center

Philly Compost 550 Carpenter Lane Philadelphia, PA 19119 215-703-SOIL (7645) crivera@schuylkillcenter.org

Lessons on small scale urban composting using worm bins.

Online Courses for Backyard Composting Certification

Professional Recyclers of Pennslyvania Stadium Road & U.S.Route 220 Bellwood, PA 16617 814-742-7777 prop@proprecycles.org

Classes to become certified in backyard composting practices.

Philly Compost 550 Carpenter Lane Philadelphia, PA 19119 215-703-SOIL (7645) realperson@phillycompost.com

Do-It-Yourself Composting step by step guide, including spot selection, choosing a container, and more.

http://www.phillycompost.com/ Classes.html

http://www.proprecycles.org/ Online%20Certification/Online%20 Course%20Start%20Page.html

Guides: Backyard Compost Guide

http://phillycompost.com/DIY.html

192


COMPOSTING Resources: Name:

Buy Compost Supplies

Organization & Contact: Philly Compost see above

Description & Link:

Worms and various containers are available, as well as finished compost. http://phillycompost.com/Products.html

Compost Pickup Available in Germantown

Philly Compost, See Above

Compost Pick-up available for local restaurants, businesses, institutions, etc. located in Germantown. http://phillycompost.com/Services.html

Compost Pick-up Available in West Philly

193

The Pedal-Coop 4707 Chester Ave. Apt.1 Philadelphia, PA 19143 484-222-1231 info@pedalcoop.org

Compost Pick-up available for local restaurants, businesses, institutions, etc. located in West Philly. http://www.pedalcoop.org/


PLANTING


PLANTING TREES Programs: Name:

Tree Tenders

Organization & Contact:

Pennsylvania Horticultural Society 100 N. 20th St. 5th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-988-8844 treetenders@pennhort.org

Develop an Orchard Philadelphia Orchard Project Program Contact: Phil Forsyth 215-724-1247 phil@phillyorchards.org

Guides:

Introduction to Urban EcoOrchards

Philadelphia Orchard Project, see above

Description & Link:

Training courses for individuals and groups interested in planting trees. http://www. pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org/ phlgreen/tree-training.html A checklist outlining the process of evaluation, selection, planting preparation, and partnership contact. http://www.phillyorchards.org/ orchards/develop

Follow the style of Edible Forest Gardening to create a healthy and productive orchard. http://www.phillyorchards.org/pdf/ urban_eco_orchards.pdf

Summary of Orchard Care

Philadelphia Orchard Project, see above

An introduction to the basics of orchard care. http://www.phillyorchards.org/pdf/ orchard_care.pdf

195


PLANTING TREES Guides: Name:

Tree Tenders Handbook

Fruit Tree Resource Guide

Grafting and Propagating Fruit Trees

Organization & Contact:

Description & Link:

Pennsylvania Horticultural Society 100 N. 20th St. 5th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-988-8844 treetenders@pennhort.org

The handbook explains how to grow and care for trees in Philadelphia, as well as how to plant with the community.

Penn State Extension PSU Outreach 111 N. 49th St. 3rd Floor North Suite KN3-100 Philadelphia, PA 19139 215- 471-2200 PhiladelphiaExt@psu.edu

A guide for fruit tree production, including information on production recommendations, pest management, harvesting, orchard management and much more.

Penn State Extension, see above

A guide of grafting techniques and successful propagation methods based on time of year and the type of materials available.

http://www. pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org/ phlgreen/tthandbook.pdf

http://agsci.psu.edu/tfpg

http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/ pdfs/UJ255.pdf

Resource:

Orchard Map

Philadelphia Orchard Project, Contact: Phil Forsyth 215-724-1247 phil@phillyorchards.org

A map of wild and constructed orchards throughout the city. http://www.phillyorchards.org/ orchards/map

196



KEEPING BEES Courses: Name:

Beginner Beekeeping Course

ABC’s of Beekeeping

Mastering the Art of Beekeeping

Organization & Contact:

Description & Link:

Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild Wyck House Farm 6026 Germantown Ave Philadelphia, PA 19144 http://www. phillybeekeepers.org/ For more information contact Vincent at Vincent.Aloyo@ DrexelMed.edu.

A non-credit class held at Temple University on the basics of beekeeping. The class is taught by Vincent Aloyo a beekeeping veteran.

Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild, see above. For more information: Call Melanie Snyder at 215-729-5281 or email info@bartramsgardens.org

A presentation on some of the facts and figures about the required commitment of beekeeping.

Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild, see above For more information and an application for the workshops: Call Jim Bobb at 610-584-6778 or email him at jimbobb@gct21.net

A five session workshop held between March and July on advanced beekeeping methods.

http://www.phillybeekeepers. org/2010/02/beginning-beekeepercourse-at-temple-ambler/

http://www.phillybeekeepers. org/2010/03/so-you-think-you-want-tobe-a-beekeeper/

http://www.phillybeekeepers. org/2010/02/jim-bobb-and-scottbartow-offering-beekeepingworkshop/

198


KEEPING BEES Guides: Name:

Typical Bee Hive Configuration

Organization & Contact:

Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild, see above

Description & Link:

An outline describing the parts required to build a successful bee hive frame. http://www.phillybeekeepers. org/2010/02/bee-equipmentpresentation/

Resources: Buying Bees

Buying Equipment

Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild Wyck House Farm 6026 Germantown Ave Philadelphia, PA 19144 http://www. phillybeekeepers.org Contact Vicent Aloyo, Jim Bobb or Scott Bartow at scott.bartow@gmail.com, jibbobb@gct21.net or Vincent. Aloyo@DrexelMed.edu

Contact information for buying bees from local beekeepers.

Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild, see above

A description of beekeeping equipment kits and prices, as well as how to order.

http://www.phillybeekeepers.org/ buying-bees-spring-2010/

http://www.phillybeekeepers.org/beeequipment/

199



MARKETING YOUR GOODS Market Start-Up Assistance: Name:

Farmer’s Market, CSA, and Buying Club Management

Consulting

Farmer Outreach Program

Organization & Contact:

Description & Link:

Farm to City 1315 Walnut Street, Suite 3125 Philadelphia, PA info@farmtocity.org 215-733-9599

Assistance for farmers who want to set up a market, or sell their produce at an existing local market.

The Food Trust One Penn Center 1617 John F. Kennedy Blvd. Suite 900 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Contact: Allison Karpyn 215-575-0444 x119 contact@thefoodtrust.org

Consulting for existing community markets and feasibility studies for future locations.

White Dog Cafe Foundation 1315 Walnut Street, Suite 522 Philadelphia, PA 19107 215-386-5211 info@whitedog.com

The program provides workshops, consultations, materials and events to prepare farmers for the wholesale market.

http://www.farmtocity.org/ FarmersMarkets.asp

http://www.thefoodtrust.org/php/ consulting/index.php#

http://www.whitedogcafefoundation. org/fairfood.html Regional Market and Business Support

201

Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture Marilyn Anthony SE Regional Director 737 Constitution Drive Exton PA 19341 610-458-5700, ext. 305

Aids in the development of new farmer’s markets and creates connections between local food retailers and restuarants. http://www.pasafarming.org/our-work


MARKETING YOUR GOODS Reaching Your Target Market: Name:

Business Software Package

Organization & Contact: Farm to City, 1315 Walnut Street, Suite 3125 Philadelphia, PA info@farmtocity.org 215-733-9599

Description & Link:

Web services for any organization that would like to run a buying club or CSA. The site includes information a bookeeping plan and a description of how to sell online. http://www.farmtocity.org/ WebServices.asp

Marketing and Education Materials

Food Stamp Resource Guide

White Dog Cafe Foundation 1315 Walnut Street, Suite 522 Philadelphia, PA 19107 215-386-5211 info@whitedog.com

Materials include seasonality charts, local food charts, marketing terms, and waste management suggestions.

The Food Trust One Penn Center 1617 John F. Kennedy Blvd. Suite 900 Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-575-0444 contact@thefoodtrust.org

A guide outlining the steps necessary to accept food stamps at farmer’s market stands. This increases the farmer’s selling region, and creates more accessibilty to fresh, healthy food in Philadelphia’s low income neighborhoods.

http://www.whitedogcafefoundation. org/FTI/materials.php

http://www.thefoodtrust.org/catalog/ resource.detail.php?product_id=159

202


MARKETING YOUR GOODS Resources: Name:

Organization & Contact:

Fruit and Vegetable Marketing for Small and Part- Time Growers

Penn State Extension PSU Outreach 111 N. 49th St. 3rd Floor North Suite KN3-100 Philadelphia, PA 19139 215- 471-2200 PhiladelphiaExt@psu.edu

“Fresh Times”

The Food Trust One Penn Center 1617 John F. Kennedy Blvd. Suite 900 Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-575-0444 contact@thefoodtrust.org

203

Description & Link:

An evaluation of market demand and general marketing practices. http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/ ua262.pdf

A weekly newsletter about the Food Trust’s farmers market. Each month it incluced a seasonal shopping guide, farmer profiles, recipes, and an events calender. http://www.thefoodtrust.org/php/ donations/freshtimes.php



DISTRIBUTING YOUR GOODS Handling and Packaging: Name: Postharvest Handling and Cooling Guide

Food Alliance Certification

Organization & Contact:

Penn State Extension PSU Outreach 111 N. 49th St. 3rd Floor North Suite KN3-100 Philadelphia, PA 19139 215- 471-2200 PhiladelphiaExt@psu.edu

Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture Marilyn Anthony SE Regional Director 737 Constitution Drive Exton PA 19341 610-458-5700, ext. 305

Description & Link: A guide to postharvest handling and cooling techniques, including the basics on temperature and humidity control and packaging. The guide serves as useful tool for small scale farmers. http://plasticulture.psu.edu/?q=node/8 Once received, the certification will be located on the packaging of your products, ensuring to your customers that you treat animals humanely, provide fair working conditions, and practice environmental stewardship when farming. It covers Farm, Ranch, Packer, Processor, and Distributor Standards. http://www.pasafarming.org/our-work/ food-alliance-certification

Philadelphia Incubator Community Kitchen

Greensgrow Philadelphia Project World Headquarters 2503 E. Firth Street Philadelphia, PA 19125 215-427-2780

A kitchen facility with classes on canning and creating value-added products. The classes are part of a larger program, geared at developing food entrepreneurs in low-income communities. The program highlights cooking, urban farming and local retail. Classes are expanding to include other the basics of maintenance and licensing. http://www.greensgrow.org/philly/ modules/smartproject/partner. php?id=3&cid=

205


DISTRIBUTING YOUR GOODS Distribution Venues: Name:

Wholesale Guide

Organization & Contact:

White Dog Cafe Foundation 1315 Walnut Street, Suite 522 Philadelphia, PA 19107 215-386-5211 info@whitedog.com

Description & Link:

