HOW CAN WE IMPROVE PHILLY FOOD SYSTEMS & POLICIES?
And how can we BUILD TRUST and partnerships?
This station is about our local food system and policies - the people, actions, and regulations that together shape how the food we eat is produced, processed, transported, and consumed. An improved Philly food system should incubate an urban agriculture economy that supports business and job growth, living wages, and food security.
LEARN ABOUT THE ELEMENTS of our food system and existing City policies, CONSIDER THE ROLES THAT THE CITY AND PHILLY COMMUNITIES SHOULD PLAY as partners in our food system, and SHARE YOUR IDEAS FOR HOW TO REFINE AND DESIGN programs and policies that are accountable to community values.
TRUST & PARTNERSHIPS MUST BE PART OF THE FOOD SYSTEM
At the first public meeting, fewer than 1 in 3 participants said they trust the City overall as a partner in this planning process.
75% said they have trust in black and brown advocates and community experts in urban agriculture, like Soil Generation.
75% said they trust Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, which commissioned this planning effort.
In reality, the City, its Department of Parks and Recreation, Soil Generation, and many other people, organizations, businesses, and institutions are all part of the local food system that influences how food gets from the soil to your mouth.
Local food systems already exist, maintained by communities working on the ground in spite of historical disinvestment.
We must name and question power, roles, and barriers in the larger food system to expand potential for more interconnected and self-sustained local systems.
The City can be most effective by first removing barriers (ex. lowering taxes or providing access to utilities) and then working in collaboration with communities (or the public) to create new programs for community solutions.
Top community priorities include the preservation of existing gardens through policies and actions that enable farmers and gardeners to deepen their investments in the land over time (ex. increasing land security and adding water sources and storage facilities).
The City (with many departments) and Philly communities (anyone who grows or eats food) both have important roles to play in the Philly food system.
The Growing from the Root planning process can lay the groundwork for building trust among partners at work in our local food system and building a more equitable and sustainable food system in Philly. Questions to think about are:
What existing policies can we hold accountable to make sure that our food system effectively serves the communities most impacted by food apartheid (the human-created system of segregations in which some people have an abundance of food choice and access while others face food scarcity)?
What new programs and policies can the City create to facilitate a more holistic system?
And in both cases, what is the City's role, and what is the community's role?
let's talk about PEOPLE
People are at work in each part of Philly's food system.
People grow and harvest crops. People process, prepare, and serve the food we eat. People distribute and deliver food and supplies. People draft, implement, and enforce policies and programs that shape our food system. As people, we all consume food and create food waste.
For many people, the food system is not just about food access, it is about our livelihood. And for too many, the wages earned working in agriculture-related jobs including food service are not living wages. Though the food we grow, distribute, prepare, and serve sustains life, these jobs do not sustain families.
Speaking of a living wage, did you know Philadelphia already has a policy to increase the minimum wage?
In 2018, Mayor Kenney signed the Philadelphia Minimum Wage Bill, which raised the minimum wage to $13.25 an hour as of July 2018 and includes gradual increases until the minimum reaches $15 an hour by July 2022.
The ordinance applies to City employees and companies or nonprofits doing business with the City, including recipients of leases, City concessions, or direct financial assistance of more than $100,000.
let's talk about PRODUCTION
Land is critical to food production, whether it occurs in the ground, in a building, or on a roof.
Philadelphia's Zoning Code acknowledges four forms of urban agriculture: community gardens, market or community-supported farms, horticulture nurseries and greenhouses, and animal keeping. Check out Grounded in Philly for information on which forms of urban agriculture are permitted in which zoning classifications.
Did you know Philadelphia already has policies about transferring and leasing public land for growing and gardening?
One of the Philadelphia Land Bank's key functions is to sell or transfer surplus publicly-owned property for use as gardens and community open space, including urban agriculture. This transfer of land for urban agriculture can help preserve existing gardens or provide land for new growing spaces.
The Land Bank's Strategic Plan calls for the Land Bank to acquire privately-owned tax delinquent garden properties and then to sell or transfer those lots to the individuals and organizations who tend the land in order to preserve gardens.
To date, though, the majority of urban agriculture-related land transactions through the land bank have granted one-year garden license agreements, rather than longer-term garden lease agreements or the permanent transfer of land from public ownership to private ownership by an individual or group tending the land.
Growing from the Root will help hold the City and elected officials accountable to policies and commitments related to land access and ownership for the urban agriculture community.
let's talk about PREPARATION & DISTRIBUTION
What if Philadelphia adopted a Good Food Purchasing Policy?
