LORAIN, Ohio — Lorain is tapping into a neighborhood resource to address food insecurity and spur economic development. This week, the city council’s Building and Lands Committee approved an urban agriculture plan called “Growing Together.”
The initiative is part of Food Forward Lorain, a partnership of community organizations working together on policies, systems and environmental changes to improve access to healthy food.
“We’re building an urban food network to increase access and also have healthy spaces of community for people,” said Jenna Smith, the community outreach coordinator for Solidarity Urban Farms.
The farm, which occupies several plots of land near downtown Lorain at W 14th Street and Lexington Avenue, accepts EBT at its farmstands and uses its produce and other locally-sourced products in weekly community meals.
Thursday, Smith was preparing vegetables for a weekly dinner at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Downtown Lorain.
“We’re just trying to build spaces for people to connect, regardless of socioeconomic background or where they live, where they’re from,” she said.
When spring eventually returns to transform the farm, Lorain partners hope the Growing Together plan will be on its way to transforming the city’s food systems.
“It lays out all the things that have to happen in order to make urban agriculture really thrive in the city,” said Julie Chase-Morefield, the president and CEO at Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio.
The food bank collaborated with the urban farm, the city of Lorain and Lorain County Public Health to obtain a planning grant from the USDA. The $207,000 Urban Agriculture and Innovation Production (UAIP) planning grant is intended to initiate or expand efforts of farmers, gardeners, citizens, government officials, schools and other stakeholders in urban areas and suburbs.
The Growing Together plan intends to streamline the regulatory process for urban agriculture, so the city can encourage more urban farms and create a network of growers, community resources and economic development.
“This is a city that’s on the upswing. And they’re thinking about new jobs and new opportunities. And we think this could just be another way to do that,” said Chase-Morefield.
News 5 has reported on some of the challenges, including food access, in the once-thriving steel town.
In 2024, we spoke to the city about its plan to hire a consultant to help attract new resources, including more grocery stores and pharmacies, to underserved neighborhoods.
WATCH:
READ MORE: Consultant to help improve access to groceries, medicine in Lorain neighborhoods
In their research for Food Forward Lorain, the partners found that only about 30% of Lorain residents reported adequate access to fresh, affordable food. The majority of neighborhoods in the city had a medium to high need for improved access.
The collaborators believe urban agriculture could be a community-driven solution to connect food and resources with the neighborhoods that need it.
“We’re just trying to make food accessible to people and then also remind the neighborhood of what we can do when we work together,” said Smith.
The Lorain City Council needs to approve the Urban Agriculture Plan for it to move forward. The council passed a resolution in support of it during its Feb. 17 meeting.
Eventually, the city and its partners may apply for a USDA implementation grant to put the plan into practice.
Catherine Ross is the Lorain County reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on X @CatherineRossTV, on Facebook CatherineRossTV or email her at Catherine.Ross@wews.com.
