‘This City Life’ interviews Troy Barrie from Shifting Growth

Troy Barrie in Ghana. Photo by Shifting Growth via This City Life.

Farming in the City of Vancouver

By Jillian Glover
This City Life
Nov 2, 2011

Excerpt:

Do you think Vancouver has a thriving urban farming/local food scene? What more needs to be done? What is missing?

The focus on the community gardens aspect of urban farming is strong, but there is a growing movement pushing for urban farms to contribute to food security. This is where there can be improvements. The city has definitions for what a park or community garden should look like, but not many guidelines for urban farms. It’s unclear how produce can be sold. It’s unclear what the tax system is for urban farms that are not on Agricultural Land Reserves. It isn’t a problem. Urban agriculture is new, so there is a little lack of awareness about the need and benefits.

Wouldn’t elementary school tours of a local urban farm be cool? Kids would understand the system. We need to increase the public understanding of how vital the local food system is to our economy and the social benefits of that connection.

Vancouver has the right seeds. There is a dedicated community of gardeners that wants this to happen and are in it for the right reasons. They are willing to do the work. We’ve also got strong voices from the city itself. City planners and staff are putting time towards this and its fits the Greenest City campaign.

Read more of this interview on This City Life.

See Shifting Growth here.