Michele Rayner joins Darryl Rouson in Florida legislation promoting urban agriculture
Increased hunger from the impacts of the pandemic acted as motivation for the bill.
By Kelly Hayes
Florida Politics
February 16, 2021
Excerpt:
The bills, SB 628 and HB 1013, would expand some of Florida’s current statutes on farming to meet the needs of urban agriculture, the practice of cultivating, processing and distributing food in or around a dense, urban environment. If passed, the bill would become the Florida Urban Agriculture Act.
The impact of the pandemic on hunger across the state is one of the primary motivations of the bill, Rouson said. Across the state, more than 2.7 million people struggle with hunger, including 819,370 children, according to Feeding America. And hunger has only been exasperated by the pandemic.
“It has become increasingly important that we allow people access to food, access means encouraging them to even grow, in some instances, their own food,” he said. “As we grow out, we need to grow up, and allow urban farming to take place in non-traditional communities.”
One component of the bill would exempt all power-driven or self-propelled equipment used in urban agriculture from certain provisions requiring it to be located at least 50 feet away from a public road.
