Growing fruit and veg in our towns – The Yorkshire Post says
The suggestion by researchers at Sheffield University that urban spaces which are surplus to other requirements could be turned over to growing enough fruit and vegetables to feed 15 per cent of the population, is a potential game-changer.
These so-called “grey spaces” are needed for neither industry nor leisure, and their repurposing could reinvent the way in which some of our food is sourced.
This, say the researchers, would not reduce our reliance on the commercial growers whose presence is essential to our rural communities, but will significantly lessen our dependence on imports.
In Sheffield alone, it is said, space which is already available could provide 90,000 people with their recommended daily intake.
Urban growing has gained significant traction in the last decade, thanks to initiatives such as the Incredible Edible movement that began in Yorkshire. In the present climate, this latest development could precipitate a paradigm shift.