Thanks to Doug, I discovered that Mildreds’ Daughters Urban Farm has a community supported agriculture program (CSA). The farm is roughly a mile from our house, just over the hill in Stanton Heights. The farm is a part of the larger Grow Pittsburgh organization, which seeks to

…work with community organizations, institutions and individuals to support and encourage sustainable self-reliant food production as a means of greening communities, improving nutrition, earning income and teaching work skills. We work to support people engaged in various projects such as: starting school related gardens, reclaiming abandoned urban lots, integrating sustainable food production into organizational programming, building kitchen gardens to improve client nutrition, and engaging youth in food system work.

As a culture, we are generally ignorant about the production of our food. The fruits and vegetables at our markets (even “green” markets like Whole Foods) are grown elsewhere and shipped, greatly expanding an economy that be localized. Of course, in some areas, this sort of economy is necessary, as not all soil is farmable, but here in the hills of Western Pennsylvania, there’s no excuse. Fortunately, our city is thinking about these issues, and we see improvement with the growth of the city’s farmers’ market program. Grow Pittsburgh seeks to expand on that base, by educating communities on localized, sustainable agriculture, be it an urban farm like Mildreds’ Daughters, or your backyard. It’s this sort of thing that builds community, and builds knowledge.

Posted on 11 February 2006