Taking root: Just in time for growing season, Model D begins series on urban farming in the D (Detroit)

Brother Nature in North Corktown. Photo by Marvin Shaouni.

Detroit’s food system seems to get richer and more complex everyday.

Patrick Crouch
Model D Media
Apr. 26, 2011

Excerpt:

Detroit’s current vibrant urban agriculture movement attracts people to this work for multiple reasons.

For some it’s the political act of increased food sovereignty for peoples in the city of Detroit, exhibited by groups like Feedom Freedom, the Detroit Black Food Community Security Network, and the Capuchin Soup Kitchen’s Earthworks Urban Farm.

For others the motivation is the simple act of trying to improve their neighborhood though beautifying and reusing vacant lots, such as the Georgia Street Garden, and Growing Joy on the East Side. The Backyard Garden, straddling the Detroit/Grosse Pointe Park boarder seeks to heal the wounds of divided urban and suburban communities. Still others are focused on making models of profitability, including Brother Nature Produce, the Garden Resource Program’s Grown in Detroit Co-op, Edgeton Farm, and Rising Pheasant Farms. Art is the focus of projects like the Detroit Mural Factory and Artist Village. Entire neighborhoods such as Briggs, Brightmoor, and the Farnsworth community are being shaped by the gardens springing up everywhere.

Read the complete article here.

Also see: “little house on the urban prairie – country living in the city” blog here