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Policy Platform 2011-2012
Urban agriculture in San Francisco is gaining extraordinary momentum -- from the dozens of organizations beginning new gardens and educational programs to the hundreds of people signing up for waiting lists at community gardens in neighborhoods foggy and sunny alike. These projects not only grow healthy, accessible food, but reduce waste and promote water conservation throughout the city.
In response to this growing movement, the San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance (SFUAA) was established in 2010. The SFUAA brings together the urban agricultural community in San Francisco as a united voice to promote the growing of food within San Francisco and the related goals of our member organizations, through advocacy, education, and grassroots action.
San Francisco is at a critical moment when the support and vision of city agencies, organizations, and policies can ensure thriving urban agriculture in San Francisco. The SFUAA will work with local officials and communities in San Francisco to address the following three most critical needs:
In order to address these needs, the SFUAA will work to achieve the following goals in 2011 and 2012:
In response to this growing movement, the San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance (SFUAA) was established in 2010. The SFUAA brings together the urban agricultural community in San Francisco as a united voice to promote the growing of food within San Francisco and the related goals of our member organizations, through advocacy, education, and grassroots action.
San Francisco is at a critical moment when the support and vision of city agencies, organizations, and policies can ensure thriving urban agriculture in San Francisco. The SFUAA will work with local officials and communities in San Francisco to address the following three most critical needs:
- Expand Organizational Capacity of Urban Agriculture in SF
- Increase Access to Land
- Improve Access to Resources
In order to address these needs, the SFUAA will work to achieve the following goals in 2011 and 2012:
- Identify existing public funding for urban agriculture by the end of the summer of 2011
- Understand the utilization of community gardens throughout SF by the end of 2011
- Activate 2 gardens on land identified in the San Francisco Land Audit (2010) by 2012
- 12 by ’12 – Create 12 new spaces for urban agriculture throughout the City by the end of 2012 (including, but not limited to, plot-based community gardens, communally-managed urban farms, and market gardens)
- Create 1 garden resource center in every supervisorial district of San Francisco by 2012
SFUAA Platform Goals and Objectives
Approved at the June 2011 Meeting of the SFUAA
EXPAND ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY: In recent years, the urban agriculture movement has grown project by project, neighborhood by neighborhood. City-wide planning and community support can ensure access to growing healthy food for all of San Francisco’s residents in a coordinated, efficient way.
To increase the number of gardens and the impact of existing gardens, the SFUAA supports the creation of a new entity that can provide a range of services including:
We envision this entity working closely with city agencies, but not housed within any city agency. The entity could potentially be housed within an appropriate existing non-profit The funding for the organization would come, in part, from the city.
LAND: Provide access to underutilized land in San Francisco for urban agriculture with an emphasis on land that provides long-term tenure, rather than temporary use.
RESOURCES: Ensure accessibility, efficiency and fairness in the distribution and use of both material and financial resources for agriculture in San Francisco. Support policies and initiatives that provide jobs in urban agriculture.
EXPAND ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY: In recent years, the urban agriculture movement has grown project by project, neighborhood by neighborhood. City-wide planning and community support can ensure access to growing healthy food for all of San Francisco’s residents in a coordinated, efficient way.
To increase the number of gardens and the impact of existing gardens, the SFUAA supports the creation of a new entity that can provide a range of services including:
- Improve access to land through identification of appropriate space for food production and provide access to land
- Lease land/Serve as land manager (hold liability for private-property garden sites and/or steward public land)
- Raise and distribute money to further urban agriculture
- Coordination (e.g., “filtering” help requests, arbor day, earth day)/Information clearing house
- Collect data (e.g., total food production measures for the city, other metrics)
- Serve as fiscal sponsor
We envision this entity working closely with city agencies, but not housed within any city agency. The entity could potentially be housed within an appropriate existing non-profit The funding for the organization would come, in part, from the city.
LAND: Provide access to underutilized land in San Francisco for urban agriculture with an emphasis on land that provides long-term tenure, rather than temporary use.
- Develop Urban Agriculture Resource Centers: create garden resource centers throughout the city to provide access to compost, mulch, manure, tools, starts, etc.
- Improve Existing Community Gardens: Work in partnership with community gardens and the RPD throughout San Francisco to identify the top community garden needs and determine maximum utilization of current community garden space
- Identify and Activate New Public Land for Gardens:
a. PUC: Work in partnership with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to identify PUC land suitable to support urban agriculture and promote a strong urban agriculture land use policy within the PUC.
b. Land audit: in 2010 the SFUAA helped review an audit of city land available for urban agriculture. The SFUAA recognizes that there are some information gaps in this audit but it is key that the city moves forward with making the current land audit public and creates a path for communities to access available spaces. - Identify private land that could be used for gardening.
RESOURCES: Ensure accessibility, efficiency and fairness in the distribution and use of both material and financial resources for agriculture in San Francisco. Support policies and initiatives that provide jobs in urban agriculture.
- Identify and assess existing funding for urban agriculture/gardening
- Research potential additional funding sources
- Compost: ensure decentralized access to city-generated compost throughout all neighborhoods in SF (see also Urban Agriculture Resource Centers, above)
- Tools: Help ensure tool lending library begins operating again
- Explore the feasibility of city government purchasing policies for city-grown food