A guide providing a comprehensive list of regional family farms that market directly to restaurants and retail stores in Philadelphia. The guide serves as a tool for chefs and other wholesale buyers interested in buying local food and farm products. http://www.localfoodphilly.org/ wholesale_guide.php

Farmers and Distributors Guide

White Dog Cafe Foundation, see above

A online guide including information on farmers and distributors selling local food. The guide also provieds how-to information for selling and distributing directly to a market and for joining a farmer’s collaborative. http://www.whitedogcafefoundation. org/FTI/FTI_guide.php

Philadelphia Local Food Guide

White Dog Cafe Foundation, see previous

A guide providing a directory of Philadelphia’s local food venues, including farmer’s markets, CSA’s, restaraurants and more. http://www.localfoodphilly.org/ consumer_guide.php

206


DISTRIBUTING YOUR GOODS Distribution Venues: Name:

Organization & Contact:

Description & Link:

Buy Fresh, Buy Local Map

Pennsylvania Buy Fresh Buy Local- Southeastern, Philadelphia http://www.buylocalpa.org/ contact

A map of farms, farmer’s markets, wineries, breweries, restaurants, caterers and retailers in Philadelphia, including contact information.

Common Market 2901 W. Hunting Park Ave Philadelphia, PA 1929 215-275-3435 Contact: James DeMarsh General Manager james@ commonmarketphila. org

A wholesale distributor of foods from the Philadelphia region interested in supporting local agriculture, and making local food more affordable.

White Dog Cafe Foundation 1315 Walnut Street, Suite 522 Philadelphia, PA 19107 215-386-5211 info@whitedog.com

A list of universities, hopitals and community centers interested in purchasing local food.

Local Food Distributor

Map of Institutions Buying Local Food Buyers

207

http://www.buylocalpa.org/ philadelphia

http://www.commonmarketphila.org/

http://www.whitedogcafefoundation. org/FTI/map_of_institutions.php


DISTRIBUTING YOUR GOODS Donating Surplus Produce: Name:

A Little Taste of Everything

“Fresh for All” traveling food distribution

Organization & Contact:

Description & Link:

Mill Creek Farm 3451 Walnut Street Franklin Building Annex, Suite P-117 Philadelphia, PA 19104-6205 millcreekfarm@resist.ca

A nonprofit that operates as a mobile food market. The market provides produce, staple foods, and educational materials to low-income neighborhoods.

Philabundance 3616 South Galloway Street Philadelphia, PA 19148 215-339-0300 contactus@ philabundance.org

A program dedicated to traveling to areas throughout the city to meet the needs of residents. Fresh produce distribution occurs weekly at specified drop-off locations throughout Philadelphia’s most underserved neighborhoods.

http://www.millcreekurbanfarm.org/ altoe.html

http://www.philabundance.org/ programs/freshforall.asp Community Food Center

Philabundance, See Above

A food pantry that distributes a variety of foods, including canned goods, produce, meat, dairy and bread. http://www.philabundance.org/ programs/cfc.asp

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DISTRIBUTING YOUR GOODS Donating Surplus Produce: Name: Food Exchange for Volunteer Time

Organization & Contact:

SHARE Food Program, Inc. 2901 W. Hunting Park Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19129 (215) 223-2220 http://sharefood.us/contact-II. htm

Description & Link: A program where anyone can exchange volunteering for food. By donating time you save money on food packages that include vegetables, fruits, meats and other items. http://www.sharefoodprogram.org/ about_spa.htm

Distributing to Food Pennsylvania Horticultural Cupboards Society 100 N. 20th St. 5th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-988-8800

Gardens connect with the health council, food distributors, and the prison system to provide produce for local food cupboards. Community gardens also connect with one another to pool their excess produce for donation. http://www. pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org/ phlgreen/city-harvest.html

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DISTRIBUTING YOUR GOODS Resources: Name:

Farmer’s Market Schedules

How to Start a Food Coop

Organization & Contact: The Food Trust One Penn Center 1617 John F. Kennedy Blvd. Suite 900 Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-575-0444 contact@thefoodtrust.org

Weaver’s Way Cooperative 559 Carpenter Lane Philadelphia, PA 19119 215-843-2350 contact@weaversway.coop

Description & Link:

A list of the farmer markets owned and operated by the Food Trust with shedule information available http://www.thefoodtrust.org/catalog/ resource.list.php?keyword=&per_ page=10&category_id=0&cursor=10 A manual on how to start a coop including information on gaining seeds, sprout funding, and coop resources. http://weaversway.coop/index. php?page=how_to_start_a_food_co_ op

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MEETING YOUR PEERS In Person: Name:

Green Drinks Philly

Organization & Contact:

Green Drinks Philly

http:// greendrinksdelawarevalley. blogspot.com/

Description & Link:

A social networking event. Anyone with green conversations is welcome. Green Drinks Philadelphia occurs every 1st Wednesday of each month from 6-9pm at Standard Tap. Standard Tap 2nd & Poplar St. Philadelphia, PA 19123 Tel: 215 238 0630 http://greendrinksdelawarevalley. blogspot.com/

Good Food Neighborhood Project

Pennsylvania Buy Fresh Buy Local- Southeastern, Philadelphia http://www.buylocalpa.org/ contact

Ties together farmers, chefs, grocers, and other food providers to help consumers get the local food and goods they desire. http://www.buylocalpa.org/gfn

Online: Growlots Philadelphia Network

Megan Braley The University of the Arts 320 S. Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19102 mkbraley@gmail.com

A social networking site for all people involved in Philadelphia’s urban agriculture system. Create a profile and add to the conversation! http://growlotsphiladelphianetwork. com/

