Make Food, Not Foreclosures
| posted by admin |A non-profit group has launched a program to turn former foreclosures into farmland.
National Public Radio is reporting that the non-profit group Urban Farming requested that Wayne County, Mich., allow it to garden vacant lots from the thousands of foreclosures in the county’s inventory and allow its volunteers to plow and plant them in order to grow fruits and vegetables for needy locals.
Just like it was in 2007, Wayne County has been a hotbed of foreclosure activity in Michigan so far in 2008. In fact it’s had one of the highest county foreclosure rates in the state for a long time.
Similar to other parts of the nation’s Rust Belt, the county’s real estate market — particularly Detroit — is suffering. Contributing to the downfall are high unemployment, low home sales volume and deflating home prices.
Taja Seville, founder of Urban Farming, says the gardens cultivated would be left unfenced to allow people to pick their own produce. Any food left over would then be donated to local food banks.
The pilot program would start with 20 plots, with the City of Detroit donating the water.
Wayne County Treasurer Raymond Wojtowicz is on board with the 20-plot program, entering into a partnership with the group back in November 2007. Ground was broken on the first “farm” in May.
Urban Farming has been doing this around the country since it was founded in 2005. The properties where the farms are located are left available for sale, but in the meantime the properties are being productive and cared for by group volunteers.