Farm The City
A Toolkit for Setting Up a Successful Urban Farm
Michael Ableman
An essential primer from one of North America’s largest urban farms.
Urban farming has the power to change diets, economies, and lives. Yet starting an urban farm can seem daunting with skills and knowledge that extend beyond growing to include marketing, sales, employees, community relations, and navigating local regulations.
In Farm the City, Michael Ableman, offers a guide to setting up and running a successful urban farm, derived from the success of Sole Food Street Farms, one of the largest urban agriculture enterprises in North America. Sole Food Street Farms spans four acres of land in Vancouver, produces 25 tons of food annually, provides meaningful work for dozens of disadvantaged people, and has improved the surrounding community in countless ways.
Farm the City is an invaluable tool kit for entrepreneurs and activists looking to create economic and social value through urban agriculture.
Resources
Sole Food Farms – Fresh Sheet Screenshot
Sole Food Farms – New Client Package
New client package for Sole Food’s restaurant customers.
Sole Food Farms – 2016 Harvest Log
This Excel-based spreadsheet details harvest and yield from all Sole Food sites in 2016.
Sole Food Farms – 2015 Annual Report
Sole Food Farms / Cultivate Canada 2015 Annual Report
Sole Food Farms – 2016 Annual Report
Sole Food Farms / Cultivate Canada annual report, 2016.
Sole Food Farms – Pacific farm site plan
Architectural drawings for our Pacific and Carrall St. Farm.
Sole Food Farms – 2016 Farm Plan
2016 farm plan from our headquarters farm at Pacific and Carrall in Vancouver.
Sole Food Farms – Project Report “Demonstrating Value”
Final project report from the 2013 Queens MBA study on Sole Food Farms. The report documents social metrics used by Sole Food Farms to demonstrate the social value of our work. In 2018 this research was updated by Quest University.
Sole Food Farms – Order Sheet
The output from our Google Sheets Fresh Sheet. This is suitable for restaurant sales with 1-20 customers
Sole Food Farms – Fresh Sheet
A screen capture from our Google Forms based fresh sheet.
Sole Food Farms – Post Harvest Handling
Post harvest handling documentation created by Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA). Document includes optimal holding temperatures for a variety of products and plans for a portable cooler.
Sole Food Farms – Market Take Sheet Template
An Excel-based worksheet for tracking market inventory, sell-out times, and returns. Use in conjunction with the Harvest log to track overall farm production and sales.
Sole Food Farms – Seeding Chart
An Excel-based seeding chart used to plan out seeding throughout the season.
Sole Food Farms – Draft Farm Plan
A simple graphic map created in Excel to assist with visualizing the farm plan.
Sole Food Farms – Seed Inventory
An simple Excel worksheet used to maintain a seed inventory.
Sole Food Farms – Pacific Planting Plan
A detailed planting plan used at our former headquarters at Pacific and Carrall St. next to False Creek near downtown Vancouver.
Sole Food Farms – Fruit Tree Container Design Drawing
A design drawing showing dimensions of our fruit tree containers.
Sole Food Farms – Vernon and Main St. Development Permits
A package containing the development permits and attachments for two of our city-owned sites, Main St. and Vernon St.
Sole Food Farms – Main St. Lease
The actual text of Sole Food’s original lease with the City of Vancouver for our Orchard at Main and Terminal in Vancouver. A revised lease was signed in 2016 to reflect changes made when Vancouver’s first Temporary Modular Housing complex was installed adjacent to our orchard.
Sole Food Farms – Lease Presentation
A brief presentation for potential landlords describing Sole Food’s business model and the benefits that urban agriculture established onto vacant lots offers for local communities and landlords.
Startup Budget
A simple budget to estimate startup costs for an urban farm
Sole Food Pro Forma with Capital Cashflow
Prepared in advance of our first expansion, this Microsoft Excel workbook includes blue-sky projections for future growth.