Imagine, if you will, an urban farming program that grows food exclusively for those who need it most.
Now picture this program growing only a small variety of crops chosen specifically for their high nutrition value and abundance of harvest, rather than based on popularity or marketability.
Now what if this program engaged the residents from the nearby low income communities to come in and do the ongoing harvesting in exchange for keeping a portion of what they picked . . . 80% given to the agencies that feed people . . . 20% kept by those doing the picking.
What if this program dramatically lowered expenses by collecting valuable compostable materials from throughout the community such as leaves, grass clippings, and wood chips, as well as horse manure, fish from the nearby rivers, and other organic fertilizers. Now imagine two more things that are extremely important and integral to this program.
What if this entire program {including compensating the growers/farmers} could be funded without the need for any grants, donations, subsidies, or any cost to anyone at all . . . and yet still operates at full scale, entirely in the black? See “fund generating” section below.
What if this entire program, including the funding mechanism, could be easily and instantly duplicated and implemented all across the country?
That is Feed Dayton . . . The Feed Dayton Urban Farming Program. Read through the contents of this website and you will learn more about how all of this is possible. If you want to implement this program in your community, let us know, and we will be happy to help you get started.
How it all started:
The Feed Dayton Urban Farming Program was essentially started in 2008 when founder Ken Carman built a small garden in a former playground site at East Dayton Baptist Church. Capitalizing on the dark rich loam left over from years of wood chips that had been used in the playground, as well as bringing in a large load of aged horse manure, piles of leaves and grass clippings, Ken was able to produce and harvest an abundance of vegetables that included nearly fifty pounds of greens per week in support of the churches food delivery program.
Then, after purchasing a home just east of downtown Dayton, in early March of 2009, Ken created a beautiful garden at his new residence and began growing and giving away plants and food to residents in the surrounding neighborhood, as well as making substantial deliveries of greens to two food ministries.
Here it is 2010 and Feed Dayton has officially launched with a 7000 sq. ft. demonstration garden that will be used as a training and education center for area residents interested in growing their own food. A second 10,000 sq. ft. site has now also been started that will host 400 pepper plants along with some 2400 kale. Plans are also underway to add one or more much larger farm sites that will be capable of producing several thousand pounds of vegetables every week from late May all the way into fall. New gardening sites will be added each year and more food will be grown to help provide fresh nutritious vegetables to those in need in the Miami Valley.
The Feed Dayton Urban Farming Project is a win win win situation. It provides much needed nutrition in the form of fresh vegetables for members of our community who are struggling financially during today’s difficult times. It creates a way for vacant land to be put to productive use while lowering or eliminating the cost of taking care of these properties. It provides opportunities for those who are being served in various programs to give something back by working at one of the farm sites helping to harvest the crops that are being grown and distributed to the various food ministries throughout the city.
So what does the future hold? As few as twenty half acre plots could potentially produce as much as $1,000,000 worth of fresh fruit and vegetables each year. Harvesting compostable materials from vacant lots across the city could substantially reduce the cities expenditures on maintaining these properties, not to mention the reduced cost for maintaining those lots that will be farmed. Jobs will be created as well as many opportunities for those who are being served to give something back to the community and move one step closer to being productive members of our society. Wouldn’t it be wonderful for Dayton to be recognized once again as leading the way in something positive rather than being recognized for how far we have fallen from the glory days of old?
There are other cities that have paved the way for urban farming to prove itself successful, but with this plan to feed those who are struggling financially, while capitalizing on untapped community resources, we will be able to take urban farming to a whole new level and go where no city has ever gone before . . . we will lead the nation into a brighter new tomorrow.
Financing the program:
- Internet Advertising – we will be utilizing internet advertising opportunities that will allow people to support us in a totally painless way. We will earn commissions on purchases that would have been made anyway, where people are paying the same price for the same products that they would have purchased any where else. Read More . . .
- Direct Sales – This is another way for people to support us painlessly, except rather than relying on commissions, we would sell products directly to our base. This could be by ordering truckloads of bagged mulch, or Oranges and Grapefruit at Christmas time. We will pursue any opportunity to order a product in bulk, distribute it economically, and realize the full profit. Again we would only be selling products that people already purchase, at prices they are already paying.
- Services – Our primary focus here will be providing services for a fee, that provide a secondary benefit to our organization. The best example of this is where we would be paid to mow vacant lots, or clear yards of leaves, while capitalizing on the materials collected. In other words, we would find ways to get paid to go out and collect compostable materials for our farms.
- Selling Crops – Although we hope to never have to sell one leaf, pea, or bean from our primary crops, we would consider growing alternative cash crops at separate locations, especially if they are low maintaenance and have a minimal resource demand. A good example of such a crop would be rhubarb, because it would be easy to collect starts from area residents, requires minimal care and attention through most of the growing season, and it requires less resources than most crops because only the stems are harvested. The high nutrient leaves go back into the soil.
- Consulting/Speaking – Although the Feed Dayton vision is to be an organization that shares knowledge willingly and helps those who need it most, there will be opportunities in this venue too.
