Giving Compass' Take:

· Rapid development in urban areas has resulted in limited options for agriculture and affecting the value of land usable for food production. 

· How can donors support farmers and food production? 

· Here's more on zoning, land-use planning, and housing affordability.

On a side street near the Des Moines Water Works, a tall fence surrounds three garden plots. Geese fly overhead while trucks drive past a sign between the road and the fence. It says: “Industrial Development Land For Sale, Contact City of Des Moines.”

Until recently, the city rented the land for growing vegetables but now it’s been rezoned and put up for sale.

“Because it was flood zone, it hadn’t been developed so the soil here was just nice soil,” said Zachary Couture, land and production specialist for Lutheran Services in Iowa (LSI). This is one of the places where LSI has helped immigrants grow vegetables. One man ran a small business selling Asian eggplant and other produce he grew here.

There’s already been a hard frost, but Couture stoops by a row of lettuce, picks some and eats it.

“Oh yeah, it’s still good,” he says, handing some to Tika Bhandari. “I mean, I’ve had better, but…”

Bhandari takes it and agrees it’s good lettuce. Originally from Bhutan, Bhandari has lived in Des Moines for nearly a decade. Once she and her father settled here, they set about trying to grow ginger because that had been the backbone of her dad’s business back home.

“Coming here, growing ginger was hard because of [the] environment and whatnot and we went to a couple trainings but it still didn’t work,” she said. Her father passed away before she found success. “I’m growing some ginger in my greenhouse. I think my dad is looking from up and he is proud of me.”

Read the full article about rapid development and food production by Amy Mayer at Harvest Public Media.