Urban Farming for Social Change in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side

Vancouver’s Downtown East Side is infamously Canada’s poorest postal code, but situated in the heart of a wealthy and thriving city.  The area is home to a diverse range of people, many of whom are impoverished, homeless, and facing mental health and addiction issues.  The infamy of this neighbourhood has brought about a number of revolutionary social programs to help deal with the issues at hand in a way that does not impose an erasure of a community that relies so heavily on proximity, access, and the strong social networks that thrive there.  While many businesses have closed their doors, the area is faced with impending gentrification and even less opportunity for survival within a city that is barely affordable for the best of us.

However, urban farming initiative Sole Food Street Farms has taken over a number of empty lots in and around the neighbourhood, creating urban farms run by the community.  Initially, the arrival of Sole Food simply provided jobs for Downtown East Side residents, utilized space in a productive way, all while providing beautiful, in-season produce for whomever could afford to sign up for their monthly programs.  Sole Food found great success in Vancouver, a city that values health and wellness, and planned to take their initiatives farther.  In the past year, through a successful and on-going crowd-funding campaign, Sole Food has introduced a new farm on a busy corner that was once a gas-station.  Their use of above-ground boxes allows them to utilize otherwise contaminated space to create a “pay what you can” market with food of the exact same calibre of their other farms, now opening access to healthy food for all!  The idea behind this is that they can now provide healthy food for those who could not otherwise afford it within the area that their target market inhabits.

I think this is not only an incredible use of space that would likely otherwise become high-rise condos, but also an amazing way to introduce jobs and health initiatives to an area that so desperately needs it.  Perhaps this is a form of gentrification in itself, but I have difficulty seeing many issues with the introduction of positive and un-intrusive lifestyle changes!

For more information on Sole Food Street Farms, check out their website and their facebook!