Michael Levenston
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Articles by Michael Levenston
India: Role of urban and peri-urban agriculture in nutritional diversity, cultural resilience and community-based food security in an Eastern Himalayan city
Small-scale livestock rearing integrated within household compounds. The Imphal case demonstrates that urban agriculture policy should consider food production as more than a strategy for increasing food availability.
Nigeria: Backyard Gardens Became a Lifeline for Nigerian Households During COVID-19, Study Finds
Home gardening for advancing nutritional security and income generation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria BY BIOENGINEER October 3, 2026i Excerpt: The headline finding is stark: households that practiced home gardening scored considerably higher on dietary diversity than those that did not. When the researchers sorted households into low, medium, and high diversity categories, 67 percent of those in the high-diversity group, consuming six or more food groups, were home gardeners.
Backyard farming movement takes root in Central Florida
VIDEO Video Story WKMG Oct 9, 2026 Every day, the U.S. loses about 2,000 acres of farm and ranchland, mostly due to encroaching urban development. Share this post: on Facebook on LinkedIn
Call for article proposals: Urban Agriculture Magazine (UAM43) on the theme of food loss and waste in city region food systems.
How can surplus food be redistributed for humans or animals? RUAF Oct 8, 2026 RUAF invites contributions to the next issue of Urban Agriculture Magazine (UAM43) on the theme of food loss and waste in city region food systems. The magazine will be published in March 2027, in partnership with CGIAR Food Frontiers and Security, the FAO-RUAF City Region Food Systems programme, Urban Futures, and EStà – Economia e Sostenibilità.
Canada: In 2020, Pamela Anderson Returned to Her Family’s Canadian Estate and Built a Massive Garden.
Pamela Anderson surrounds herself with a garden.
Towards a European Massive Open Online Course on Urban Agriculture
Meeting, Nov 5, 2026: A genuinely collaborative European approach, bringing together existing projects, networks, training organisations, researchers, practitioners and public authorities.
How a heartbroken L.A. farmer turned a destroyed passion fruit vine into luscious curd
Curd is a traditional British confection, most commonly made with lemon, consisting of the fruit juice cooked with sugar, eggs and butter to form a sweet-tart, velvety spread or filling.
Sunlight and precise nutrient management, keys to success in urban agriculture
Factors such as sunlight and stage-specific nutrient application determine crop success in urban agriculture, far beyond fixed recipes or miracle solutions. Institute of Environmental Science and Technology Article reference: Evangelista, G., Villalba, G., Orsini, F., Muñoz-Liesa, J., Arcas-Pilz, V., & Gabarrell, X. (2026). Sustainable resource optimization for tomato cultivation in a rooftop greenhouse: an 8-year case study. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 46, 49.
One year later, Growing Food Growing People’s St. Louis’ urban farm is reaching more people in the West End
One year after Leah Lee-Pulliam purchased four parcels of land in St. Louis’ West End, the vision she once wrote about in a journal is now taking root. Lee-Pulliam envisions the West End property becoming a “living classroom” where families can learn how to grow and prepare their own food while building connections with one another. By Travis Cummings Yahoo October 6, 2026 Excerpt: “I wanted to give the land a year to just do whatever it wanted to do. But most importantly, relationships.
Canada: At UBC, the future of food is growing just steps from the dining hall
A new indoor growing pod at UBC is putting campus-grown produce on students’ plates through a partnership between researchers, industry and UBC Food Services. By Lui Xia Lee UBC News Oct 5, 2026 Excerpt: The transparent chamber looks futuristic, but its purpose is practical and educational. The pod uses stacked hydroponic trays and precisely tuned LED lights to grow plants all year round.
Detroit Farm & Cider sues city to get its animals back
One horse, four goats, 25 chickens, 32 ducks and 86 duck eggs were seized By Louis Aguilar The Detroit News Oct. 4, 2026, Excerpt: On Sept. 4 of this year, Detroit officials seized all of the animals at Detroit Farm & Cider, which the city described as a public safety measure. The animals weren’t permitted because King had never provided proof of vaccination or a required biosecurity plan for health and safety, city officials said.
