We met with some city planners yesterday to talk about about city policy and how it affects urban farmers and what needs to happen to change that policy. The two main things we discussed were finding policy precedents and reporting about them back to the city and holding a public Read more
I know. I’m a bad blogger. Respect to you who do this daily. Though hopefully you get some people time in there, too. Lots has happened (not all work), so no time to write it seems. The UFN is now an official external working group of the Food Policy Council. Read more
So I need to reflect on the Jan 30 meeting a bit to process what was achieved. The Hopes and Fears exercise really demonstrated people’e desire to work together. This will be important in determining the success of the network. It also demonstrated the fear of the network not being Read more
So on January 30 we had our second urban farmer meeting in an effort to develop an urban farming network. This meeting was meant to act as a chance to more clearly define our shared goals and visions. It was attended by about 25 urban farmers on a cold but Read more
I have been thinking a bit about subsidies lately. I kind of like them. Especially for small growers. I was thinking that we need to be careful about how we talk about subsidies. We often have a negative take on them, especially when contrasting local food with imported food. “Imported Read more
What a brilliant two days for urban farming in Vancouver! Will Allen has been in town for the past two days and it has been a great time! Last night we had an intimate Q and A with him and about 30-40 urban farmers at Chapel Arts. He actually asked Read more
This Sunday (Jan, 30, 2011) is our next scheduled urban farmer meeting. I am excited and also nervous about how it will go! we have about 17 people RSVP’d so far and hope for a few more in the next couple days. This is actually an exciting week for urban Read more
It’s so hard to get back in gear after the holidays! But lot’s is going on so I should try and keep up on the blog! On Thursday, Wes and I and Shirley (BOB CEO) met with Vancity to discuss how they can help move the development of an urban Read more
Well, we met with a facilitator today to start structuring the working groups and how to carry forward. It was good to have a little structure suggested to keep us on track. So now we are going to come up with a one page mission document so as to guide Read more
So nearly a month after the urban farmer meeting we are ready to release the summary document and project introduction. I have pasted the Executive Summary here with a link to the full pdf below: Advancing Urban Farming in Vancouver Executive Summary As Canadians become more and more aware of Read more