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MEETING YOUR PEERS Online: Name: Philadelphia Urban Farm Network

Organization & Contact: Philadelphia Urban Farmer’s Network

http://groups.google.com/ group/pufn

Description & Link:

List serve discussion group where urban farmers and gardeners can meet to discuss their issues on finding resources such as land and seeds. As well as events, information on jobs, and upcoming workshops. http://groups.google.com/group/pufn

Philadelphia Nonprofit Network

Greater Philly Environmental Network Contact: Sherry Resiner Founder/Director Sherry@GPEN.org

A database dedicated to cataloguing information on organizations, events, news, jobs, volunteering, resources and more. http://www.gpen.org/index.htm

Philadelphia Green Jobs

Green Jobs Philly 140 W. Sedgwick St Philadelphia, PA 19119 Contact: Paul Glover paul5glover@yahoo.com

Look up information on green jobs and current events in the Philadelphia area, or post new jobs and events. www.greenjobsphilly.org/

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MEETING YOUR PEERS Programs: Name:

Organization & Contact:

Farmer’s Market Alliance

The Food Trust One Penn Center 1617 John F. Kennedy Blvd. Suite 900 Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-575-0444 contact@thefoodtrust.org

Description & Link:

The Farmer’s Market Alliance seeks to increase economic viability for farms, expand food access, and develop agricultural businesses and jobs. The Alliance helps provide grants for people who want to start a farmer’s market. http://thefoodtrust.lightsky.com/php/ programs/farmers.market.alliance.php

Fellowship Program

The Environmental Leadership Program, Pennslyvania Office P.O. Box 907, Greenbelt, MD 20768-0907 info@elpnet.org

A program that offers leadership training and regional networking courses for social and environmental practitioners. The program discusses community diversity, media communication, collaboration and coalitions, stregth- based leadership and skills for public speaking. http://www.elpnet.org/aboutfellowship

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MEETING YOUR PEERS Publicize Your Message: Name:

Web and Print Design for Sustainable Values

Organization & Contact: Chris Hill Media Online http://www.chrishillmedia. com/contact/

Description & Link:

A media development company dedicated to meeting the needs of sustainable nonprofits and businesses. http://www.chrishillmedia.com/index. html

Magazine Publicity

GRID Magazine Red Flag Media, Inc 1032 Arch St. 3rd Floor Philadelphia PA 19107 215.625.9850

A magazine dedicated to promoting and advertising sustainable activities in Philadelphia. Tell them your story today. http://www.gridphilly.com/

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IMPACTING TEENS In-School Programs: Name:

Farm to School

Eat. Right. Now

Organization & Contact:

Description & Link:

The Food Trust One Penn Center 1617 John F. Kennedy Blvd. Suite 900 Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-575-0444 contact@thefoodtrust.org

The program connects local farmers to some of Philadelphia’s high schools. Farm to School initiatives include placing fresh, local food in school cafeterias and promoting gardening and recycling curriculum.

Urban Nutrition Initiative 3451 Walnut Street, Suite P-117A Philadelphia, PA 19104 215-898-1600 http://www.urbannutrition. org/contact.html

A program connected to the School District of Philadelphia, and currently available in 20 schools throughout the city. The program provides hands-on nutrtion education lessons and local food tastings.

http://www.thefoodtrust.org/php/ programs/farm.to.school.php

http://www.urbannutrition.org/ programs.html “Seeds for Learning”

Foundations Inc., Seeds for Learning at Martin Luther King High School 6100 Stenton Ave Philadelphia, PA 19138 Contact: Chris Bolden-Newsome 215-424-5810 cbolden@foundationsinc.org

Includes a Farm Program focused on science, agriculture, and nutrition; a Marketplace Program focused on food business practices; and a Community Lunch Program where students and chefs cook meals to be delivered in the comunity. http://www.foundationsinc.org/impact/ seeds-learning

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IMPACTING TEENS In-School Programs: Name:

Student Fruit Stands, Food Stations and Farmer’s Market Program

Organization & Contact:

Urban Nutrition Initiative, 3451 Walnut Street, Suite P-117A Philadelphia, PA 19104 215-898-1600 http://www.urbannutrition. org/contact.html

Description & Link:

Encourages students to organize and develop better choices for their communities. Students work on improving lunch options and partner with neighborhood stores to create convenient healthy food stations. Students also assist and learn the basics of operating community farmer’s markets. http://www.urbannutrition.org/ programs.html

Internships:

Apprenticeship Program

Weaver’s Way Community Farm 559 Carpenter Lane Philadelphia, PA 19119 215-843-2350 contact@weaversway.coop

Teens are connected to farms and gardens, where they work 40-55 hours a week. They receive a small stipend, free produce, coop membership and free housing. The program teaches teens about vegetable and greenhouse production, pest management, weeding, planting and more. http://weaversway.coop/index. php?page=farm-seeks-apprentices

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IMPACTING TEENS Internships: Name:

Peer Education and Farming Internships

Organization & Contact:

Urban Nutrition Initiative 3451 Walnut Street, Suite P-117A Philadelphia, PA 19104 215-898-1600 http://www.urbannutrition. org/contact.html

Description & Link:

Paid employment and job training that teaches students how to create better food choices for the community. Interns also take part in cooking and selling produce from school gardens. http://www.urbannutrition.org/ programs.html

Scattergood Summer Landsacpe Internship and Growing Greener Program

Penn State Extension PSU Outreach 111 N. 49th St. 3rd Floor North Suite KN3-100 Philadelphia, PA 19139 215- 471-2200 PhiladelphiaExt@psu.edu

