East Bay Urban Agriculture Challenges and Opportunities
Jennifer Sowerwine, Professor
Environmental Science, Policy and Management
Closed. This professor is continuing with Fall 2024 apprentices on this project; no new apprentices needed for Spring 2025.
Urban agriculture provides multiple benefits beyond food, including ecosystem services, community gathering spaces, educational learning opportunities, and physical, mental and emotional health benefits for those involved. Yet many urban farms and community gardens face challenges with accessing secure land, labor and other resources that can support the economic viability and ecological sustainability of their farming operations. Recently, the USDA Farm Service Agency and Natural Resource Conservation Service have launched urban agriculture pilot projects aiming to provide support for urban farmers. Building upon prior research of the Growing Roots team, this project seeks to bridge FSA/NRCS programs with urban farms and community gardens by a) identifying all urban farms/gardens in the East Bay Area, b) conducting an assessment of urban farms to determine their mission/goals, farm attributes, and challenges, c) analyzing and summarizing the assessment results to share back with urban farmers and FSA/NRCS staff, and d) convening interested farmers/community gardeners together with FSA/NRCS leads for shared learning to improve USDA programming for urban farmers.
Qualifications: Tasks will include the following:
• Identify and compile a comprehensive list of all urban farms (both for profit and not-for profit), and community gardens in the East Bay Area (Oakland, Emeryville, Berkeley, Albany, El Cerrito, Richmond, Pinole).
• Conduct web search and follow up phone interviews of identified urban farm and garden managers to identify farm size, location, number of garden participants, mission/goals/activities, and key challenges.
• Transcribe data and conduct preliminary analysis.
• Develop and populate information gathered about urban farms and community gardens into a Google spreadsheet.
• Work independently and participate in bi-weekly meetings; taking notes and identifying action items.
• Assist with planning an in-person gathering with urban farmers and FSA leads for information sharing and learning about resources to support their operations.
• Develop a listserv of interested urban farm and garden contacts.
Learning outcomes:
• To learn about the goals and challenges facing urban agriculture and community gardens in the San Francisco East Bay.
• To develop and apply skills in web searches, interviews, transcription, data entry, qualitative analysis, and presentations.
• To learn about USDA pilot programs (Farm Service Agency and Natural Resource Conservation Service) in support of urban farmers.
Specific qualifications
• Strong interest in urban agriculture and/or local food systems.
• Previous experience with research or event planning is a plus, but not a requirement.
• Experience with Excel or Google spreadhseets
• Excellent attention to detail and time management skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to interact respectfully with food system stakeholders and people from different backgrounds
Hours: to be negotiated
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Environmental Issues