How are urban farms the answer to growing a sustainable city?
Urban farms are providing solutions to a myriad of urban ills. Such as blighted vacant lots, food insecurity, stormwater runoff, and declining neighborhoods. Over 50% of the world's population live in cities. Our city dwellers are having increased difficulty accessing fresh healthy foods, bringing high rates of malnutrition and obesity. With that comes increased health disparities. Including increased rates of diabetes, heart disease, and cancers.
The story of how the stuff we produce and consume impacts our lives. Our alarmingly fast consumption rate will be unable to sustain itself. It already is.
Do you ever stop and wonder where your stuff comes from? Or why you can buy products at such low costs in The United States? We have dollar stores, $5 and below's and don’t get me started on the online limitless cheap shopping. Where is all this stuff coming from? Who’s making it? What is it even made of?.
Our progress report is in! The DYGUP & Sustain program is successfully transforming students! The DYGUP & SUSTAIN Program is a non-profit dedicated to regenerative organic agricultural practices to teach the benefits of land stewardship in the Paso del Norte Region. DYGUP, an acronym for Developing Youth from the Ground Up, is available to youth ages 14-17. The SUSTAIN program targets adults over 18 and combines "Roots Of Success" Environmental Literacy Curriculum with intensive farmer training.
DYGUP / Sustain is our premier community program to give direct "working with your hands" training to local students attending Las Cruces High School. Together they learn to build, grow and operate an urban farm conveniently located to their campus. There’s over 100 teenagers involved in our program this year.