Both programs focus on horticulture and nutrition. The Growing Greener Program is for children 12 and up. The Scattergood Internship is specifically for teens 14-18 that have had behavioral problems in school. The program teachs them about work skills, finances and civics in connection to locally grown foods. http://philadelphia.extension.psu.edu/ Agriculture/psebrochureprint04_2009. pdf

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IMPACTING TEENS Internships: Name:

Teen Entrepreneurial Program

Haddington Youth Program

Organization & Contact:

Description & Link:

Teens4Good Federation of Neighborhood Centers c/o Teens 4 Good 1315 Walnut Street, Suite 1401 Philadelphia, PA 19107 Contact: Jamie McKnight, Director 215 989-3566 ext 1108 jamiem@federationnc.org

Provides paid employment and job training for teens, focused on health, business, and agriculture. The program is intended to instill urban teens with work practices and a respect for growing.

The Urban Tree Connection 5125 Woodbine Ave Philadelphia, PA 19131 215-877-7203 info@urbantreeconnection.org

A youth program that increases community participation in urban greening and revitalization. The program is for teens, ages 13-18, and provides them with a small stipend.

http://teens4good.orbius.com/default. home

http://www.urbantreeconnection.org/ YOUTHPROGRAMS.html

Resources:

Cetner for Culinary Enterprises

The Enterprise Center 4548 Market St. Philadelphia, PA 19139 (215) 895-4000 Contact: Greg Heller Managing Director 215.895.4075 gheller@ theenterprisecentercdc.org

The center provides resources and programs for emerging food entrepreneurs, and includes a commercial kitchen, a training restaurant for community youth, and is connected to an urban farm for fresh produce. http://philafood.net/wp/

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IMPACTING ADULTS Programs: Name:

Green City Teachers

Sustainable Agriculture Education

Organization & Contact: Pennsylvania Horticultural Society 100 N. 20th St. 5th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-988-8846 greencityteachers@pennhort. org

A training program for educators to better understand ways of integrating horticulture and environmental education in the classroom. A teacher network creates a forum for people to come together and share ideas.

Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture Marilyn Anthony SE Regional Director 737 Constitution Drive Exton PA 19341 610-458-5700, ext. 305 marilyn@pasafarming.org

Includes gatherings and programs geared toward education on farming practices. The workshops occur during two annual events, the Farming for the Future Conference and Field Days and Intensive Learning Programs

The Food Trust One Penn Center 1617 John F. Kennedy Blvd. Suite 900 Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-575-0444 contact@thefoodtrust.org

Consulting services that assess potential partnerships between farms and schools. A plan is devised, including a criteria for engagement, if a positive partnership is determined.

Services:

Feasibility Studies

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Description & Link:

http://www. pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org/ phlgreen/green-teacher.html

http://www.pasafarming.org/our-work

http://www.thefoodtrust.org/php/ consulting/index.php#


IMPACTING ADULTS Resources: Name:

Kindergarten Initiative Tool Kit

Organization & Contact:

The Food Trust One Penn Center 1617 John F. Kennedy Blvd. Suite 900 Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-575-0444 contact@thefoodtrust.org

Description & Link:

A toolkit available for purchase, outlining the steps for starting a kindergarten initiave program. The program promotes learning through healthy eating, connecting to local farms, and establishing community and parent invovlement. http://www.thefoodtrust.org/php/ programs/kindergarten.initiative.php

Cetner for Culinary Enterprises

Philadelphia Greenworks Plan

The Enterprise Center 4548 Market St. Philadelphia, PA 19139 (215) 895-4000 Contact: Greg Heller Managing Director 215.895.4075 gheller@ theenterprisecentercdc.org

The center provides resources and programs for emerging food entrepreneurs, and includes a commercial kitchen, a training restaurant for community youth, and is connected to an urban farm for fresh produce.

The Office of Sustainability, 1401 John F. Kennedy Blvd Suite 1000 Philadelphia, PA 19102 215.686.3495 mos@phila.gov

Philadelphia’s Plan for becoming the greenest city in America. Includes sections on how the city aims to improve energy, the environment, economics, equity, and engagement.

http://philafood.net/wp/

http://www.phila.gov/green/ greenworks/index.html

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IMPACTING ADULTS Resources: Name:

Organization & Contact:

Description & Link:

Green City Strategy for Philadelphia

Pennsylvannia Horticultural Society 100 N. 20th St. 5th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-988-8844

A brief article on the economic and social benefits of neighborhood greening.

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission 190 N. Independence Mall West, 8th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19106-1520 215.592.1800 Contact:alison.hasting@ dvrpc.org

An extensive study of Philadelphia’s regional food shed, including New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania. The study incorporated information from interviews and stakeholder meetings with local food growers and distributors. The study weighs the pros and cons of importing and exporting into the region. Overall the report highlights the positive impacts of a more selfsustaining food system.

The Greater Philadelphia Food System Study

http://www. pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org/ phlgreen/issuebrief.pdf

http://www.dvrpc.org/reports/09066A. pdf

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ADVANCING CHILDREN In-School Programs: Name:

Kindergarten Initiative

Marketplace Program

Organization & Contact:

Description & Link:

Food Trust The Food Trust One Penn Center 1617 John F. Kennedy Blvd. Suite 900 Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-575-0444 contact@thefoodtrust.org

The program works to integrate nutrition and agricultural education into kindergarten curriculum. Children are connected to gardens to learn about growing and healthy eating. The program partners with families to evaluate the program’s effectiveness.

