If you haven’t heard the term Agrihood, you are not alone. It was new to me when I recently heard it, but then I found out it has been around since 2014. Way out on the west coast, a Southern California residential development was planned around a shared farm as an amenity. Think of a community garden or farmer’s market based in your local subdivision. The concept usually includes designated areas for conservation/preservation to better protect the local ecosystem. The approach is vastly different from what the focus of many of our planned communities is designed around: amenities like golf courses, waterparks, courts, and clubhouses.
While this may seem like a new idea, it is actually a very ancient agricultural concept. Like over 10,000 years ago in what was known as the Neolithic Age. It is believed that early agrarian societies were first developed in the Middle East. Then much later, here in America, growing food was the primary source of livelihood for Native American tribes, followed by the colonists. President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the Morrill Act of 1862, which set aside funds for land-grant universities and colleges to expand agricultural practices and education. A brief summary of how that played out in Florida can be at https://ifas.ufl.edu/history/.
Agrihoods vary by style of management. Some are governed by the homeowners as a community garden or a collection of designated beds, and others hire horticultural professionals using funds from HOA dues. Whoever it may be, someone has to tackle the cultivation, soil quality, weeds, fungus and pests on a routine basis, and that is not including storm preparation and cleanup. A number of agrihoods that thrive outside of growing shared food crops amongst residents have found ways to recoup farming expenses. By selling to restaurants and outside groups through subscriptions, they share the harvest to help mitigate operational expenses. In great abundance, the surplus is often donated to local schools and food pantries.
Since 2018, there have been 200 Agrihood locations established in 28 states. An online search revealed that the first claimed agrihood, Pine Dove Farm, was established in southeastern Tallahassee. Since then, others have emerged in North Tampa (Angeline Farm), Palm City (Newfield Farm), and Orlando (The Grow and Sunbridge). Currently, there is a proposed Agrihood in Clay County located in Green Cove Springs. Named Saratoga Springs, the project encompasses 2,240 acres, which will be home to 4,500 properties. The Farm at Okefenokee (www.okefarm.com), located in Folkston, Georgia, takes the Agrihood concept a bit further. The development doubles as both a resort and residence with a focus on regenerative farming. This holistic, unconventional approach embraces organic agriculture, where the earth is best left unharmed and untilled if possible.
And while all of this sounds like the perfect blend of home ownership wrapped in the good deed of sustainability, it is not accessible to everyone. The startup, evaluation and maintenance costs can be exorbitant. Testing for soil and water quality and combating plant disease come with a price tag. It is admirable for those who can afford to live in these communities, side by side with others who share similar values.
Outside the land of Agrihoods, access to fresh, unprocessed food is almost always a matter of locality and the resources, or the lack thereof, available to that specific area. Community gardens build and sustain neighborhoods throughout the country in many different ways.
Private landowners can cultivate or offer other gardeners the space to produce edible food for their area residents. Cities like Detroit, Seattle, Houston and Miami have all adopted local food gardens in places where former vacant lots served only as eyesores to the community. Colorado’s Grow & Give initiative helps their local gardeners match up donations to the needs list of local pantries through a phone app. In Volusia County, Florida, a coalition of giving gardens offers up ideas and advice from their website to guide the produce to their residents. And your local extension office doubles as a community garden and a place where you can learn how to develop one in your section of town. (Learn more at: https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/duval/lawns-gardens-and-trees/duval-county-urban-gardening-program/duval-community-gardens/.) And if you are curious as to what other resources are currently available throughout Northeast Florida, visit: https://www.flgardening.com/community-gardens-in-florida/.
There are vegetables that perform well in our devastatingly hot and humid summers here. Sweet potatoes, cherry tomatoes, peas and okra keep producing, and healthy pepper and eggplant crops leftover from the spring can also add to the bounty. With enough involvement, the farm-to-table dining movement can return as an essential staple in communities regardless of your income level. Growing food and sharing the harvest need not look identical between two countries, two states, two counties or two neighborhoods. I believe one of the greatest acts of humanitarianism is when the majority of people are willing to lend uncompromising support to prevent future food insecurities.
Candace Barone is a Master Gardener Volunteer with the Duval County Extension Service and the University of Florida/IFAS. For gardening questions, call the Duval County Extension Office at (904) 255-7450 from 9 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and ask for a Master Gardener Volunteer.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: What are ‘agrihoods’? These new communities grow fresh food
Reporting by Candace Barone, For the Jacksonville Florida Times-Union USA TODAY NETWORK / Florida Times-Union
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