Check out the Food Chain Workers Alliance’s Good Food Purchasing Program
This type of policy would ensure that public food contracts reflect community values. Its purpose is to increase access to both high-quality jobs in the food system and healthy, sustainably-produced food by using the purchasing power of the City as a major institution. It would encourage Philadelphia to direct its buying power in support of these core values: racial justice, local economies, environmental sustainability, valued workforce, animal welfare, and nutrition.
The Good Food Communities Campaign offers an example, calling to shift public dollars to food contracts that advance Worker Justice by providing living wages and fair working conditions for frontline food workers; Racial Equity by establishing institutional food contracts with small-scale producers of color; Environmental Justice by demanding protections from food- and farm-related pollution for communities of color and frontline workers; and Transparency by advocating for public access to supply chain data and community involvement in policy implementation.
How can Philly could implement a similar policy?
Rendering of Oakland Central Kitchen; Image Source: www.overaa.com/projects
Establish a food production & Distribution facility
What is this? Centralized food production facility that trains and hires Philadelphians to grow and prepare food for City programs like School District, Rec Center, and Prison meals
What happens now? Philadelphia spends $25 million per year on food for recreation, summer, and after-school programs, shelters, and prisons. Only 5% ($1.25 million) goes to local sources.
What is the City's role? Establish a new facility to create jobs, source local food, support local growers, improve food quality, and improve labor practices
What is the community’s role? Work to grow and prepare food that will nourish Philadelphia residents
What are other cities doing? Unified School District Central Kitchen & Instructional Farm in Oakland is a new $40 million project, currently underway, that will create jobs and prepare 35,000 fresh, nutritious meals daily to help students - connecting nutrition, education, and community programs at schools, kitchens, gardens, and produce market stands.
What are the benefits? Provide jobs and job training for people with GED/High School degrees; create living-wage jobs in agriculture, food service, and education; increase local spending, investing tax dollars back into Philadelphia’s economy
Clark Park Farmers Market; Image Source: www.timeout.com
Nurture a network of city-supported farmers markets
What is this? Bring City-supported farmers markets with local and regional vendors to neighborhoods that are food insecure
What happens now? The Food Trust operates 20+ farmers markets in Philadelphia. The markets accept SNAP and Food Bucks to make fruits and vegetables more affordable. Additionally, Farm to City operates a number of markets, and there are neighborhood farms that operate markets and farm stands (e.g. Urban Tree Connection and Urban Creators).
What is the City's role? Provide new, affordable vending opportunities to local growers; provide transportation to market; provide EBT & transactional equipment, services, and training; ensure there is adequate public transportation to the markets
What is the community’s role? Connect interested growers to new vending opportunities and support; buy from local growers
What are other cities doing? The Baltimore Food Policy Initiative offers technical support to farmers markets by expanding SNAP outreach, developing permit and assistance benefits guides, and supporting local technical training programs for farmers’ market managers.
What are the benefits? Increase access to nutritious, locally grown, affordable food; keep money within the community
Quote from participant at first public meeting
Tell us what you think!
let's talk about SUPPLIES & INFRASTRUCTURE
Did you know Philadelphia already has a policy to create a more sustainable and just food system?
The Philadelphia Food Charter was established in 2011 to create a sustainable food and urban agriculture system in Philadelphia. It established the Food Policy Advisory Council (FPAC) that is composed of diverse, regional stakeholders to advise the City and create a more just food system. Their vision is a food system that provides affordable, healthy, sustainable, culturally appropriate, local, and fair food for all Philadelphians.
The citywide vision in Philadelphia 2035, the City’s comprehensive plan, calls for the City to “provide convenient access to healthy food for all residents.” The District Plans offer more concrete recommendations for how urban agriculture can play a role in neighborhoods across Philadelphia.
In 2016, over 100 urban farmers and food justice advocates attended a public hearing on urban agriculture, calling on the City to implement effective food policies.
Row of greens growing in soil; Image Source: Philadelphia Parks and Recreation
What is the problem? The City has struggled to implement food policies, the vision established by the Food Charter, and the recommendations of the Phila2035 Comprehensive Plan without a dedicated agency and adequate staff time focused on urban agriculture.
What’s the City doing to solve the problem? Currently FPAC and the implementation of the Food Charter are housed under the Office of Sustainability, and the City has just one full-time and permanent staff position dedicated to urban agriculture at Farm Philly within Philadelphia Parks and Recreation.
What else could the City do? Create an Office of Urban Agriculture at the City to provide centralized support for growers, advocate for and implement urban agriculture-related programs and policies, and increase the number of permanent positions dedicated to food policy and production.
What is the community’s role? Make good use of the resources provided by the Office of Urban Agriculture, provide direction to the agency and staff, and work in collaboration to produce resources that serve those most impacted by food insecurity.
