Description
Growing healthy food for people and the environment
Growing healthy food in a sustainable way is popular in Minneapolis. Local food means fewer greenhouse gas emissions from transporting it. Sustainable urban growing also benefits the environment and human health. It supports our water and soil quality and helps pollinators.
Sustainable practices include:
- Using compost
- Attracting pollinators
- Managing pests without pesticides
We also try to make the growing season longer. To do that, we grow food in energy-efficient, controlled environments. Some ways to do this are by using hoop houses and deep winter greenhouses. Season extension increases how much food we can grow. It also helps us rely less on produce shipped from faraway places.
Indicators
Indicators help us track our progress towards our goals. The indicators for this strategy are:
- Residents with improved access to sustainable, locally grown, healthy food
- Access to food
- Access to edible plants
What we’re doing now
Homegrown Minneapolis supports sustainable urban agriculture by:
- Contracting with community organizations to support growing projects
- Coordinating the Garden Lease Program
- Changing policies to allow more flexibility for urban growing
- Working to make more land available and/or for a longer time
To address inequity in food access, we focus on underserved communities. This includes neighborhoods with high populations of low-income residents and residents of color. This also includes the Green Zones.
Learn more about the work of Homegrown Minneapolis
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