Here's the non-profit's web site.
The NPR piece talked about urban farming as a tool for community rejuvenation:
Wojtowicz says the biggest benefit, though, is less blight in the neighborhood. And residents say that, unlike abandoned houses, the gardens aren't targeted by vandals.---Detroit resident Eric Parrish says that those who live around the gardens respect the farming projects. "They see we're doing something to help the community," he says.
Parrish says he recently started gardening with Urban Farming because it helps turn things around in his city.
"You can tell people are struggling. So when I do see these plots of land it makes me say, 'I want to garden there,' " he says.
Parrish says most people are grateful for the gardens, although at first a few were concerned they would attract pests.
Turns out that urban farms do attract people, says Gail Carr, one of Detroit's city managers. She has houses boarded up nearly every day and sees what a dramatic difference the gardens have on communities.
"People are coming out of their homes who wouldn't come out under other circumstances because they didn't think there was still a community or a neighbor or a friendly person nearby," she says.
The urban agriculture movement is very promising.
Localizing food production will help eat into the carbon footprint of industrial agriculture and also has the side benefits of building community, pumping healthier food into low-income urban regions, and getting people working together on a common project.
The above mentioned organization - Urban Farming - has the following video on their web site. It's worth a look:
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If you live in DC and would like to get involved with a local farm, DC has a local garden that takes volunteers. It is actually relocating but Prince of Petworth has the info on it.
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Here's one more video of an urban farm in Chicago...conditions sound a lot like parts of DC with little to no access to fresh produce:
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