Norway: “Having a basement full of canned food is just a joke”
You should never bet everything on one or two types of vegetables, says farmer Erik Røed. “Grow a variety, because you will most likely have some failures every single year.” (Photo: Marte Dæhlen / Science Norway) This year, Erik Røed has around 70 different types of plants on his small farm in Norway. A researcher argues that we need to cooperate within local communities to be prepared for a potential crisis.
Vietnam: It took me two months carrying buckets of soil up to the rooftop, and now I have a 60 m² garden to show off.
Cantaloupe produces delicious, sweet fruit, a favorite of the whole family, especially the grandchildren. Climbing a small ladder to the third-floor rooftop, Ms. Hoang Thi Luong (57 years old, residing in Ho Chi Minh City) once carried about 1 ton of soil to create a lush vegetable and fruit garden for her family.
Holland: What if city living also meant you could grow your own food? One Dutch community has it sussed
(L-r) Dr Jan Eelco Jansma, Jan-Albert Blaauw, Jalil Bekkour and Jorica Louwen. John Gibbons The Dutch experiment at Oosterwold offers a radically different model of urban living. John Gibbons visited the residents to see how it’s done By John Gibbons The Journal Oct 3, 2026 Excerpt: A project had reclaimed several thousand hectares of polder from the sea, which meant they effectively had a blank canvas in terms of what to do with what was effectively brand new land.
The Uncertain Future of Urban Agriculture at USDA
Farmer Taw Meh in the New Roots program at the Juniper Gardens Training Farm in Kansas City, KS, 2023 | Photo by Alicia Alferman Since 2020, OUAIP has awarded roughly 200 grants of more than $50 million to community-based organizations, schools, local governments Sustainable Agriculture October 1, 2026 Excerpt: This year has been particularly challenging for farmers.
Canada: From Wheat Seeds to Table Bread at City Farmer’s Compost Garden.
We weighed our wheat berries and totalled up 2752 grams or about 6 pounds. It is amazing that we put wheat seeds in the ground in early May and ate bread in mid September on our garden porch just a few feet from where it was planted. Many people took part, from clearing the beds to threshing the wheat — hours of labour! Don’t forget this was grown in our rich compost soil. Looking at the small bag of wheat berries we produced, one might ask, is it was worth the effort?
The 6th Branch turns vacant Baltimore lots into urban farms to feed communities
“I think it’s really powerful to interact and be close to green spaces and be more connected to food. If you noticed, they’re not seeing a lot of fresh produce in these areas.” By Jenyne Donaldson Wbaltv Sept 30, 2026 Excerpt: The 6th Branch, established in 2010, has converted more than 23 acres of vacant lots into thriving green spaces and urban farms. Terrell Williams, a Marine Corps veteran and board member, emphasized the importance of creating hope in neglected areas.
Charming NYC rooftop farmhouse lists for $10.5M
A carpet of greenery and a working vegetable patch By Vivian Marino NYT Sept 30, 2026 Excerpt: “It’s an interesting juxtaposition between country and urban,” Mr. St. André said of the property, adding that outdoor residential space in the West Village is uncommon. “You have this cottage in one world and in the background the lights of New York City.
Bee U: Urban Beekeeping Protecting Our Food Supply
Since 2021, nearly 100 young people have completed the program. By Andrew Cottle Food Tank Sept 30, 2026 Excerpt: Bee U NYC is using urban beekeeping to teach young people about food systems, biodiversity, and environmental careers, while fostering the next generation of pollinator stewards. Bees, along with other pollinators, help reproduce 35 percent of the world’s food crops and nearly 75 percent of flowering plants, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Lawmakers Press USDA on Funding for Urban Ag
The agency has failed to make grant funds allocated by Congress for urban and suburban farmers available over the past two years. By Lisa Held Civil Eats September 29, 2026 Excerpt: September 28, 2026 – House Democrats on Monday questioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) over its failure to distribute $12 million in funding allocated to support farmers in urban and suburban areas over the past two years.
Germany: Demolition costs for vacant lots are a burden on allotment garden associations
Allotment garden associations in Saxony are struggling under the financial burden of dismantling vacant plots. Die Sachsen News Sept 29, 2026 Excerpt: According to the State Association of Allotment Gardeners, this has led to the most pressing concern: the costs of dismantling vacant plots. “Within just a few years, the costs have risen from 4,000 to an average of 7,000 euros,” said the association’s president, Tommy Brumm.
