Homegrown

While being home for the first time…well, in a pretty long time I've reconnected with some old friends and done some exploring. As I have talked about, my grandparents grew up in the lower-east side of Detroit. My grandmother's street, Algonquin, was right near the Hudson Motors plant. Every Hudson that came off the line would take a first test drive down Algonquin to make sure everything was running right.

Hudson Motors is long gone as are countless manufacturing jobs. Detroit's population, once 3 million, is now around 800 thousand. What's a city to do with a surplus of land, dwindling population and an unofficial unemployment rate of 55%? Some people think urban farming is the answer.

The old Packard plant, future farm?

This movement came to my attention from an article in the Atlantic, "19 people risking their reputations, fortunes, and lives in pursuit of big ideas." One of the 19 was John Hantz. Mr. Hantz has committed $30m to creating the world's largest urban farm right here in Detroit.

This struck me immediately as a real solution to what ails Detroit. It's not banging the drum of bringing back manufacturing jobs, a post-war era dream that will never be replicated. It deals with the huge surplus of land in the city and eventually could bring some value back to real estate. It would create healthy, fresh food for the city's residents. Education for children and families about agriculture and healthier living. Not a bad idea for one of the country's fattest states. Not to mention reducing the monetary and environmental costs of getting our produce from Peru, Mexico, Argentina and the like.

Hantz Farms sparked my interest, and then I learned that this movement is underway and growing. I attended an Urban Agriculture Summit put together by the Engineering Society of Detroit. The keynote speaker was Daniel Carmody, president of Eastern Market. The various panels included many speakers on zoning, finance, environmental and geological issues, different farming methods and job creation. A full day of information and I learned a lot.

Did you know that Manhattan, Boston and San Francisco together could all fit within the city limits of Detroit? We have a lot of land and few people. There is an estimated 30 thousand acres of vacant land currently in the city. As a farming state, Michigan has the 2nd most diverse set of crops after California. Detroit has some of the best soil in the state.

While urban farming is a trendy idea, it's not new. During the second World War, Americans were encouraged to plant "victory gardens." In 1944, 40% of all consumed produce in the US was grown in these local victory gardens. This was news to me, so I asked my grandparents if they remembered this:

"Oh sure!" they both replied. Bumpa even laughed and said, "I remember planting red geraniums in the center of our garden in the shape of a 'V' for victory."

In a generation we went from almost everyone knowing how to grow their own food to almost nobody knowing how to grow their own food. But the tide is slowly shifting. Today, there are 55 schools and 250 families in Detroit participating in farm projects and about 1,220 farms in the city.

This Saturday, I went to Eastern Market to check it out. They have expanded and there was a lot of Michigan produce and artisanal food products. Even still, there were pomegranates from Peru and strawberries from California. It seems there's an opportunity for more local farmers to sell their product to the public. And in a town where you're looked down upon for driving an import, I'm sure the locals would be happy to buy homegrown food.

Of course, there are always obstacles. Legal issues are still being debated (specifically over, the Right to Farm Act of 1981). Some areas of the city have excessive lead in the soil and there are studies as to how that effects potential crops. Irrigation issues and the cost of using city water. All things that need to be addressed, and judging by the thoughtful people on these panels, I think they are.

Education. Jobs. Wholesome food. Cleaning up the city.

Sounds good to me.