Urban farms tackle food deserts in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON — (InvestigateTV) — More than 47 million people nationwide live in food-insecure households, including 7 million children, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

An additional 27 million people live in “food deserts,” areas where residents do not have convenient access to places to get affordable, healthy food like a supermarket.

In Las Vegas, the historic Westside lacks a large grocery store, though smaller local options like Mario’s Westside Market attempt to fill that need.

In another area of the city, a store called The After Market is the only grocery within a five-mile radius.

Before it opened, one woman who did not want to be identified said she would spend $200 a month on rideshares just to pick up groceries.

“It means better prices, more convenience. I don’t have to spend so much to get as great food,” she said.

Urban farms address food access

One solution addressing food deserts is urban farms.

In Washington, D.C., Common Good City Farm sits between brick buildings and a bus stop. It’s there where children learn to grow and harvest their own food.

Statistics show that Black children are less likely to have access to healthy foods than white children in the nation’s capital.

“Food deserts are real, food apartheid is real,” Joya Wade, executive director of Common Good City Farm, said.

The farm offers several free programs for children, including the LEAF program, which stands for Learning for the Environment, Agriculture and Food. About 100 children participate in the farm’s programs each year.

“We are here to share fresh food with our neighbors, share not only in eating and cooking, but also education and food access,” Wade said.

Hands-on learning

Emily Richardson, the nonprofit’s deputy director and director of programs, said outdoor activities provide valuable benefits for children’s health and mental development.

“Just building skills that they can use, building a connection to the earth and a connection to food and food systems,” Richardson said.

Children at the farm learn to dig for potatoes in the buried treasure garden, then cook with the vegetables they picked in a complete farm-to-table cycle. The goal is for participants to share their enthusiasm at home.

Richardson highlighted one success story of a student named Malik who started in the youth program in 2019 and later went to college.

“Not a ton of folks from this neighborhood have had family members go off to college,” Richardson said.

Alternative farming methods

Common Good also stocks a community fridge where anyone can get food when needed.

Urban farms with similar missions operate across the country, including locations in Augusta, Georgia, and Lansing, Michigan.

Vertical farming offers another solution for urban areas where traditional farming is not ideal. This method takes place indoors, where greens are grown in special trays stacked from floor to ceiling.

LED lights replace the sun in vertical farming, though the process can be energy-intensive.

The method often uses no soil and less water than traditional farming, but vertical farmers typically can grow only a limited number of crops, such as leafy greens, herbs and fruiting vegetables like tomatoes.

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