Urban Farms Destroyed by Hurricane Sandy Will Hurt Food Supply

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Hurricane Sandy devastated urban farms in New York City and New Jersey and now those farms are facing immeasurable crop losses that may take years to recover.

In addition to crop loss and apiary or bee farm destruction, farms also are dealing with pollutants that might have been washed in with the storm water. If pollutants exist, farmers will create remediation plans that could include inoculating the soil with fungi spores, saturating the land with compost tea, or even removing it all and starting over with new top soil.

"For more than 30 years urban farms have been helping to feed New Yorkers, especially lower income residents and Sandy's effects could create challenges for affordable fresh fruits and vegetables," says Phil Lempert, founder of Food Nutrition & Science and CEO of The Lempert Report and SupermarketGuru.com.  "With 80 percent of the U.S. population living in cities, urban agriculture matters and helps with feeding Americans."

Also in the November issue, Unity Health Care's Upper Cardozo Health Center in Columbia Heights, D.C. is partnering with Wholesome Wave, a non-profit organization that improves access and affordability of fresh, local produce to food deserts. It works with health care professionals to prescribe fruits and vegetables to their patients.

The Fruit & Veggie Prescription Program (FVRx), provides fruit and vegetable "prescriptions" to overweight and obese children, or pregnant women, and their families who are at risk of developing preventable diseases. Prescriptions are redeemed at participating farmers markets for fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables.

Other articles include information about the role of "processed foods" in America's food supply, the actual cost of a holiday meal, and a-day-in-the-life video with Alaska salmon fisherman John Love as he takes us on his boat.

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SOURCE Food Nutrition & Science