Sole Food Street Farms

Michael Ableman is a farmer, author and the co-founder of Sole Food Street Farms, the largest urban agriculture enterprise in North America. Established in 2008 in downtown Vancouver, its mission is to provide employment, community and agricultural training to low-income residents, many of whom are struggling with addiction and mental illness. By turning the trauma-heavy neighbourhood into a thriving farmscape that now produces food for more than 30 restaurants across the city, the team at Sole Food Street Farms shows us how agriculture can be a credible enterprise for urban areas, while providing opportunities to people in need. Michael shared his story with Dumbo Feather at the 2018 Byron Writers Festival. This is an extract from that talk.

MICHAEL ABLEMAN ON

TRANSFORMING VACANT LAND INTO STREET FARMS

I had been working as a commercial organic farmer for 43 years, producing food in California and Canada. Along the way I had a reckoning. I realised that