De La Cruz: study author
NEWBURGH – Urban farming can help improve small communities including
those in the Mid-Hudson Valley, according to a report conducted by Hudson
Valley Pattern for Progress.
Pattern Research Associate Rebecca De La Cruz said the study “recognizes that the demand is high even in smaller cities like Beacon and Hudson.”
She said farmers markets, community gardens and local supermarkets “can make urban centers more desirable living and working space by eliminating food insecurity and addressing the prevalence of food deserts.”
De La Cruz said urban farming can bolster the economy of a small community.
“Urban farming does not need to be specific to large cities where there is high traffic or high population density. It can be in small communities and it doesn’t have to be large scale projects that translate into something regional,” she said. “It can just be localized and it can help even the smallest communities as far as their food security needs are concerned as far as transforming food deserts into places that are noted for locally grown produce that people may go out of their way to go to these communities by virtue of them having access to these services.”
Urban farming can take many shapes – farmers markets, adaptive reuse of existing structures, community gardens, supermarkets, access to farm based education and participation in farm to school programs.
