Growing Food in the Cold

As the year ends I look out my window and see a snowy, cold Chicago afternoon. Yet I know that a few miles from here, underneath the protective covering of our hoophouses, delicious, fresh vegetables are still doing well. Spinach, lettuce, salad-mix, and kale are doing especially well. They don’t grow fast because of the lack of sunlight, but rather the hoophouses serve as a kind of refrigerator, keeping them safe throughout the winter.
This is Growing Home’s first winter growing at all three hoophouses at our new Wood St. urban farm in Englewood. It is amazing to me what we have accomplished over the past year, and what we are able to grow and harvest throughout the year in Chicago. Most people assume that the growing season in Illinois is from June through September, with maybe an extra month on either side. We, and many others throughout the country and the world, are proving these people wrong.
When I travel from our farm on Wood St. throughout the south side I see empty lots everywhere I go. Some are very small; others are whole blocks that are empty. Imagine what can be done with these lots if our society decides that we need to grow our food locally, in urban settings. Given the political will and the resources we could work with other interested urban farmers to establish tens and hundreds of urban farms in Chicago. Some researchers have said that urban farms cannot produce significant amounts of food for feeding Chicago’s citizens. We beg to differ with this conclusion. In cities throughout the world people are realizing that very significant amounts of food can be produced locally. This contributes to the general health of the population, the local environment, and to community and economic development.
In Havana, Cuba over 50% of food eaten is produced locally. The July edition of Urban Agriculture Magazine is entitled “Building Communities through Urban Agriculture.” This edition highlights urban agriculture initiatives throughout the world, from the Americas to Europe to Africa and Asia. Communities and planners are realizing this is one way to develop sustainable communities, as opposed to the urban sprawl and uncontrolled development that is often the norm.
The current food system is unsustainable and needs to change. On the average, food travels about 1800 miles to reach grocery stores in Chicago. Often I see apples at the grocery store that have been brought in from Washington or even New Zealand. Why is this so when many farms grow terrific apples in Michigan and Wisconsin (and even Illinois)? The current industrial food complex is built around large factory farms and large distribution methods. The transportation industry and middle agents are making more money from this system than farmers. As energy sources become scarcer and the price of gas continues to rise, this system will buckle under its own weight.
The movement to grow food locally is closely linked with the movements to fight climate change and improve our environment. This is all about finding ways to live sustainably. This is possible, and necessary, even in large cities in the Midwest. There is a huge untapped potential that lies in urban agriculture in Chicago and in other major cities.
So, as 2008 begins, I would like to wish you all a happy new year. May it be one of improved sustainable community development. It is starting out as a cold, snowy year, yet on the south side of Chicago spinach is thriving, protected by our hoophouses. This is the way of the future. Next year I hope to see more food being grown in Chicago in the middle of the winter, and I expect that amount to grow exponentially as more and more people see that this is possible, practical, and delicious.