The week is speeding by but before it is slips away, I must mention the food systems work happening in Oakland. A new report is out called Cultivating The Commons: An Assessment for the Potential of Urban Agriculture on Oakland’s Public Lands, by Nathan McClintock and Jenny Cooper. The report presents the amount of public land potentially available for urban agricultural use. By using aerial photos, geographic information systems (GIS), and site visits the authors identified 1,200 acres of open space, most of which are within 1/4 mile of public transportation. They believe with this land available for urban agriculture, the Oakland community could produce between 5%-10% of the city’s vegetable needs.

The report offers a helpful discussion on food deserts and excellent graphics to illustrate how potential sites might be used. It is worth the read. If you want to get deeper information on Oakland’s urban political ecology, check out Nathan’s paper on From Industrial Garden to Food Desert: Unearthing the Root Structure of Urban Agriculture in Oakland.

Perhaps dovetailing with this effort is the recent news that Kellogg Foundation has selected Oakland school district as one of the nine school districts nationally to receive a collective sum of $32, 450,00 over a three year period to increase access to healthy food and physical activity for vulnerable children and their families.