Canada: Victoria urban farm looks to cultivate sustainable city-sourced food system

New Vic West micro farm owners hope to inspire movement of youth growers

By Jake Romphf
Sooke News Mirror
Mar 26, 2024

Excerpt:

Now under a single banner, FED is committed to continue showing that a sustainable urban farm can be a revenue driver. But it also aims to prove the urban agriculture model can push back against industrialization of the food system and the disconnect between people and what they eat.

FED runs several food-growing education programs around Victoria, but having the farm allows them to engage more people in urban agriculture by running more workshops, scaling up production and bringing on more volunteers.

“We had been looking for our own land for years and always basically just wanted this,” said Brianna Stewart, FED’s program manager, referring to the Vic West site. “We’re really trying to demonstrate sustainable agriculture and using land that would otherwise just be sitting here vacant.”

The Island used to produce 85 per cent of its own food, but now only produces around a tenth of what residents consume. In the last two decades alone, Statistics Canada data shows the country’s total farmland fell by at least eight per cent, while B.C. saw an 11 per cent reduction during that time.

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