For-profit urban farming growing

Austin noted as growth spot

Vilas Bhuchar, Jun 14, 10.

Interest in for-profit urban farming has been growing in cities nationwide, including Austin, Seattle, Detroit, Indianapolis, and San Francisco, according to Eat, Drink, and Be.

Unlike urban gardening in which individuals and non-profits growing produce for themselves and others, in these examples people pay a fee to for-profit urban farmers for direct access to their products, notes the story, and entrepreneurs throughout the country are trying to build thriving enterprises around the business model.

“There’s enormous and unmet demand by individuals within Indianapolis for locally produced fruits and vegetables,” Matthew Jose, the founder and owner of Big City Farms LLC, said to the Indianapolis Business Journal, adds the story.

As demand for locally-grown food increases, urban farmers hope industry profits move upward too, notes the story:

“This is a question I ask myself quite frequently: Is this something I expect to make a livable wage from?” said Noelani Alexander, owner of City Grown, an urban farming operation in Seattle, to the Seattle Times. “At this point, it seems difficult.”

Urban farmers hope to see more benefits in the long-term as locally-grown food grows in popularity.

“We would love to see sustainable agriculture in the city be something people could make a living off,” Alexander said to the Seattle Times.

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(Photo credit: Warmest Regards)