The Safe Urban Garden Development Program was conducted through a partnership between the University of Louisville’s Center for Environmental Policy and Management (CEPM) and The University of Kentucky/Jefferson County (KY) Cooperative Extension Service. The Safe Urban Garden Development Program was part of Louisville Metro Mayor's Healthy Hometown Movement and was funded through a grant to Louisville Metro from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The program expanded the Cooperative Extension Service’s existing community garden program in Metro Louisville to:

provide hands-on gardening workshops;
provide assistance with garden site planning and development;
produce and distribute safe gardening educational materials to the community;
provide Cooperative Extension Service educational guides on safe gardening practices translated into 5 languages; and
provide affordable soil testing.

Gardening in urban areas requires particular attention to issues of soil safety and contamination. This program provided resources and assistance to communities to help minimize the potential health risks associated with urban gardens, including raised beds and other container gardens. Assistance is also offered in understanding and making decisions about soil remediation (cleaning or removal). Ultimately the program aimed to improve public health overall within Louisville Metro by providing well-researched and easily-accessible information and resources about urban gardening to increase the number of safe urban home and community gardens in the community. This in turn increases access to fresh safe local food, as well as the community level of physical activity through gardening.

The program included:

annual workshops
demonstration projects on garden design and implementation

On February 18-19, nearly 45 participants came together in snowy Louisville, Ky for the workshop "Growing the Local/Regional Food System: Strategies for Sustainable and Equitable Economic Development." Organized by the Environmental Fiance Center Network and the NADO Research Foundation through the Sustainable Community Learning Network, this event highlighted strategies for building and strengthening the local and regional food system as a way to develop economic prosperity and create healthy, inclusive communities.

Session themes included boosting local food manufacturing entrepreneurship, filling gaps in distribution networks and processing/storage infrastructure, gathering and using food system data, ensuring that low-income workers can access new food system jobs, and increasing healthy food options in underserved areas. The event also included opportunities for networking, as well as mobile tours to explore exciting food systems initiatives underway in Louisville, including a visit to Jefferson County Public School's Central Kitchen, and a tour of food manufacturing and retail startups in Louisville's Portland neighborhood, a formerly distressed area and food desert that is being revitalized into a hub for food business entrepreneurship and innovation.

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