FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Laura Zaks

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

lzaks@sustainableagriculture.net 

Tel. 347.563.6408

Release: NSAC Praises Introduction of the Supporting Urban & Innovative Farming Act of 2023 

Washington, DC, July 28, 2023 – Today, Senators John Fetterman (D-PA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) introduced the Supporting Urban & Innovative Farming Act (S.2591). This bill expands support for urban, suburban, and rural farmers through programmatic reforms to improve the content and delivery of technical assistance to urban and innovative producers, increases access to grant funds among farmers, and scales composting and food waste initiatives spearheaded by the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production.

“Since its launch in 2020, the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP) has invested over $50 million in urban, suburban, and rural areas, strengthening networks of growers and consumers through infrastructure, education, and local planning initiatives. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) applauds the introduction of the Supporting Urban & Innovative Farming Act, which takes significant steps to build upon the initial success of OUAIP, provide tailored technical assistance and conservation planning to urban and innovative growers, and scale to meet the rapidly growing demand for OUAIP and its associated activities,” commented Hannah Quigley, NSAC Policy Specialist, in response to the introduction of the Supporting Urban & Innovative Farming Act.

The 2018 Farm Bill authorized a new Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP) whose mission is to encourage and promote urban, indoor, and other innovative agricultural practices. While the name implies a restriction to urban areas, OUAIP supports a wide array of agricultural producers and businesses that lend themselves to urban environments but that have been adopted in both suburban and rural areas. OUAIP promotes a variety of practices such as community gardens, outdoor vertical production, greenhouses, indoor farms, hydroponic facilities, and more. 

Small and micro-scale agriculture and innovative agricultural production techniques have become increasingly popular in urban and suburban areas as a means for beginning growers to gain experience in farm production as well as to meet the immediate food needs of their surrounding communities. OUAIP has provided grant funding to support these producers and has also facilitated the cultural shift necessary in broader USDA services to respond to the unique needs of urban, innovative and indoor operations. 

The Supporting Urban and Innovative Farming Act seeks to support urban, suburban, and rural farmers by:

• Increasing collaboration among USDA Departments, State, Tribal, and local agencies to deliver tailored business technical assistance and conservation planning that addresses the unique barriers and needs of smaller operations or those in indoor environments,
• Utilizing trusted community partnerships to lead outreach and delivery of services through cooperative agreements,
• Expanding access to grant funds to agricultural cooperatives and producer networks and through micro-grant offerings to supplement effective education and training with small but impactful financial investments,
• Enabling communities to scale composting and food waste initiatives to develop food waste-to-energy projects, 
• Conducting overdue research on urban, indoor, and emerging agricultural production to understand the impact of such farms and businesses, 
• And providing mandatory funding to sustain the growth of activities.

“Through the production of fresh, healthy, culturally appropriate food, urban farms are actively fighting against food apartheid in their communities. But growing food is just one component of their significance; urban farms serve as important job training sites for the next generation of growers, provide stormwater infiltration, cool entire neighborhoods from the urban heat island effect, sequester carbon, divert waste from landfills, create spaces where kids can breathe easier and where the supply chain is a walk around the block. The investment in urban agriculture proposed in the Supporting Urban and Innovative Farming Act of 2023 acknowledges and celebrates the critical role urban farms play in our food systems,” said Hannah Smith-Brubaker, Executive Director of Pasa Sustainable Agriculture, an NSAC member. 

“The Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production supports more than just agriculture in urban areas. Like in New Mexico, a very rural state with 23 tribal/sovereign communities, we receive support from the Office to support ‘farmer innovation’ in rural communities who are looking to connect to urban markets. This program is key to building new relationships and supporting collaboration among farmers, food hubs and market opportunities for farmers based on where they are and where they want to take their operation,” said Pam Roy with Farm to Table, an NSAC member.

“In the Chicago area, we have seen major growth of urban agriculture projects, farms, organizations, and incubators. They have been stitching together funding, resources, and support from many different sources”, said Rodger Cooley, Executive Director with Chicago Food Policy Action Council, an NSAC member. “Even with these limited resources, they’ve been able to convert empty lots and spaces into thriving community assets for job training, food production, composting, youth education, habitat, stormwater management, and healthy food access sites.  With the resources in the Supporting Urban and Innovative Farming Act, urban agriculture projects will be able to rapidly expand these positive impacts for urban communities across the country.”

Endorsed by:

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, CEA Alliance, Fair Food Network, PASA Sustainable Agriculture, ReImagine Appalachia, RAFI-USA, Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, Chicago Food Policy Action Council, Produce Perks Midwest, Farm to Table NM, Local Matters, Ohio Association of Foodbanks, and Michigan Food & Farming Systems

 The bill text can be found here.

###

About the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is a grassroots alliance that advocates for federal policy reform supporting the long-term social, economic, and environmental sustainability of agriculture, natural resources, and rural communities. Learn more and get involved at: https://sustainableagriculture.net