Living in a Food Desert is a documentary produced by Virginia State University as part of a study on food insecurity in the state of Virginia. Nearly 18% of the state’s population lives in food deserts--places where access to fresh fruit and vegetables is severely limited.
Virginia is not alone. In the United States, hunger and food insecurity affects some 46.5 million Americans, according to Feeding America.
The U.S Department of Agriculture’s Food Access Research Map displays food deserts based on income levels and lack of access to fresh produce. In urban areas, access is considered limited where supermarkets are more than one mile away.
The local food movement is finding ways to address food deserts and reduce environmental footprints with vertical farms. Vertical farming companies, both small and large, are showing that their innovative methods can grow produce nearly anywhere. These companies produce massive amounts of food in buildings with hydroponic and other low-resource technologies. Vertical farms tend to grow food using fewer natural resources, and in spite of seasonality.
Here are just a few innovative projects:
- FarmedHere, the nation’s oldest vertical farm south of Chicago in Bedford Park, Ill. is opening a 24-acre operation in Louisville, Ky as part of its plan to build in 18 U.S. cities.
- Artesian Farms started its operation in an abandoned warehouse and its employees live in the Brightmoor neighborhood of Detroit,Mich.
- Vertical Harvest in affluent Jackson, Wyo. worked with the town to establish its large operation and employs adults with intellectual disabilities.
- San Diego, Calif.-based Home Town Farms is specifically targeting densely populated cities in order to provide lower cost fresh foods to consumers.
- New York-based Bright Farms is disrupting the supply chain by signing groundbreaking deals to bring local, vertically-grown produce to dozens of northeast supermarkets.
Watch the Living in a Food Desert documentary trailer:
