As we detail in our recent report, Locally Nourished, many people in the city do not have access to fresh fruit, vegetables and other healthy options near their homes. SPUR supports the Healthy Food Retailer Ordinance, which would increase access to fresh, healthy food to residents citywide.

One of the biggest obstacles to expanding the number of Californians who enjoy the benefits of urban agriculture is access to land. SPUR strongly encourages state legislators to support Assembly Bill 551, an "opt-in" measure which would allow counties to create "urban agriculture incentive zones," offering a conservative approach to nurturing emergent urban agriculture projects across the state.

The first year of the new urban agriculture program provides a unique chance to truly expand the city’s internal coordination and general support for urban gardeners and farmers. During recent public meetings, the department expressed interest in receiving recommendations from community organizations regarding how the new program should prioritize its efforts. With this in mind, SPUR offers six recommendations for how the program can be most successful from its inception.

SPUR supports the resolution that would create a new program dedicated to urban agriculture within the Recreation and Parks Department (RPD). T he RPD has land, resources and staff that can support the new program in a way unavailable to other departments and understands that the mission of this new program is to coordinate with other agencies and community groups, rather than replace them.