Imagine large gardens in every neighborhood.
Imagine neighborhoods that grow enough fresh vegetables and fruit to provide for the people who live there.
Imagine yourself growing a large chunk of that food.
Imagine organizing friends and neighbors to grow the food needed in your neighborhood.
Imagine growing enough food to bring home 1 to 3 thousand dollars a week.
Imagine a better world with you a part of it.
Imagine yourself at AJ Rocco's [1] this Thursday, 6 o'clock.
In an effort to continue a discussion begun at the NorthEast Ohio Food Congress 2 weeks ago, I [(Josh Klein)] want to invite you to a discussion about increasing urban agricultural production; specifically to discuss what will it take to grow enough produce to supply a City Fresh Fresh Stop, multiple restaurants, the CMSD central kitchen, local universities or to sell at a local farmers' market. Basically, we want to find out what it will take to get large scale urban agriculture up and running in Cleveland.
It is widely believed that attaining a high level of food security requires the bulk of our fresh fruits and vegetables to be grown as nearby as possible.
What will it take to claim our share of the $35 billion that is spent on food in Ohio every year?
Can we do it alone or are cooperative/collective efforts in order?
There is a demand- are you the supply? Can you help create the supply?
We all bring skills to the table whether we are farmers/gardeners or not.
Do you work with youth? Are you a young person yourself? Should youth play an integral part in developing urban ag?
Opportunities for large scale urban farming are ripe in Cleveland, let's pick 'em!
We in Cleveland are lucky enough to have a population decline, hereby increasing our available space for agricultural production. We also have many supportive individuals, non-profit organizations. Property values are at 1950s prices or better. More space is being created daily as houses are demolished.
Brainstorming, collaborating and idea sharing are definitely on the agenda. If you have a specific idea for an agenda topic at this meeting, please email it ahead of time [get.on.board.cityfresh(at)gmail.com] so that we may organize the discussion accordingly.
RSVP: Josh Klein [get.on.board.cityfresh(at)gmail.com]
Links:
[1] http://www.ajroccos.com/
[2] http://www.localfoodcleveland.org/forum/topics/increasing-urban-ag-production
[3] http://maps.google.com?q=41.498593+-81.686303+%28816+Huron+Rd%2C%2C+Cleveland+%2C+OH%2C+44115%2C+us%29