Lorain sets sights on urban farming to increase food accessibility

LORAIN — Farming in Ohio brings to mind rolling fields of corn and soybeans stretching mile after mile, not plots of tilled land dotting the inner city or greenhouses keeping crops in season year-round. Lorain would like to reimagine the stereotype. The city, alongside Second Harvest Food Bank and Lorain County Public Health, is moving forward with a plan to bring urban agriculture to Lorain, with City Council approving a contract with Agritecture LLC to support the effort at its meeting Monday evening. The contract, costing $80,000 from a $207,000 USDA Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production grant the city received in 2023, will see the firm help the group of agencies, informally known as Food Forward Lorain, determine what urban agriculture could look like in the International City. Currently, Lorain's zoning code does not allow for urban farming, said Building, Housing and Planning Program Manager of Community and Economic Development Hannah Kiraly. That does not mean urban farming is not happening. Solidarity Urban Farms operates plots four plots near downtown: West 12th and West 14th streets and Lexington Avenue, West Sixth Street at the Lorain Public Library and West 15th Street and Reid Avenue. Similarly, Steel Farms has a plot in south Lorain off Clifton Avenue. Kiraly said the planning grant the city received will help PSW Inc., another contractor, provide recommendations on amendments to the zoning code to support agriculture in the city — from the small community plots like Solidarity and Steel farms' and larger, industrial growing facilities like that pitched by the Center for Food Innovation at Midway Mall. CFI was one of two finalists for redevelopment of Elyria's near-empty mall. Last year, the company laid out its plan to turn the space into an indoor agricultural center. Ultimately the Lorain County Port Authority chose a business park venture, rather than CFI's pitch, for the space. The city's contract with Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates Inc. cost just under $64,500. Second Harvest Food Bank President/CEO Julie Chase-Morefield referenced Huron's Mucci Farms, a greenhouse venture with tomato plants growing feet in the air all year long. "It's setting the stage for that potential development to happen," she said of the project. A circular economy Food accessibility is a huge issue within the city, Kiraly said, and the planning grant it received is meant to lay the groundwork to fill those gaps. Food Forward Lorain has been in the works since 2019, she said, and took aim at three pillars focused on food accessibility: economic development and retail expansion; strengthening healthcare partnerships; and connecting people with food. "Urban agriculture is a part of a sustainable economy," she said. "It's localized foods, it's supporting people that live here, work here, become entrepreneurs. … It really makes for a circular economy." Chase-Morefield agreed — at an industrial scale, urban agriculture can create food and jobs. And on a smaller scale, programs like Solidarity Urban Farms have already been able to accept supplemental nutrition, or SNAP, benefits and provide their produce to Lorain County Community Action Agency's pantry and Women Infants and Children food boxes — getting healthy food in the hands of those who may need it most. Portions of south and central Lorain are considered food deserts, according to the USDA. A food desert is based on the percentage of residents living in poverty and located at least a half mile from a supermarket, supercenter or large grocery store. In Lorain, portions of the 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th wards are considered low-income and low-access to grocery stores by the USDA. The groundswell around community gardening efforts has seen Lorain residents leading the way in addressing food insecurity in their neighborhoods, she said, and the contract with Agritecture LLC will help the city understand scalability and what may be needed in terms of economic development incentives and programming to push the idea further. Agritecture will also provide the city with a map of existing vacant parcels identifying which may be ripe for an agricultural venture. "People need to think of the concept as removing what you think of agriculture in Ohio," Kiraly said. "Removing the idea of rows and rows of farm fields and think of something more technology-based. That's the direction we're headed." She expects to see recommendations from TSW on potential changes to the city's zoning code go before the Planning Commission this fall. Any changes must be approved by the Planning Commission and City Council. The urban agriculture work is not siloed from other projects within the city, Kiraly said. A focus for Lorain's Community Development Block Grant and HOME five-year plans look to increase food accessibility and target neighborhoods that are part of the Southside Gateway Plan — a U.S. Housing and Urban Development Choice Neighborhoods Initiative plan focusing on increasing mixed-income rental and owner-occupied units on the south side. Ultimately, Food Forward Lorain hopes to secure an implementation grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to build a hyper-local farmers' market, sourcing produce from urban farms in the city, county and Northeast Ohio to provide residents with fresh produce, Kiraly said. As a former urban farmer in Cleveland, Kiraly hopes to lay a foundation for agriculture in the city. "Urban ag, it's a lot of work, it's grueling, it's definitely taxing and sometimes you question 'Why am I doing this?' but the outcome is certainly great when you're able to make it there," she said. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.