Giving Compass' Take:

• From high-tech indoor farming to mobile platforms connecting urban growers and consumers, Food Tank highlights 16 initiatives using tech and innovation to improve urban agriculture.

• What are the biggest challenges for urban agriculture to thrive? How can donors support these initiatives?  

• Read how urban agriculture can improve food security in U.S cities. 

The United Nations estimates that nearly 10 billion people will be living in cities by 2050. According to a recent publication by the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition, urban eaters consume most of the food produced globally and maintain more resource-intensive diets including increased animal-source and processed foods—rich in salt, sugar, and fats. At the same time, many urban populations—particularly in low-income areas and informal communities—endure acute hunger and malnutrition as well as limited access to affordable, healthy food.

But there are countless ways that cities can feed themselves and create better linkages between rural and urban food systems. In Mexico City, the organization CultiCiudad built the Huerto Tlatelolco, an edible forest with 45 tree varieties, a seed bank, and plots for biointensive gardening. In the United States, City Growers uses New York City’s urban farms as a learning laboratory for children to reconnect with nature. And in the Kalobeyei Settlement in northern Kenya, urban agriculture represents a tool for empowerment by improving food security, nutrition, and self-sufficiency among refugees.

  1. AeroFarms, Newark (United States). AeroFarms builds and operates vertical indoor farms to enable local production at scale and increase the availability of safe and nutritious food.
  2. Agricool, Paris (France). Agricool is a start-up that grows strawberries in containers spread throughout urban areas.
  3. BIGH Farms, Brussels (Belgium). BIGH (Building Integrated Greenhouses) Farms, a start-up based in Brussels, works on building a network of urban farms in Europe to promote the role urban agriculture can play in the circular economy.
  4. Bites, Phoenix (United States). Bites is a mobile platform working to help connect urban farmers, chefs, and eaters in Phoenix through farm-to-table dining experiences.

Read the full article about urban agriculture by Andrea Oyuela at Food Tank.