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Inflation is pushing the cost of food to record highs. Could urban agriculture help?

Masoud Sayles, of Grounded Strategies, speaks to state Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding about the beginnings of an aluminum frame greenhouse at the Peace and Friendship Garden on July 12. (Mattie Neretin/Post-Gazette)

“Our challenge is making sure that folks who need food have access, and inflation simply puts more pressure, and I would argue puts more need out there,” Russel Redding, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture secretary, said Tuesday.

By Nick Pasion
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
July 1, 2022

Excerpt:

“It’s just become a situation where I am not able to fund the type of food that I had before, and that’s why I started to venture out into the gardening concept,” she said. “With things not being available and the rising prices, my budget just wasn’t allowing it.”

Ms. Kern is not the only one feeling the effects of inflation. Every level of the food pyramid is getting more expensive as the price tag of U.S. food has gone up 10.4% in the past year, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The cost of fruits and vegetables alone has risen 8.1% in the United States over the past year.

But for Ms. Kern and Jayden, even if groceries are more expensive, an entire garden of fresh vegetables is too much for the two of them, so the pair have also been donating their extra yields to friends or neighbors in need.

“If there’s an abundance of [fruits and vegetables] we try to share with the community for those who are struggling that need it, simply because we have more than we need,” Ms. Kern said.

Urban agriculture, like Ms. Kern’s backyard garden, also includes community grow spaces, vertical farms or rooftop plants. All of which may help combat the rising cost of food by producing local, cheap or free fruits and vegetables, state officials and urban farmers said.

“Our challenge is making sure that folks who need food have access, and inflation simply puts more pressure, and I would argue puts more need out there,” Russel Redding, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture secretary, said Tuesday.

Read the complete article here.