Asheville man begins drive to establish urban farmers

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) Once, in America, and not that long ago, yard vegetable gardens were as common as sidewalks to the front door.

Farming didn't necessarily have to be, and often wasn't, the resident's livelihood.

Gardens simply were part of the U.S. landscape.

Today, however, as those such as Wendell Berry and Michael Pollan have written, the populace has become divorced from its food sources.

Asheville's Sunil Patel wants to change that.

"We don't know anymore that the land is just as much a part of ourselves as our heart is," said Patel, 35, farmer and founder of Patchwork Urban Farms in Asheville. He started the company a year ago this month.

Patel's vision is to create an environment where the land that produces people's food is the land on which those same people already live, work and play.

Patel and Patchwork have obtained permission to use six plots of land through crop sharing. Those plots range from a tenth of an acre to 1.5 acres. They are located throughout Asheville and in Swannanoa.

Patel plans to form more land partnerships this year, he said.

Those partnerships function like what is commonly known as a CSA or community-supported agriculture, Patel said.

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Asheville man begins drive to establish urban farmers