Urban farms and infrastructure seen as areas of future focus
Food is something many Austinites take seriously. From the array of award-winning restaurants and food manufacturers to the sustainable food producers striving to provide healthy options, officials in Austin are looking to boost the local food industry in a variety of ways.
Austin's food sector generated more than $4.1 billion in total economic activity in 2011, according to an economic impact report on Austin's food sector. The report, completed by TXP Inc., also estimated the food sector generated more than $63 million in city tax revenue in 2011 and more than 43,500 jobs.
"What this report proves to us is that creativity and entrepreneurship are fundamental tenets of Austin," said Margaret Shaw, economic redevelopment program manager with the city of Austin's Economic Development Department. "The reality is creativity is in our music, it's in our film and it's in our food. Everything from our great chefs to our urban farming to our food manufacturing, all of it is value-added products [to our economy.]"
The study concludes that the food sector has and will continue to play a vital role in Austin's economy. Multiple recommendations also came from the report, including placing an increased focus on locally produced food, investing in food infrastructure and exploring new ways to connect the public with local food growers. Both public officials and community members are working to make Austin even more feasible for its food industry.
Urban farms
An issue that has garnered significant public interest recently surrounds urban farms. These farms range in size from 1–5 acres, are allowed to raise crops along with certain animals and can be found in single family–zoned areas. The four urban farms within the city limits are Boggy Creek Farm, Hausbar Farms, Springdale Farm and Rain Lily Farm.
Urban Roots Executive Director Max Elliot said he sees urban agriculture as playing a key role in a community's health and connectedness.
"I think your relationship with food has a direct relationship with your own personal health," Elliot said. "I think if you're paying more attention to where food comes from, how it's grown, how to nurture it, I think it inherently means you're going to be paying more attention to the food you're consuming."
Urban Roots is a nonprofit organization with a farm and offices in East Austin. The nonprofit seeks to improve the lives of young through sustainable agriculture and farming.
Austin City Council approved changes Nov. 21 to its urban farm code to clarify certain aspects and address community concerns. Some of the changes include requiring the processing of fowl and rabbits off-site in single-family zoning, limiting how much can be processed and banning the composting of animal processing waste on the farms.
One aspect of urban farms that ruffled the feathers of some neighborhood advocates was allowing a commercial use in single-family zoning. Urban farms were and remain a permitted use in single-family zoning.
Daniel Llanes, coordinator with the Govalle/Johnston Terrace Neighborhood Contact Team, said he is not against urban farms, he just doesn't believe that they are a proper use in single-family zoning.
"Urban farms are commercial businesses and need to be on commercial property," Llanes said.
Other concerns raised by some community members during council discussion included parking for such farms, many of which sell their goods on-site; outdoor, nonfarm-related events such as weddings; and the issue of processing and composting animals in residential areas.
Dorsey Barger, an owner of Hausbar Farms—a farm that was processing chickens—said she believes that urban farming is "actually going to save the world," and that the business provides many neighborhood benefits through education and exposure to healthy food.
"We want to be something that is a great addition to a neighborhood, not a detraction from a neighborhood at all," Barger said.
Elliot said East Austin has an "interesting history" with farming, in that the area has had a rich food-producing culture for many years. He said there is a history of "gardens and people growing their own food but also having chickens."
Farmers and public markets
Farmers markets are among the outlets for local producers to showcase their products. Since 1994, farmers markets have grown nationally from 1,755 to 7,864 in 2012, according to a survey conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture. According to the Texas Department of Agriculture, there are 11 TDA-certified farmers markets in Austin, including SFC Downtown, SFC East and Mueller Farmers Market.
The TXP study also recommended in its report that a permanent public market would provide producers another outlet to sell their products. In a Sept. 25 forum, advocates spoke in support of a potential public market in Austin. David O'Neil, an international market consultant, said there are many types of public markets and no one-size-fits-all approach.
A public market has a mix of vendors, both food and nonfood.
Shaw said both the study and the forum's speaker helped confirm that Austin is "beyond ready" to support something like a permanent market.
Ronda Rutledge, executive director of the Sustainable Food Center, an organization that looks to strengthen the local food system by improving access to nutritious food, said she has noticed an increase in farmers markets but feels there are other areas that need to be improved to accommodate that growth.
"[Farmers markets] have increased, but we're kind of reaching market saturation," Rutledge said. "What really needs to ramp up—if any more farmers markets open and certainly if Austin is thinking about a seven-day-a-week permanent market—is food production."
A permanent marketplace open to farmers once to twice per week could be manageable, Rutledge said.
Local food infrastructure
According to the TXP study, locally produced food has a "multiplier effect" in the economy, and Paula McDermott, a member of the Sustainable Food Policy Board, said this is an important reason to help foster that sector of the food economy.
"That study really states that locally produced food really gives back to the local economy because then you're looking at the jobs related to that whole supply chain—from people who have jobs working on the farm to those who are distributing and selling and those using that product," McDermott said.
To help foster local food production, Rutledge said infrastructure is an area that could use some improvement. Creating more cold-storage units, food hubs, distribution models and processing spaces could help farmers get their products to consumers, Rutledge said. She suggested a way for farmers to "aggregate" their products would be at a food hub.
"We've got all these small family farms that maybe individually don't have the infrastructure to be able to get their product from point A to point B in a real efficient and cost-effective manner," Rutledge said.
McDermott said having improved infrastructure could allow for the local producers to provide a consistent supply of food for institutional buyers such as schools and hospitals.
"Especially when you're talking about institutional buyers, it's quite a bit of quantity of what they need and consistency," McDermott said.
Rutledge said if officials can focus on these improvements, the end result is a stronger local food economy.
"All of those things line up to say, 'Yes, this is a viable business that you can go into and make a living and help keep as much food as local as possible,'" Rutledge said.
Food manufacturing in Austin
Margaret Shaw, economic redevelopment program manager with Austin's economic development department, said the city's food sector takes many shapes, ranging widely from restaurants to manufacturers, including Deep Eddy Vodka.
"There are all these different companies that are taking food products, adding value and then selling them," Shaw said. "Our world is, 'How do we support that kind of entrepreneurship?'"
Shaw said the city's food sector has "almost unlimited growth" and the city offers resources including financial and technical assistance to small businesses.
