Support for the Urban Agriculture Production Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, today I introduce the Urban Agriculture Production Act of 2017.

Across America, too many of our urban neighborhoods are absent of stores where

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community members can purchase fresh, healthy foods. There are more than 23 million individuals residing in these so called ``food desert'' neighborhoods, where there are no stores within one mile in which they can buy healthy food.

Without healthy options, people are forced to eat unhealthy, processed, junk food, because that is all that is available and affordable. This bill is a step to correct this unacceptable trend.

I am pleased to recognize and support the growing resurgence of locally grown and produced product. I see it in my own district at places like the Toledo Farmers Market, the Robert J. Anderson Urban Agriculture Center and Farm, and the Old Brooklyn Cheese Company in Cleveland, Ohio.

Individuals, non-profits, and co-ops are stepping up and taking action to address the challenge of access to healthy food, by developing local food sources like community gardens to provide fresh, affordable produce throughout underserved communities. Not only are they growing product to provide to communities though, they are engaging and encouraging community participation all throughout the process. They are teaching community members how to farm.

The Urban Agriculture Production Act encourages economic development in undernourished, underserved communities by furthering the mission of local farming. It shore ups the Department of Agriculture and their programs to support urban farmers and inspire communities to create self-sufficient food production systems that stimulate development and healthy eating options.

All throughout our urban communities, there is an abundance of unused land and space that are conveniently located in neighborhoods that are ripe for agriculture development. We must support and encourage the means to develop these plots so they become local sources of wholesome food options.

Community gardens, Greenhouses, Farmers' Markets, and other local agriculture initiatives have tremendous power to help diversify American food production. They can also help the nation rely less on foreign imports and create American jobs that cannot be outsourced.

Moreover, communities that lack access to fresh, nutritious affordable foods are facing growing epidemics of obesity related diseases. We must get serious about addressing nationally recognized increases in preventable disease in all our communities, but especially in those communities that have limited food options. Prevention is paramount, and encouraging a balanced diet while also providing access to healthier foods, through agriculture, is an obvious solution.

The Urban Agriculture Production Act of 2017, therefore, sets out to spur the development and expansion of community agriculture in typically non-traditional agricultural production areas, like our cities and towns who face food insecurity, access, and nutrition challenges.

Mr. Speaker, urban farming, and food production should be part of our solution to support healthier dietary options and improve the overall health of urban communities. The Urban Agriculture Production Act is the appropriate means to further develop alternative, urban agricultural production and to help meet communities' food production needs for the future.

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