Philadelphia Urban Agriculture Plan
Growing from the Root
Creating a comprehensive plan to support the continued collective growth and self-determination of urban agriculture in the city of Philadelphia.
About
In 2019, Farm Philly began a new initiative to develop the City’s first Urban Agriculture Plan, Growing from the Root. Growing from the Root is a 10-year comprehensive plan for a thriving local food system and economy with an urban agricultural foundation. The plan addresses the systems, structures, resources, and policies necessary to sustain and grow urban agriculture in Philadelphia and nurture a more just local food system. It is Philadelphia’s first urban agriculture plan, co-created with Philadelphia farmers, gardeners, and urban agriculture advocates. This plan builds on a history of agricultural practices that are rooted in Black, Indigenous, immigrant, and refugee communities; practices that have been nurtured across the City by residents for generations. In the words of the City’s many growers, urban agriculture heals communities and gives them a self-determined path to grow culturally-appropriate, affordable and nourishing food.
The purpose of the plan is to:
- Establish a 10-year framework for investing in agriculture and food justice
- Uplift Philadelphia’s rich history of urban farming and gardening
- Confront the legacy of structural racism and land-based oppression in the city
- Outline the resources, policies, processes, and programs necessary to sustain urban agriculture as a permanent use in Philadelphia for future generations
- Provide recommendations to the City of Philadelphia and its partners on how to best support, coordinate and strengthen their work and community work in urban agriculture
Growing from the Root is a plan commissioned by the City and grounded in community organizing. Philadelphia Parks & Recreation worked with community-based partners to co-develop the plan: Soil Generation, a Black and Brown grassroots agroecology coalition of Philadelphia growers and advocates, and Interface Studio, a Philadelphia-based city planning firm. This marked a new approach for Parks & Rec, bringing together planners, community advocates, and City staff to co-create a roadmap toward a more just local food system. Through the planning process, the planning team turned many years’ worth of feedback and work from residents, gardeners, and educators into actionable recommendations.
Philadelphia Parks & Recreation (Parks & Rec) led the plan’s development, but its success will rely on collaboration between many City agencies, grassroots and nonprofit organizations, philanthropic partners, growers and residents across the city. As a project of the City of Philadelphia with community values at the center, we are working to co-create a culturally competent and equity based approach to ensure residents most impacted are engaged and represented in the planning process. The project team carried out the process according to the values of transparency, racial and economic justice, and inclusion.
Who is this Plan for?
- Growers
- City Agencies
- Supporting Groups
- Philanthropic Partners
- Everyone
After years of learning, listening, and crafting, Farm Philly is excited to share Philadelphia’s first Urban Agriculture Plan.
Plan Documents
Get in touch
If you would like to get in touch with Parks & Recreations about the Plan and its progress, please email Ash Richards at ash.richards@phila.com and farmphilly@phila.com.
This page includes links to the Urban Agriculture Plan, in Spanish and English, as well as documents from the engagement process that informed its contents.
Goals For Philadelphia’s Food System:
- Land: Increase land security for growers, access to growing space in all neighborhoods, and stewardship of the land.
- Production: Build long-term support for urban agriculture initiatives into the City’s infrastructure, policies, and programs.
- Preparation & Distribution: Invest in existing and new local systems necessary to support a sustainable, just, and equitable food system in Philadelphia.
- Consumption: Build long-term support for locally sourced, nutritious meals and increased fresh food access into the City’s infrastructure, policies, and programs.
- Food Waste Reduction: Be accountable to existing zero-waste commitments and create new ones.
- People: Recognize the role urban agriculture can play in the lives and livelihoods of people and communities.
Public Engagement Process
Public Meeting #1
December 3, 2019
Public Meeting #2
March 22, 2021
Public Meeting #3
November 3, 2022
Planning for Urban Agriculture During COVID-19
Statement from March 2020
Crisis is not new for many communities in our city that have been struggling with health issues and food insecurity. The current pandemic has only worsened that reality, shining a light on the underlying structural inequalities that disproportionately impact Black and Brown communities in this city.
Amongst these hardships, we are also seeing an increase in community members growing food and many more expressing interest in learning the tools and practices of agriculture. Our communities have long been growing as a means to become more self-reliant and resilient to the shocks to our global food system. The practices of community gardening and farming have been an integral part of survival and independence for communities for generations, and we hope to underscore the urgency to continue supporting that work.
Quotes from the Urban Agriculture Community
