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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 – 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 – 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