Weaver’s Way Communitiy Program 559 Carpenter Lane Philadelphia, PA 19119 215-843-2350 contact@weaversway.coop

A program that helps students create and run their own school food business. Student groups buy produce from local vendors, and then package and price the produce to be sold to teachers and classmates.

http://www.thefoodtrust.org/php/ programs/kindergarten.initiative.php

http://weaversway.coop/index. php?page=the_marketplace_program School Farm Tours

Fox Chase Farms 8500 Pine Road Philadelphia, PA 19111 215-728-7900 http://www.foxchasefarm.org/ inquiry.php

Fox Chase Farm hosts school visits. Ages can range from kindergartens to high school students. Visits cover the basics of farm life and farm animal care. http://www.foxchasefarm.org/ programs.html

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ADVANCING CHILDREN In-School Programs: Names:

4-H Club Program

Organization & Contact:

Penn State Extension PSU Outreach 111 N. 49th St. 3rd Floor North Suite KN3-100 Philadelphia, PA 19139 Contact: John Byrnes 215- 471-2200 ext. 103 PhiladelphiaExt@psu.edu

Out of School Programs:

Farm Education Program

Weaver’s Way Community Program 559 Carpenter Lane Philadelphia, PA 19119 215-843-2350 contact@weaversway.coop

Description & Link:

The program is dedicated to youth development through nutrition, growing, and farm animal care education. http://philadelphia.extension.psu. edu/second.asp?county=Philadelphia &table=Youth A program focused on teaching farm and food related lessons through farm visits. Children are taught the differences between processed and local food. http://weaversway.coop/index. php?page=farm_education

Kids Grow Expo

Pennsylvania Horticultural Society 100 N. 20th St. 5th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-988-8897

A horticultural exhibition for children that occurs on Earth Day each year. The program teaches children to appreciate the environment. http://www. pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org/ events/growexpo.html

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ADVANCING CHILDREN Out of School Programs: Names:

Children’s Afterschool Programs

Organization & Contact:

Urban Tree Connection 5125 Woodbine Ave Philadelphia, PA 19131 215-877-7203 info@urbantreeconnection.org

Description & Link: Afterschool programs encourage children to spend more time outside. Hands-on lessons teach about ecology and environmental science. http://www.urbantreeconnection.org/ YOUTHPROGRAMS.html

“Growing Healthy Initiative”

Resources: Coloring Book

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Urban Tree Connection 5125 Woodbine Ave Philadelphia, PA 19131 215-877-7203 info@urbantreeconnection.org

A multi-year community garden and health education project promoting healthy eating and physical education.

Penn State Extension PSU Outreach 111 N. 49th St. 3rd Floor North Suite KN3-100 Philadelphia, PA 19139 215- 471-2200 PhiladelphiaExt@psu.edu

A fruits and vegetables coloring book, including basic information on the physical characteristics of fruits and vegetables. The coloring book also includes preparation methods.

http://www.urbantreeconnection.org/ YOUTHPROGRAMS.html

http://agmarketing.extension. psu.edu/ComFarmMkt/PDFs/ coloringbook5day.pdf


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GLOSSARY Millar, M. E. and Abraham, A. “A Challenge to Traditional Economic Assumptions: Applying the Social Theory of Communicative Action to Governance in the Third Sector”. University of Wollongong. 2006. Simon, Herbert. The Sciences of the Artificial. Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1996. Jones, Andrew. The Innovation Acid Test. Axminster, United Kingdom: Triararchy Press. 2008.

Communicative Action- “communication free of manipulation so that the conversation is open and transparent”1 Coordinated Action- “The actions of agents involved are not through egocentric calculations of success but through acts of reaching understanding” 1 Design Thinking- “A process for practical, creative resolution of problems or issues that looks for an improved future result. [The] ability to combine empathy, creativity and rationality to meet user needs and drive business success.” 2, 3

4. “Community Health and Food Access: The Local Government Role”. August 2006. ICMA Press, 4 Apr 2010 <bookstore.icma. org/freedocs/E43398.pdf>

Food Access- The amount of food outlets in a given area which effects the buying abilities of residents in relation to those outlets, based on transportation, price, and other considerations. Which affects an individual’s ability to make food choices.4

5. Valsamis, Kiri et. al. Whole Food Book 2: Design, Produce, Evaluate.. Oct. 2009. Oxford University Press-Australia, 1 Apr 2010. ,<http://www.oup.com.au/__ data/assets/pdf_file/0004/189535/ Whole_Food_2_Chapter_4.pdf>

Food Culture- For the purpose of this thesis food culture is defined as the associations, interactions, and relationship that a particular nation has with its food supply.

6. Water for Food and Ecosystems. 2004. Glossary, 7 Apr 2010. <http://www. fao.org/ag/wfe2005/glossary_en.htm> 7. Smith S. E. “What is Food Sovereignty?” 2010. WiseGeek, 10 Apr 2010 <http://www.wisegeek.com/whatis-food-sovereignty.htm>

Food Equity- “Creating opportunities for a global food supply and reducing the availability differences to the lowest feasible level with as little impact on global health a possible.“5 Food Security-“Physical and economic access, at all times, to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”6 Food Sovereignty- “Food sovereignty is a philosophy and social policy which suggests that the power of food production should be in the hands of the people, rather than under the control of multinational corporations. It is about empowering farmers to…address a variety of social justice issues from hunger to racism.”7

