As new urban gardens and farms bring new life to abandoned lots throughout the city, many people do not realize how common urban agriculture once was. At the turn on the 20th century, many farms were within the city limits, and most homes utilized kitchen gardens to help feed the family.
These many years later, old ideas have gotten a fresh footing as food prices and concerns about food safety and security rise. Many homes (including my own) have a small garden, and farming within the city has begun anew with small community gardens and the Queen City and Wilson Street Farms.
Perhaps the time to revisit another urban agriculture initiative from the past has come. In the 1890's, then Mayor Jewitt put forth a proposal to make available unutilized property for farming:
"In the spring of 1895 [Mayor Edgar] Jewett proposed that the poor be allowed to grow potatoes on vacant lots provided by the city and other landowners. Noting that similar plans had operated successfully elsewhere, he suggested that in this way the poor could make some preparation for the winter ahead. The Express worried that the plan would only advertise to the world the serious unemployment problem existing in Buffalo, thereby discouraging investment, and other papers tended to ridicule the whole idea. Jewitt went ahead with the plan, however, after receiving assurances from the COS [Charity Organization Society] that it would provide the names of worthy persons. . . "
". . . In September all papers printed full accounts of the 'harvesting bee.' Describing the laborers, many of whom were women, as 'horny handed [?] and heavy footed', with an 'air of happiness, of freedom,' the Express exulted that, 'In the hearts shriveled by the clutch of poverty, the blood once more surged free and strong.' Despite this condescending, sometimes derisive, attitude of the Express, general enthusiasm greeted the city's decision to continue the 'potato patches' each of the next four years. In 1896 an appropriation of $3,500 resulted in a crop valued at $12,000. People no longer laughed at what the city called 'municipal farms,' for they lighted the public burden while helping the people help themselves."
- From Brenda K. Shelton's Reformers In Search of Yesterday: Buffalo in the 1890s:
Should such an initiative be replicated? Clearly surplus land does exist. Obviously not every property would be ideal for farming, nor should every available parcel be utilized without planning for future and more urban uses. Of course, valid questions about soil quality and safety exist, but could be surmountable with simple testing or container gardens and raised beds.
So, is there enough interest? If a city owned plot were made available, would you farm it?
Photo: Image from Curbside Croft - an urban farm on Buffalo's West Side
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These many years later, old ideas have gotten a fresh footing as food prices and concerns about food safety and security rise. Many homes (including my own) have a small garden, and farming within the city has begun anew with small community gardens and the Queen City and Wilson Street Farms.
Perhaps the time to revisit another urban agriculture initiative from the past has come. In the 1890's, then Mayor Jewitt put forth a proposal to make available unutilized property for farming:
"In the spring of 1895 [Mayor Edgar] Jewett proposed that the poor be allowed to grow potatoes on vacant lots provided by the city and other landowners. Noting that similar plans had operated successfully elsewhere, he suggested that in this way the poor could make some preparation for the winter ahead. The Express worried that the plan would only advertise to the world the serious unemployment problem existing in Buffalo, thereby discouraging investment, and other papers tended to ridicule the whole idea. Jewitt went ahead with the plan, however, after receiving assurances from the COS [Charity Organization Society] that it would provide the names of worthy persons. . . "
". . . In September all papers printed full accounts of the 'harvesting bee.' Describing the laborers, many of whom were women, as 'horny handed [?] and heavy footed', with an 'air of happiness, of freedom,' the Express exulted that, 'In the hearts shriveled by the clutch of poverty, the blood once more surged free and strong.' Despite this condescending, sometimes derisive, attitude of the Express, general enthusiasm greeted the city's decision to continue the 'potato patches' each of the next four years. In 1896 an appropriation of $3,500 resulted in a crop valued at $12,000. People no longer laughed at what the city called 'municipal farms,' for they lighted the public burden while helping the people help themselves."
- From Brenda K. Shelton's Reformers In Search of Yesterday: Buffalo in the 1890s:
Should such an initiative be replicated? Clearly surplus land does exist. Obviously not every property would be ideal for farming, nor should every available parcel be utilized without planning for future and more urban uses. Of course, valid questions about soil quality and safety exist, but could be surmountable with simple testing or container gardens and raised beds.
So, is there enough interest? If a city owned plot were made available, would you farm it?
Photo: Image from Curbside Croft - an urban farm on Buffalo's West Side
awesome photo! i wish bro had a caption field right under the image so i don't have to hunt for info that is usually omitted, like where a picture was taken or by who.