Urban Farm Initiative

Utilizing the scare resources in our region and a robust agricultural heritage is a big part in our community's fabric and history. The Rushton family tomato farm has been an enduring staple in the Hunter area of West Valley City for decades. Through this I have realized the importance and the benefits that local urban farms have on the community. The open space, the natural environment, and boost to the local economy are all highly desirable commodities even if you are not a vegetable consumer. Salt Lake County has come to similar conclusions and wants to utilize unused space for similar purposes including plant production for bio fuels. As interest in sustainable initiatives such as this grows it is important to look for ways to partner with this County initiative to better serve West Valley City residents. Here is a list of progress as reported by the Salt Lake County:

•Assignment of Urban Farming duties to the County's Open Space Coordinator.
•A functional Urban Farming Technical Advisory Committee that includes representation from of a variety of land use and farming interests, including representatives of Wasatch Community Gardens, Slow Food Utah, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,Utah State University, Utah Department of Agriculture, Great Salt Lake Resource Conservation District to name a few.
•Urban Farming program guidelines that were presented to the County Council on October 27, 2009.
•An Open House introducing the Urban Farming program was held on January 21, 2010.
•An RFP for commercial farming was issued on April 23, 2010.
•20 acres of a 200 acre parcel growing safflower as a bio fuel feedstock crop.
•80 acres in Bluffdale that was purchased as a future park site is actively farmed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
•29 acres spread among 5 unique parcels under contract for local food production (1parcel is still in contract negotiation phase.)
•An active refugee community garden near the Redwood Recreation Center under the leadership of Ze Xiao and Michael Gallegos.
•29 acres spread among 23 parcels identified as potential micro-farming/community garden sites. Additionally, the County's Urban Farming program continues to attract local and national press.

The City Council had a recent presentation on the community garden near the Redwood Recreation Center and it is shaping up to be a good addition to West Valley City.