Canada: From Wheat Seeds to Table Bread at City Farmer’s Compost Garden.
We weighed our wheat berries and totalled up 2752 grams or about 6 pounds. By Michael Levenston City Farmer Sept 29, 2026 It is amazing that we put wheat seeds in the ground in early May and ate bread in mid September on our garden porch just a few feet from where it was planted. Many people took part, from clearing the beds to threshing the wheat — hours of labour! Don’t forget this was grown in our rich compost soil.
Canada: City girl finds her happy place on the farm
Flory Sanderson poses with one of her goats. Photo: Facebook/Island Hill Farm Inc It just so happened that the happy place was a P.E.I. farm, far from the urban lifestyle and province she grew up in. By Margaret Evans Western Producer Sept 28, 2026 Excerpt: I discovered that my goats grounded me and so I opened the farm to the public to share that experience. Goats are easier (than large livestock) to handle, and they are good with people. They’re extremely friendly.
Canada: The fruits of their labour: How local farms and gardens are growing for Montrealers
Teprine Baldo, a PHD research student, volunteers at Concordia’s Loyola campus garden. Tim Snow / Montreal Gazette What happens when the work, land and harvest are used to benefit people beyond a single household? By Abby McLaughlin Montreal Gazette September 28, 2026 Excerpt: Across Montreal, gardens, farms and public land are being used to share more than food.
Young leaders, volunteers bring Kansas City urban farm back to life. ‘Really exciting moment’
A volunteer carries away grass and brush from Splitlog Farm. Throughout Kansas City’s surrounding region, roughly 15% of people and 20% of children are at risk of hunger By Sofi Zeman Kansas City Star September 28, 2026 Excerpt: The revival of an extinct urban farm will soon bring new life to the Bethany neighborhood in Kansas City, Kansas.
Malaysia: Reinventing urban farming through fish
By controlling the ingredients and nutrients, the farm keeps its fish healthier (Pics by MUHD AMIN NAHARUL /TMR) Green Street Farms is exploring technology partnerships to digitise its operations By Azalea Azuar The Malaysian Reserve Sept 28, 2026 Excerpt: Green Street Farms combines fish and vegetables in a hybrid system that integrates a commercial recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) with aquaponics.
From backyard garden to grocery cart
A farmer sets up her display at the Fresh Off the Farm Local Food Festival at the UF student gardens. UF / IFAS Communications Tyler Jones New study explains how growing food shapes consumer choices By UF/IFAS Citrus County Chronicle Sep 26, 2026 Excerpt: More than 53 million U.S. households participate in food gardening, a number that has grown steadily in recent years. A nationwide survey suggests that firsthand experience producing food may shape how consumers value locally grown produce.
Bringing Food Back to the City: A Critical Review of Green Infrastructure Concepts for Integrating Agriculture
Until the Industrial era, the survival of the city was dependent on a local supply of food both located inside the city and its immediate surroundings, organized concentrically.
Local Entrepreneur Shows How Urban Farming Can Address Inner-City Food Deserts
Todd Western IV stands in front of his urban farm plots. Western is a seventh-generation farmer, but his approach is more urban than his ancestors. “Agriculture affects us all. And we all need to eat. We all do better when we have local food grown closer to us,” Western said By Emily Haugen CCX September 25, 2026 Excerpt: Sandwiched cozily between two houses in north Minneapolis, Todd Western IV tends to his crops.
Canada: Tour of the George & Martha Butterfield Rooftop Farm in Toronto
To date, the rooftop farm has produced 900 lbs of fresh vegetables and herbs, along with pollinator-friendly flowers (some that are also edible). Trinity College Sept 24, 2026 Excerpt: As a campus hub for learning, research and activity on sustainability and experiential learning in food systems, students will have incredible opportunities to explore how climate action, health, equity and learning can be integrated into daily campus life.
