Urban agriculture is an expanding part of the Buffalo and Erie County regional food system. The potential health, social, environmental, and economic benefits of urban farms and gardens are farreaching. There are also potential risks associated with growing food in urban settings. Knowing your grower and their practices is the best assurance that the food you buy is responsibly grown with methods that honor the safety of producers, consumers, and the living environment. While risk exists no matter where our food comes from, these practices adopted by responsible growers can keep potential risks to a minimum.
To enable consumers to identify the urban farms they want to support with their food dollars, the FPC established The Greater Buffalo Urban Growers Pledge. This Pledge is based on the integrity of the urban grower and seeks to describe best management practices with regard to soil safety and other safe farming practices. This document was developed with local farmers, experts at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Erie County and members of the FPC. The Pledge serves to meet the FPC mission of encouraging transparency and the sharing of information between producers and consumers that is fair and honest.