http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/dining/07urban.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Urban Farmers' Crops Go From Vacant Lot to Market
Todd Heisler/The New York Times
By TRACIE McMILLAN
Published: May 7, 2008
IN the shadows of the elevated tracks toward the end of the No. 3
line in East New York, Brooklyn, with an April chill still in the
air, Denniston and Marlene Wilks gently pulled clusters of slender
green shoots from the earth, revealing a blush of tiny red shallots
at the base. "Dennis used to keep them big, and people didn't buy
them," Mrs. Wilks said. "They love to buy scallions."
Growing up in rural Jamaica, the Wilkses helped their families raise
crops like sugar cane, coffee and yams, and take them to market. Now,
in Brooklyn, they are farmers once again, catering to their
neighbors' tastes: for scallions, for bitter melons like those from
the West Indies and East Asia and for cilantro for Latin-American
dinner tables.
"We never dreamed of it," said Mr. Wilks, nor did his relatives in
Jamaica. "They are totally astonished when you tell them that you
farm and go to the market."
For years, New Yorkers have grown basil, tomatoes and greens in
window boxes, backyard plots and community gardens. But more and more
New Yorkers like the Wilkses are raising fruits and vegetables, and
not just to feed their families but to sell to people on their block.
This urban agriculture movement has grown even more vigorously
elsewhere. Hundreds of farmers are at work in Detroit, Milwaukee,
Oakland and other areas that, like East New York, have low-income
residents, high rates of obesity and diabetes, limited sources of
fresh produce and available, undeveloped land.
Local officials and nonprofit groups have been providing land,
training and financial encouragement. But the impetus, in almost
every case, has come from the farmers, who often till when their day
jobs are done, overcoming peculiarly urban obstacles. (see link for
rest of article)
--
Elan Shapiro
Sustainable Tompkins Community Partnership Coordinator
Sustainable Living Associates, Principal
Frog's Way B&B
211 Rachel Carson Way
Ithaca, NY 14850
607-275-0249 607-592-8402 Cell
"We must be the change we want to see in the world"
Mohandas Gandhi
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