Urban Agriculture as a Career Path

DETROIT -- "I want to be an urban farmer," said Tom Howe, 19, a freshman
at Wayne State University. "I want to start a community garden in some
kind of ecovillage with farmers and chefs."

This may seem an unusual career goal for a young man of the
twenty-first century, let alone one from Birmingham, an upscale middle
class suburb of Detroit. It's also counter-intuitive that a major
university located in the middle of the cultural center could offer
Howe a means to his aspirations.

But Howe is a member of WSU's Sustainable Food Systems Education and
Engagement in Detroit or "SEED Wayne" for short, a program that was
instituted last May.

SEED Wayne calls for a critical assessment of the conventional food
system and its relationship to the health of local communities,
economies, environments, and cultures, said Kami Pothukuchi, associate
professor of geography and urban planning at WSU and the founder of the
largest inner-city campus with a comprehensive food systems program
that is not run by an agriculture school.

"SEED Wayne also challenges students and others to examine the broader
implications of their food choices," she said.

For example, Pothukuchi teaches how a "community-based food system"
revolves around local farmers, processors and distributors who produce
fresh and value-added products.

Pothukuchi, who is among a handful of professional urban planners who
see local agriculture and urban farming as a valuable tool for regional
economic development, said that community-based agriculture has the
potential for creating jobs, developing small business
entrepreneurships and keeping precious dollars in the community.

"Michigan has the second most diverse agriculture in the United States
[with 150 crops]," she said. "We could add another $2.58 billion to the
state's economy if we increased production of local food by another 10
percent."

Consequently, SEED Wayne is dedicated to contributing to building a
sustainable food system on campus and in the Detroit area, said
Pothukuchi. It works with a number of community partners to promote
food security, urban agriculture, farm-to-institution programs, and
food planning and policy development.

Among its partners are the Ford Mother Company Fund, which contributed
$100,000, The Henry Ford, AVI Foodsystems, Inc. (WSU dining service),
Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, City Connect Detroit (funding
opportunities service). Other partners include members of the Detroit
Agricultural Network, a collection of organizations that promotes the
city's urban gardens such as Greening of Detroit, Forgotten Harvest
(food rescue service), the Capuchin Soup Kitchen and Earthworks.

Howe's first exposure to the city's urban gardens occurred at
Earthworks when he volunteered to work in its 1,300-square-foot
greenhouse as part of his high school service requirement while he was
a student at the University of Detroit-Jesuit. The greenhouse produces
and distributes more than 100,000 vegetable seedlings for the city's
355 backyard, community, and school gardens.

Earthworks was started in 1997 by Brother Rick Samyn after he noticed
that the poor were buying their food at gas stations, and kids were
calling Coke and chips a meal. He began a small garden on a vacant lot
and two years later developed six other lots by removing debris and
regenerating the soil with compost.

Today the gardens supply fresh, organic produce for the Capuchin Soup
Kitchen, which prepares 2,000 meals per day. They also provide 25
million pounds of food a year, equivalent to 65,000 meals per day to
the Gleaners Community Food Bank, another Capuchin spin-off.

As a student at WSU, Howe still volunteers at Earthworks once a month,
but he also helps to grow and sell vegetables at the WSU farmers market
which operates on the fourth Wednesday during the summer months.

"I love seeing people and vendors talking together [at the farmers
market]," said Howe.

Senior Kristina Stonehill, 22, an English and anthropology major,
decided to participate in SEED Wayne's garden program because a friend
recruited her. As a commuter school, WSU students need to find a reason
to stay on campus after they finish their classes, she said, and
learning how to grow herbs and vegetables is a good reason.

The Warrior Demo Garden (named after the university's mascot) provides
fresh produce for the campus cafeterias as well as the city's food
assistance programs.

Students volunteer to maintain the garden on Wednesdays (5 to 6 p.m.)
and Saturday mornings (10 to 11 a.m.). They use the garden as a means
of informing and recruiting curious passersby about SEED Wayne's
programs and principles.

"SEED Wayne is really accepting of anyone who wants it," said
Stonehill. "It's not an exclusive club."

Moreover, gardening for Stonehill has become a way of getting dirty,
being outside and watching vegetables grow--quite a satisfying
combination of activities to complement a busy academic and work
schedule.

"It's also a nice problem solving exercise where I learn not to be
frustrated that the tomatoes are not as big as I want them or that I
find bugs on the squash plants," she said.
"And knowing how to eat and learning how to grow your own food allows
you to cut your food costs."

Will Ahee, 20, also began gardening at Earthworks when he was a student
at U of D-Jesuit. He is now a junior in environmental science and
Pothukuchi's assistant in charge of SEED Wayne.

"Urban students who feel cut off from nature are finding that food has
become a vehicle to re-connect with it," he said. "Gardens allow people
to serve but they also help people share their knowledge and connect
with others."

One of the unique aspects of SEED Wayne, especially pertinent to a city
like Detroit, is its social justice mission. Detroit has the
distinction of being the nation's poorest big city where nearly 33
percent of the residents live below the federal poverty line, according
to the U.S. Census Bureau (2004).

"Healthy food needs to be available to all people, said Ahee. "It is a
fundamental right,"

Ahee said he could have gone to Michigan State University to learn
sustainable agriculture practices, but he was attracted to Detroit
where there is so much economic struggle and not much access to healthy
food.

"I knew I wanted to give service," said Ahee, "but I also wanted
something that would have lasting change. Helping someone learn how to
grow food does it for me."

WSU students are emblematic of today's growing national trend where
young people are looking for ways to make a difference in their world.
While their parents were more interested in political movements, this
generation is more interested in personal action where individuals can
get involved in doing something.

The future of the environment is college students' particular concern
and SEED Wayne is helping to provide its students with opportunities to
learn about and experiment with sustainable food production.