2010: The Year of Urban Agriculture

I went to a talk at the University of Washington a couple weeks ago featuring Mike McGinn. It was my first encounter with the new Seattle Mayor and I was impressed with his passion and his ideas to improve our city and the communities that thrive here. One program in particular he mentioned is the City of Seattle's new campaign to promote urban agriculture efforts and to promote access to locally grown food. He has officially declared 2010 the Year of Urban Agriculture.

The idea is to promote a local and regional food supply thus creating a city that has access to fresh and healthy foods grown right here in the northwest. Other goals woven into the campaign include social justice, environmental sustainability, economic development and food security. Major McGinn said, "We are committed to making changes that are better for people and better for the environment. This means making it easier for people to garden and grow food, to ensure that good food is available in all neighborhoods, and to find innovate ways to encourage local and regional food production."

This is an exciting year for Seattle. By declaring it the year of urban agriculture our city is finding ways to build our community up thus creating opportunities for the residents of Seattle to build stronger community relationships through food. To learn more about what the City of Seattle is planning this year visit the 2010: Year of Urban Agriculture website.