What are other cities doing? AgLanta, a point of contact within Atlanta’s Department of City Planning, provides information on resources for growers including relevant policies, permits, funding opportunities, and training programs. AgLanta also runs the “Grows-A-Lot” program, which grants applicants access to vacant, city-owned property to establish urban farms and gardens. Pittsburgh's Adopt-a-Lot program, administered by the City's Open Space Specialist, has transformed over 10 acres of vacant land into community assets through 40 community-led, City-supported projects.
What are the benefits? Provide a one stop shop for growers to access resources; ensure consistency across City agencies in upholding urban ag policies; strengthen urban ag voices in City government; solidify urban agriculture as a viable and permanent land use, and recognized part of the community
What types of projects and programs could the Office of Agriculture spearhead?
Image Source: Erie Tool Lending Library
start a FARMING tool library for farmers & GARDENERS
What is this? A resource geared toward increasing food production across the city. Think of a tool lending library, seed library and seed saving facility, soil testing kits, education and storytelling center all in one. Residents who do not have access to the finances needed to purchase and maintain farming and gardening supplies will be able to utilize the resource center as a community-oriented space available to all Philadelphians.
What happens now? The West Philly Tool Library is a non-profit that loans tools to community members and teaches skills in a safe, affordable setting. Franny Lou's Porch hosts one or more seed swaps each year.
What else could the City do? Establish a free, farming tool library at the Fairmount Park Horticultural Center and a seed library within the Free Library
What is the community’s role? Build awareness about these new City resources; utilize the tools, seeds, and supplies, and request topics for workshops and trainings
What are other cities doing? The Oakland Public Library offers over 5,000 tools to borrow as well as guidelines for tool usage for both safety and the longevity of the tool.
What are the benefits? Increased affordable access to tools, supplies, and training; builds garden capacity and infrastructure
Image Source: The Enterprise Center
Launch a community kitchen for food businesses
What is this? Affordable commercial kitchen rentals for preparation, storage and equipment necessary to jump-start small community businesses
What happens now? The Dorrance H. Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprises (CCE) at 48th and Spruce supports established and start-up food businesses.
What else could the City do? Provide lower-cost options to help seed community food businesses
What is the community’s role? Connect emerging food businesses with this new public resource
What are other cities doing? Foodworks Culinary Center in Arcata, CA is a City-owned commercial kitchen that provides hourly and monthly kitchen rentals for small and start-up food manufacturers.
What are the benefits? Job training, certifications, and technical assistance in food safety, licensing, marketing, financing for emerging food businesses
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
let's talk about WASTE MANAGEMENT
Did you know Philadelphia already adopted a Zero Waste goal?
The 2017 Zero Waste Action Plan aims to move the City of Philadelphia toward a Zero Waste and litter-free future, and calls for a complete phase out of landfills by 2035. One of the key strategies of this plan is to divert organic materials (food scraps and yard waste) away from landfills and into compost.
What is the problem? Each year, Philadelphia throws out about 400,000 TONS of organic waste (food scraps and yard waste). This not only costs the City money; it adds to the landfill where it creates greenhouse gasses that contribute to climate change.
What’s Philadelphia doing to solve the problem? In 2019, Parks and Recreation started the Community Compost Network that supports composting at 12 sites across the city. Members of these communities are invited to compost their food and yard waste at these sites. There are several small, local, for-profit businesses that offer residential pick up of food waste for a fee.
What else could the City do? Offer free curbside compost service for residents to be picked up alongside trash and recycling
What is the community’s role? Educate neighbors about how and why to compost; use no-cost or low-cost nutrient rich compost to improve soil quality at community gardens and farms
What are other cities doing? The City of Minneapolis offers an opt-in, weekly curbside composting service for residents picked up alongside trash and recycling. Community gardens can also sign up to have low-cost or no-cost compost delivered to them.
In Baltimore, the youth-run Baltimore Compost Collective, provides residential compost pick-up for a monthly fee in select neighborhoods. Youth employees pick up food scraps, deliver them to the community-scale composting site, and convert these scraps into compost for use at a local community garden.
What are the benefits? Divert waste from landfills; provide a free alternative to private paid services; incur a cost to the City, but also offset the costs of waste removal and recycling; produce local compost to fuel community gardens; create greater and local community access to better quality soil; provide additional living-wage jobs within the Streets Department’s Sanitation Division
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
How can PHILLY COMMUNITIES HOLD THE City accountable FOR IMPLEMENTING AND ENFORCING ITS POLICIES?
Many of the policies that have been adopted by the City started out with the best intentions, but in practice they fall short of benefiting and prioritizing the communities they were meant to serve. This question is about accountability as the City enforces existing policies and takes on new initiatives and policies.
Thank YOU for your thoughts ABOUT IMPROVING OUR LOCAL FOOD SYSTEM AND POLICIES!
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