Tokyo Hotel Uses Abandoned Suitcases as Vegetable Planters
About 10 suitcases are left behind at the hotel each month. He added that roughly 90% of the hotel’s guests are foreign visitors. The Jiji Press Set 24, 2026 A hotel in Tokyo has found an unusual use for suitcases left behind by guests, repurposing them as planters for vegetables and herbs in its rooftop garden as part of a sustainability initiative, Qazinform News Agency learned from JiIJI Press .
19 Years Ago, 50 Cent Joined Forces with Bette Midler to Transform a Destitute Queens Lot. It’s Still a Thriving Community Garden
Nearly two decades after the unlikely duo teamed up, the Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson Community Garden remains a vibrant neighborhood space in South Jamaica By Colson Thayer People September 24, 2026 Excerpt: In the heart of Jamaica, Queens, sits a quarter-acre lot that serves as a multi-functional gathering space complete with community gardens and even a little free library. The plot features conservation-focused features like a rainwater harvesting system and a solar-powered water pump.
Kenya: Sisters promote urban agriculture in Nairobi area and its informal settlements
John Selemeni, left, and Stephen Ikuytwa tend to a crop of capsicum in a greenhouse managed by Sr. Christine Kagunye of the Assumption Sisters in Thika, a town on the outskirts of Nairobi. (Gitonga Njeru) We don’t just pray with them but give them a bag of beans and porridge.
Canada: City Farmer’s Library Catalogued by AI
% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents. We started our library in 1978 collecting books and documents related to urban agriculture from around the world. A portion of that library remains with the Society and we have used AI to catalogue it. Simply using an iPhone, we took six photos of the shelves and uploaded them to Chat GPT.
Safely Making Compost From … Poop?
Philadelphians flush 310 tons of what could be money-making compost every year. Will fears of forever chemical contamination prevent us from cashing in? By Courtney Duchene Philadelphia Citizen Sept. 22, 2026 Excerpt: Hendon can’t pinpoint exactly why the farm, which averages 8,000 to 8,500 pounds of tomatoes, zucchini, okra, eggplants and other produce each year, has had such a bumper crop this year.
Urban farmer works to harvest success with her microgreens/herb business
As a high school student, Morgan Christl discovered the positive effects that microgreens had on her health. This helped spark a business that has morphed into her urban farm, Earth-to-Jar Botanicals. By Tammy Swift Inforum September 22, 2026 Excerpt: Her family has a long history of Crohn’s disease, so she understood early on that she needed to dramatically improve the nutritional quality of what she could digest.
Urban farming: Wilmington professor grows food and community in backyard
“It falls into my belief system as a grower, to teach and share the knowledge as much as possible.” By Estelle Smith The Review Sept 21, 2026 Excerpt: This secret food forest — a cultivated edible forest ecosystem — is filled with towering oaks, maples and spruces, vegetable gardens, a medicinal garden, fruit and nut trees, honey beehives, ponds with koi and goldfish and, of course, a chicken coop — all flourishing in the midsummer warmth.
UK: A 160-acre former Oldham landfill has transformed into the UK’s largest urban farm and eco-park
Complete with a woodland forge, playground, and a farm-to-fork café By Alice Lorenzato-Lloyd Secret Manchester September 21, 2026 Excerpt: By 2030, Northern Roots aims to attract 300,000 visitors a year. The project also aims to increase wildlife habitats by 25%, generate clean renewable energy, and store 30,000 tonnes of carbon by 2050. Central to the operation is a hyper-local food supply chain, where freshly harvested produce travels just 200 metres from the soil to a new on-site café-kitchen.
Canada: Alberta teens reap business and life lessons in first garden
Youth club members Avery Sheppard, Kiera Lang and Emily Regier harvest carrots from their plot at the Beaumont and District Agricultural Society.
India: Why urban foraging helps conserve green spaces
VIDEO Video Story – [Must see!] By Pracheta Sharma, Tabea Mergenthaler Eco India September 19, 2026 In Mumbai people are discovering the age-old tribal practice of wild food foraging and learning to value urban green spaces in the process. Share this post: on Facebook on LinkedIn
Crop Swap L.A. Founder Jamiah Hargins
Video Story: The Avocado Best Represents Los Angeles Zocalopublic square September 18, 2026 Jamiah Hargins is an urban farming leader and the founder of Crop Swap L.A. Before joining the panel for “Can We Squash Food Deserts?,” part of The Huntington’s Sunday Suppers series and co-presented by Zócalo Public Square and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, he spoke to us in the green room about his dream dinner guest, regenerating dead spaces, and the vegetable that best represents L.A.