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Generative Thinking- “Integrate the insights of individuals with paradigm shifts of fields. It generates visions, purposes, strategies, ideas and the moral commitments that missions codify, the goals that strategies advance and the diagnoses that problem solving addresses.”8 Information Design- For the sake of this thesis information design is the simplification of complex information through visual representations including but not limited to diagrams, maps, and illustrations. Multiple Constituency Approach- ”Modification of the goal model accounts for the many constituencies of stakeholders…each stakeholder advocates a different criteria to evaluate organizational effectiveness. As a result the actual measure of effectiveness is multi-tiered and quite complex.”9 Organizational Design- “The method in which management achieves the right combination of differentiation and integration of the organizations operations, in response to the level of uncertainty in its external environment.”10 Organizational Effectiveness-“The extent to which an organization has met its state goals and objectives… and how well it performed in the process.”11

8. Millar, M. E. and Abraham, A. A Challenge to Traditional Economic Assumptions: Applying the Social Theory of Communicative Action to Governance in the Third Sector. University of Wollongong. 2006. 9. The Kronkosky Charitable Foundation. Nonprofit Organizational Effectiveness, Research Brief 2007 10. Business Dictionary, 5 Feb 2010. <http://www.businessdictionary.com/ definition/organizational-design.html> 11. The Kronkosky Charitable Foundation. Nonprofit Organizational Effectiveness, Research Brief 2007 12. Schuler, Douglas and Aki Namioka. Participatory Design: Principles and Practices. Hillsdale, NJ: Eribaum, 1993. 13. Hagel, John III, et. al. Shaping Strategy in a World of Constant Disruption. Harvard Business Review. October 2008.

Participatory Design- “Assumes that workers [the user or client] themselves are in the best position to determine how to improve their work and their work life.”12 Shaping Strategy- “An effort to broadly redefine the terms of competition for a market sector through a positive and galvanizing message that promises benefits to all who adopt the new terms.”13 Single Subject Design- Used to evaluate macro-level effects based on the analysis of scalable models. “Designs that can be applied when

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14. Gay, L. R., and Airasian, P. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Applications. Merrill Prentice Hall: Columbus, OH. 2003. Single Subject Design- John B Wasson, 13 Dec 2009. <http://www.practicalpress.net/ updatenov05/SingleSubject.html> 15. Block, Peter. The Answer to How is Yes. San Francisco, CA. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. 2003. The Practice of Leadership, 20 Feb. 2010. <http://www. thepracticeofleadership.net/2008/03/24/ leader-as-social-architect/>

the sample size is one or when a number of individuals are considered as one group. These designs are typically used to study the behavioral change an individual exhibits as a result of some treatment..” 14 Social Architecture- “To create service-orientated organizations, businesses, governments, and schools that meet their institutional objectives in a way that gives those involved space to act on what matters to them…. The social architect’s task is to create the space for people to act on what matters to them”15 Social Capital-“The web of social relationships that influences individual behavior and thereby affects economic growth”16

16. Pennar, Karen. The Ties that Lead to Prosperity. Business Week. December 1997. Social Capital Research, 10 Apr 2010. <http://www.socialcapitalresearch.com/ definition/com/definition.html>

Social Constructionism Approach-“A general perspective, from this view point, reality is created by the beliefs, knowledge, and actions of people.”17

17. The Kronkosky Charitable Foundation. Nonprofit Organizational Effectiveness, Research Brief 2007

Systems Design- A blueprint, plan or model of a system; deciding how a proposed information system will meet the information needs of end users.18

18. Management Information Systems, 5 Feb 2010. <http://www.gregvogl.net/ courses/mis1/glossary.htm>

Urban Agriculture- For the purpose of this thesis, urban agriculture is defined as growing food on a small to large scale within an urban environment. Ranging from backyard garden spaces to semi-industrialized farms plots. Including but not limited to gardening, vertical gardening, roof top gardening, hydroponics/aquaponics, raised beds, plasticulture, permiculture, spin farming, and traditional farming practices. Thesis Generated Terms Coordinating Resources- Listing and categorizing tools, services or programs, and arranging them together in a fashion that most benefits an individual attempting to navigate the system.

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Infotelling- The act of framing dense information in an engaging story like fashion. Partial Assimilation- with the assumption that few people in the movement will be compelled to use one centralized hub to gain information about the movement’s resources we intentionally marketed the website as a link to pre-existing urban agriculture sites. This way members of the movement feel as though they are not leaving their comfort zone of using websites that relate to their stakeholder group. Power of Coordinated Effort- The ability to progress to future steps as a group, based on acknowledging all tools and resources available to that group in the present.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Thesis Document References: Alexander, Gemma D. “Part 2: 1983-1993, Program’s Second Decade a Time of Rebuilding” P-Patch Community Gardens, Department of Neighborhoods, Feb. 10, 2010. <http://www.cityofseattle.net/neighborhoods/ppatch/history. htm> Building Shared Understanding of Wicked Problems. 2008.CogNexus, 9 Apr 2010. <http://cognexus.org/id42.htm Birch, Eugenie L. and Susan M. Wachter. Growing Green Cities. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008. Block, Peter. The Answer to How is Yes. San Francisco, CA. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. 2003. The Practice of Leadership, 20 Feb. 2010. <http:// www.thepracticeofleadership.net/2008/03/24/leader-as-social-architect/> Business Dictionary, 5 Feb 2010. <http://www.businessdictionary.com/ definition/organizational-design.html> “Community Health and Food Access: The Local Government Role”. August 2006. ICMA Press, 4 Apr 2010 <bookstore.icma.org/freedocs/E43398.pdf> Division of Adolecent and School Health. “Nutrition and the Health of Young People.” 2008. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention. 30 Jan 2009 <http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/nutrition/facts.htm> City of Vancouver. “Food Policy- communicty Gardens & the 2010 Challenge” 2010. City of Vancouver Community Services and Social Planning 9 Feb 2010. <http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/socialplanning/initiatives/foodpolicy/ projects/2010gardens.htm> Gay, L. R., and Airasian, P. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Applications. Merrill Prentice Hall: Columbus, OH. 2003. Single Subject

