Course:LFS350/Projects/Fall2017/sole-food-street-farms-documenting-the-big-move/

Project Summary

Title

The Big Transplant: Uprooting Urban Farms in Vancouver

Purpose

The goal of the project is to document the first full-scale relocation of an urban farm and to provide a multimedia deliverable (e.g. short video diary) and accompanying text that can be used to inform future strategies and operational plans and/or to provide support to funding opportunities.

Areas of Focus

• Urban farming
• Local economic development
• Local food distribution
• Social enterprise

Skills

• Ability to summarize, incorporate, and communicate elements of municipal policy (e.g. urban farming, zoning) into written and visual documentation;
• Ability to understand and communicate social enterprise visions and goals;
• Ability to understand and communicate economic impact of local food distribution and/or the overall impacts of employing people who are facing barriers to employment;
• Ability to document complex events using a variety of potential media including, but not limited to, video, infographics, written reports, statistical data.

Other

• A cleared Criminal Record Check (CRC) will be required for working with vulnerable adults and children (this is a specific CRC)

Location

• Sole Food Street Farms
• Headquarters Farm – Corner of Pacific & Carrall
• Work will be done in and around downtown Vancouver.

Organization Information

Name

Sole Food Sreet Farms

• http://solefoodfarms.com/
  

Vision + Mission

Sole Food transforms vacant urban land into street farms that grow artisan quality fruits and vegetables, available at farmer’s markets, local restaurants, and retail outlets. Sole Food’s mission is to empower individuals with limited resources by providing jobs, agricultural training and inclusion in a supportive community of farmers and food lovers.

Primary Contact

Contact Person(s):

• Email: Matt@solefoodfarms.com
• Address: 88 Pacific Blvd (physical address, no mail)
• Phone: 778.228.9566
• Website: www.solefoodfarms.com
• Best time(s) method(s) to contact: Email or telephone during business hours.

Project Description

In the fall of 2017 Sole Food Farms will relocate its headquarters and main farm from its current location at the corner of Pacific and Carrall (811 Carrall St.) to a new city owned site at a location TBD near Olympic Village.

As a part of its business model, Sole Food’s farms are intended to be relocated. This strategy helps to encourage landowners to make their unused land available to community organizations working in the urban agriculture.

Since 2012, Sole Food has occupied approximately 1.5 acres at Pacific and Carrall but in November 2017 Sole Food’s lease will expire and we will be required to move our farm to ensure the future of our organization and its mission to provide employment to people facing barriers and to model hyper-local urban food

This community project involves development planning and coordination with city staff and officials to set up Vancouver’s first Class B Urban farm and the physical relocation of more than 1800 growing containers, 3 shipping containers, irrigation, waste management systems, and staff facilities within the required timeframe.

Goal and Project Scope

The goal of the project is to document the first full scale relocation of an urban farm and to provide a deliverable that can be used to inform future strategies and operational plans and/or to provide support to funding opportunities.

Skills Preferred

• Ability to summarize, incorporate, and communicate elements of municipal policy (e.g. urban farming, zoning) into written and visual documentation;
• Ability to understand and communicate social enterprise visions and goals;
• Ability to understand and communicate economic impact of local food distribution and/or the overall impacts of employing people who are facing barriers to employment;
• Ability to document complex events using a variety of potential media including, but not limited to, video, infographics, written reports, statistical data.

Preferred Days of Week and Hours

Project work will begin in early September. The bulk of the work will be done starting near the end of October and will be completed throughout November (to be completed on or around November 24, 2017).

Project/Partner Orientation

Project work will be overseen by Sole Food Farms’ Administrative Director with inputs from Director of Operations, Distribution Coordinator and Executive Director as needed. The following resources are recommended for context/background:

• Street Farm: Growing Food, Jobs and Hope on the Urban Frontier (book)
• A New Economy (film)

In addition to relevant amendments to Zoning and Development By-Laws and Business License By-Laws regarding Urban Farming, the following key documents provide local context for understanding urban farming in Vancouver:

• Vancouver Urban Agriculture Guidelines
• Vancouver Food Charter
• Vancouver Food Strategy
• Greenest City Action Plan
• Healthy City Strategy

Expected Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

I hope students will learn about

• Local Urban Farming Policy and the relationship between city policy and urban agriculture

I think students will come to appreciate

• The value of social enterprise

Students will develop an

• Appreciation of local food production.

Organizational Outcomes

• A document that can be referenced for the purposes of annual reporting, grant applications and other funding opportunities;
• A record for future planning processes and corporate history and to provide support to emerging organizations;
• A clearer understanding of the processes and requirements involved in relocating an urban farm.