Meet Arjun Jain, the 16-year-old New Jersey student who turned a backyard hydroponics hobby into a project.
He has grown and distributed 3,500+ pounds of produce and helped shape two local ordinances Times of India Sept 18, 2026 Excerpt: 16-year-old student from New Jersey has turned a backyard soil-free farming experiment into an urban agriculture project that has donated more than 3,500 pounds of fresh produce to local food pantries while also helping shape local laws.
Voices: Supporting Detroit’s urban farms boosts city’s resilience
Detroit’s urban farms transform vacant lots into food sources, but extreme weather and tax policy threaten their future. by Darren Plummer Planet Detroit September 18, 2026 Excerpt: Detroit’s urban farms are cultivated by organizations like the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative, a nonprofit engaging Michigan residents in sustainable agriculture, and Keep Growing Detroit, an urban farming collective dedicated to food sovereignty.
Canada: An Indigenous Garden: Food, medicine, memory and a place to heal in Ottawa
Nina Barbosa by the Three Sisters Garden. Photo: Karyn Pugliese Behind a student residence at the University of Ottawa, a small garden has become a gathering place for cultural memory and connection. By Karyn Pugliese APTN News Sep 17, 2026 Excerpt: About two dozen Indigenous and non-Indigenous people gather around the garden, eating, talking, and reflecting on what it has meant to spend the year tending the plants and medicines.
UK: Winner of BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine competition
Nadine Mitschunas claimed the ultimate winner’s title from a shortlist of 20 finalists “I don’t have a garden at home, so I actually made my allotment into my garden.” BBC Sept 17, 2026 Excerpt: The winner of a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine competition to find the best overall garden has described winning the award with her allotment as “completely overwhelming”.
Philippines: Urban agriculture takes root in Isabela
Fresh harvests from a solar-powered greenhouse and mushroom house thrive inside Saint Matthias Medical Center in Tumauini, Isabela. DA PHOTO If replicated, the approach positions hospitals not only as consumers of food but as producers — reducing procurement costs, ensuring freshness and providing therapeutic green spaces. By Leander C.
NYC’s oldest active farm is hidden right in the five boroughs — a 330-year-old historic oasis with alpacas, a 3-acre corn maze, and free entry
The oldest active farm in New York State offers fresh produce, animal encounters, and a three-acre corn maze. Secret New York City Sept 16, 2026 Excerpt: Beyond the active crop fields, the farm is home to a diverse group of animals, including alpacas, goats, sheep, and flocks of chickens. Visitors are welcome to walk the expansive grounds any day of the week and observe the livestock at no cost. For a more hands-on experience, guests can purchase feed to interact directly with the goats.
L.A. Estate With AD100 Interiors and 1,000-Square-Foot Edible Garden Is Listed for $13.8 Million
Located at 1877 Rising Glen Road, just minutes from the Sunset Strip and Beverly Hills, the 8,339-square-foot contemporary residence is coming to market on Sept.
Canada: ‘Nobody goes hungry’: First Nation grows 1,000 pounds of food to reduce grocery costs
Community dietitian Alicia Oliver picks potatoes from the no-till garden. (CTV News) A cross-country study of First Nations communities from between 2008 and 2018 found that nearly half of on-reserve households experience food insecurity. By Allison Bamford CP24 September 15, 2026 Excerpt: ONION LAKE CREE NATION, Sask. – A Saskatchewan First Nation is cultivating its own solution to the growing problem of food insecurity.
The airport community garden — a well-kept secret in Florida
Bob Fite, Mike Angarola and Dan Groth. Members also look out for one another, either by watering plots when a gardener is away or suggesting ways to control pests and diseases. By Mike Angarola Fernandina Observer Sept 2026 Excerpt: I grew up in a two-family house owned by my grandparents. We lived upstairs and they, along with my Uncle Joe, lived downstairs. Every year my grandfather would put up a garden that was the envy of the neighborhood.
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