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Design- John B Wasson, 13 Dec 2009. <http://www.practicalpress.net/updatenov05/SingleSubject.html> Goldstein, Libby J. “Philadelphia’s Community Garden History” 1997. City Farmer 29 Jan 2010. <http://www.cityfarmer.org/Phillyhistory10.html> Greenworks Philadelphia Report. 2008. The Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, 26 July 2009.<http://www.phila.gov/green/greenworks/ PDFs/GreenworksPlan002.pdf > Growing A Nation“The Story of American Agriculture.” A History of American Agriculture, 1607-2000. 200. Economic Research Service. 23 Feb.2010 <http://www.agclassroom.org/gan/timeline/index.htm> Hagel, John III, et. al. Shaping Strategy in a World of Constant Disruption. Harvard Business Review. October 2008. Johansson, Frans. The Medici Effect. Boston: Harvard School of Business Press, 2004. Jones, Andrew. The Innovation Acid Test. Axminster, United Kingdom: Triararchy Press. 2008. Kadlec, Daniel J. “Rethinking Nonprofits.” Time Magazine. 2007 Lane, Fredrick S. “Managing Not-For-Profit Organizations”, Public Administration Review, Vol. 40, No. 5. Sept-Oct 1980. Levenston, Michael. “44% of Vancouver Grows Food says City Farmer” 2001. City Farmer 5 Feb 2010. < http://www.cityfarmer.org/44percent. html>

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Management Information Systems, 5 Feb 2010. <http://www.gregvogl.net/ courses/mis1/glossary.htm Millar, M. E. and Abraham, A. “A Challenge to Traditional Economic Assumptions: Applying the Social Theory of Communicative Action to Governance in the Third Sector.” University of Wollongong. 2006. Naylor, Rosamond and Walter Falcon. Our Daily Bread. Boston Review. No.5 September/October 2008. Palmberg, Elizabeth “A Human-Made Disaster.” Sojouners 37, No.7. 2008 Pennar, Karen. The Ties that Lead to Prosperity. Business Week. December 1997. Social Capital Research, 10 Apr 2010. <http://www.socialcapitalresearch.com/definition.html> Philadelphia Food Charter Oct 2008. Leadership for Health Communities. 21 Feb 2010. <http://www.leadershipforhealthycommunities.org/images/ stories/philadelphia_food_charter1.pdf> Philadelphia Healthy Food Initiatives Map, Jan. 26. 2010. <http://www. philadelphiahealthyfoodnetwork.org/> Philadelphia School District Testing Statistics. 20 March 2009 < https://sdpwebprod.phila.k12.pa.us/school_profiles/servlet/> Philadelphia Urban Farming Network. 2 Feb 2010. <http://groups.google. com/group/pufn> Pirog, Rich, et al. “Food, Fuel and Freeways: An Iowa Perspective on how Far Food Travels, Fuel Usage, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions”. 2001. Leopald Center for Sustainable Agriculture- Iowa State University. 2 Dec 2008 <http://www.leopald.iastate.edu/pubs/staff/ppp/>

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Pollan, Michael. “Farmer in Chief.” 2008. New York Times: Food Issue 29 Nov 2008<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12policy-t.html> Pollan, Michael. In Defense of Food. New York: Penguin Press, 2008. P-Patch. 12 Feb 2010. <http://seattle.gov/neighborhoods/ppatch/> Press, Michael and Rachel Cooper. The Design Experience the Role of the Designer in the 21st Century. Burlington,VT : Ashgate Publishing Company, 2003. Schlosser, Eric. “Fast Food Nation: Meat and Potatoes.” 1998. Rolling Stones Magazine. 1 March 2010 <http://www.mcspotlight.org/media/ press/rollingstone2.html>. Schuler, Douglas and Aki Namioka. Participatory Design: Principles and Practices. Hillsdale, NJ: Eribaum, 1993. Scraton, Phillip B. “Philadelphia’s Industrial History: Context and Overview.” Workshop of the World. 2007. Oliver Evans Press. 28 Feb. 2010 <http:// www.workshopoftheworld.com/overview/overview.html>. Senge, Peter M. and Sterman, John D. “SystemsThinking and Organizational Learning: Acting Locally and Thinking Globally in the Organization of the Future.” European Journal of Operational Research. Vol. 59, Issue 1. May 1992. Simon, Herbert. The Sciences of the Artificial. Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1996. Smith S. E. “What is Food Sovereignty?” 2010. WiseGeek, 10 Apr 2010 <http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-food-sovereignty.htm>

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“Nonprofit

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Megan Braley

As a designer Ms. Braley has always been interested in how to improve the world around her. She received a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Design from the University of Texas at Austin. While studying design she also gained insights in anthropology, geology and other earth sciences. She is a communicator, planner and strategist for sustainable living.

Victoria Perez

As an artist Ms. Perez prides herself on creating work that addresses culture and femininity. She received a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Through the use of design and art, she aims to create work that moves toward a social model that thrives on equality rather than expansion.

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GROWLOTS PHILADELPHIA INTEGRATIVE DEVELOPMENT FOR PHILADELPHIA’S URBAN AGRICULTURE MOVEMENT

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