We tend to think of faraway places when we read this statement, yet in Philadelphia one in ten households does not have access to affordable, healthy food on a consistent basis and hence lack a basic human right, food security. Often the same communities that lack access to fresh and nutritious food are also most affected bythe ever more extreme summer heat that generates dangerous urban heat islands, jeopardizing the health of children and the elderly.
The USDA estimates that urban agriculture produces up to 20 percent of the food consumed in cities. This locally grown food is fresh and nutritious, stores carbon in the soil and plants, reduces carbon emissions due to food transport, provides food stability, strengthens the local community, lowers the temperature in cities thus reducing heat islands, and can protect against other climate disasters like flooding. Despite their pivotal role in food security and human health, these gardens, farms and green spaces are threatened by development as urbanization trends continue.
“Vulnerable communities who have historically contributed the least to current climate change are disproportionately affected”
(IPPC 2023).
Plant ARC will develop locally adapted and climate resilient crop varieties (see above) and establish methods to identify soil contamination (with IoT4Ag sensors), help ameliorate contaminated soil, and promote the use of N-fixing ground covers during the cold season. These activities include data collection and analysis across different local sites. Finally Plant ARC will focus on education and a local talent pipeline.
Philadelphia is the ideal epicenter of this initiative with its exceptionally vibrant and robust tradition of urban agriculture that stretches back generations.