New Development Code Promotes Urban Food Production, Access to Healthy Food

Memphis, TN, August 10, 2010 - Urban farming can reduce crime, improve nutrition, clean up neighborhoods, and build community.  Thanks to Memphis and Shelby County’s new Unified Development Code, growing and selling local food will be easier to do in Memphis, TN.  Passed by the Shelby County Commission on August 9 and the Memphis City Council on August 10, 2010, the new code will impact urban food production and access to healthy food in several ways, including new ordinances related to chickens, farmers markets, and neighborhood gardens. 

The revision makes it easier for farmers markets to be established if they meet certain requirements, such as being managed by a neighborhood based non-profit and having at least 50% of sales area dedicated to fresh fruits and vegetables.   More farmers markets means increased access to healthy food – an important issue in a city peppered with food deserts.

The past few years have seen an upsurge in neighborhood gardening across the country, and Memphis is no exception.   Where previous codified ordinances were silent on the issue, the UDC explicitly allows neighborhood gardening in all residential, commercial and industrial districts, and most open districts.

Although Memphians have been keeping chickens as long as Memphis has been on the map, city ordinances were ambiguous as to whether keeping chickens was in violation of the zoning code.  Generally, Code Enforcement looked the other way unless there were complaints about sanitation or abuse.    Now, residents can legally keep up to three to six hens (depending on the size of their lot and the chicken enclosure) to produce eggs for household consumption.  Roosters are prohibited due to concerns about noise.  

“The UDC shows the positive impact that sound urban planning can have on the food environment,” says Renee’ Frazier of Healthy Memphis Common Table and member of the Food Policy Working Group, “These changes will no doubt help make Memphis a healthier city.” 

For additional information contact Josephine Williams, Mid-South Peace & Justice Center at 901-725-4990 or josephine@midsouthpeace.org

In 2005, the City of Memphis and Shelby County began the process of preparing the Unified Development Code, a single document containing existing zoning and subdivision regulations, along with any other development-related regulations found elsewhere in the City or County code of ordinances. This is the first major revision of the zoning ordinances sine the early 1980’s.

The Food Policy Working Group is a collaborative effort among local agencies and citizens seeking to inform policy in order to create a more sustainable food system through research, education, and advocacy which promotes food security for, economic development, and social justice. The Food Policy Council Initiative has received support from the Healthy Eating, Active Living Initiative of the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis in partnership with the Assisi Foundation, Plough Foundation and the United Way of the Mid-South, through the Convergence Partnership Fund of the Tides Foundation.  For more information go to http://memphisfoodpolicy.blogspot.com/

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Welcome to food fight

Food.  Most of us eat it every day, multiple times a day.  It is an important part of our lives, and, like air and water, it is necessary for survival.  What we end up putting in our mouths through the intimate act of eating depends on a complex set of factors.  The food system, that starts with producers (farmers and ranchers, for example) then travels through harvest, distribution, processing, more distribution, maybe more processing, packaging, and distribution, dictates what food is available and to whom.  Factors such as advertising, heritage, income, time, knowledge, transportation, habits and preferences further influence what does or does not end up in the shopping cart, on our tables, or in our cars.

In Memphis and Shelby County, it seems that something somewhere has gone wrong with the way we eat.   In 2007, we received the distinction, courtesy of Forbes Magazine, of being the most obese city in the United States.  In addition, Memphis is now the nation's "Hunger Capitol", according to a study published earlier this year by the Food Research and Action Center.   While the confluence of hunger and obesity may at first seem illogical, more and more research is indicating that the two in fact go hand in hand.   This confluence also calls into questions the assumption that obesity results solely from a failure of the will - that personal choices are to blame.  Surely we are responsible for our choices, but overemphasizing personal responsibility obscures the reality that we are part of a complex system that often makes the healthy choice the hard choice and the unhealthy choice the easy choice, or, in some cases, the only choice.

A systemic problem calls for systemic change.  From a food policy perspective, the solution to hunger and obesity may be one and the same: make sure everyone in Memphis and Shelby County has access to a safe, healthy, and affordable diet.   Make the healthy choice the easy choice.

Through this blog, we will keep you up to date on local, regional, and even some national policy issues that impact the food environment.  We'll let you know about innovative policies and programs locally and around the country, share relevant research and resources around food policy issues, and let you know how you can get involved in shaping a better food system.