Resources

to help you dive deeper into our food system

Welcome to our Resource Library!  Here you will find reports, how-to guides, links to websites, and more! 

The information is organized by topic:

Urban Agriculture   Advocacy & Policy    Shop Local

To search for a specific resource, try pressing the CONTROL key and the F key at the same time on your keyboard and use the search field to type in key words that you’d like to find.  Can’t find what you’re looking for?  E-mail us at finlouisville@gmail.com and we’ll be happy to help!

Know of a useful resource or report that’s not listed?  Let us know by e-mailing finlouisville@gmail.com!

Urban Agriculture Resources

How-To & Do It Yourself

Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky

Everyone’s favorite go-to resource. Developed by the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension.

Headline Accent Text

Read the PDF

Composting and Landscaping at Home  

An introduction to composting and a list of useful links to learn more.  Great for people incorporating compost systems at home or in the garden.

Home Advisor

Read the Article

How to Test Your Soil  

This link is for testing nutrient content in your soil–NOT for lead testing.  For lead testing call (502) 569-2344.

UK Extension

Visit the site

Growing Fruit Trees at Home in Kentucky

Published by the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service.

UK Extension

Read the pdf

Garden Advice

The Jefferson County Master Gardener Association has a great collection of resources for gardening, landscaping, and fruit production available to the public, as well as information on upcoming Master Gardener classes.

Master Gardeners

View more resources

Urban Gardening Guide

Garden Safe Garden Well: An Urban Gardening Guide is an accessible primer on soil testing, including a myth-busting section, and it covers basic techniques for urban gardening.  Anyone can add local urban agriculture organizations and resources on the last page by typing into the PDF and saving.  Links to more in-depth instruction and resources are also included on the last page.Presbyterian Hunger Program

Read the PDF

Incorporating Conservation Practices

The Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District provides conservation resources to all residents of Jefferson County, Kentucky.  Programs include: Technical Assistance, Financial Incentives, & Urban Agriculture Education. 

Jefferson Co. Soil & Water Conservation District

visit the site

How to Attract Pollinators

Kentucky Pollinator Handbook: A field office technical guide reference for the management of pollinators and their habitats.

2016: NRCS Ecological Sciences

view the Pdf

SARE Organic Pest Management

Good organic pest control and management entails weed control, weed prevention, organic insect control and plant disease control. Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) has put together a list of resources on these practices and more! 

SARE

Visit Page

How to Use Beneficial Insects

Idlewild houses a number of insects, arachnids and other arthropods, including tropical species that cannot be found anywhere else in the state. They let guests hold and interact closely with many of these amazing creatures as part of a guided tour through their rearing lab, insectarium and live butterfly flight house.

Idlewild

visit the site

Organic and Sustainable Practices

ATTRA, A national sustainable agriculture assistance program, is a great resource for finding information on organic and sustainable practices. Their Youtube channel features educational videos on sustainable agriculture practices from pest management to cover cropping to fruit tree pruning.

ATTRA

visit website

Youtube channel

Center for Crop Diversification

University of Kentucky’s hub for small farm business information and resources. Visit this page for everything from crop profiles to sample farm budgets to food safety guidance!

University of Kentucky

Visit Site

Lots of Food Resources

Lots of Food was started at the end of 2013 to demonstrate the value and viability of transforming a vacant lot into a thriving orchard and market garden. There are hundreds of similar vacant lots in Louisville and other cities and other folks like Amanda who are doing similar projects to improve food security and restore some vitality to neighborhoods.

Lots of Food

find Resources

Accessing Vacant Land to Grow Food

A guide put together by FIN to help Louisville residents access vacant property to grow food.

2022: Food in Neighborhoods

View Guide

Louisville Area Garden Supplies & Resources

A collaborative list of Louisville garden supply stores organized by neighborhood.

2020: Food in Neighborhoods

View doc

BearFruit & Grow, LLC Youtube Channel

BearFruit & Grow, LLC was created to encourage, empower, educate, and participate in your vegetable garden journey! We farm vegetable and herb plants and offer coaching services for anyone who wants to grow a vegetable garden in any space. Check out their youtube channel for helpful how-to videos!

BearFruit & Grow, LLC

Watch videos

Blackacre Conservancy Youtube Channel

Blackacre’s community garden has over 300 plots! Check out their youtube channel for helpful how-to videos.

Blackacre Conservancy

watch videos

Kentucky State University Publications

Kentucky State University (KSU) Cooperative Extension Program strengthens underserved communities, families, farmers, individuals and youth to improve their quality of life with state-of-the-art, research-based educational programs. You can find all of their publications at the link below!

Kentucky State University

View resources

Kentucky Agriculture Development Fund

The KADF invests in innovative proposals that increase net farm income and affect tobacco farmers, tobacco-impacted communities and agriculture across the state by stimulating markets for Kentucky agricultural products.

KADF

Visit site

Community Land Ownership Micro Grant

FIN will use available funds to directly support community land ownership. Individual applications are eligible for up to $500 and will be accepted on a rolling basis to be reviewed each month until funds are spent. 

FIN

Download application

Edible Backyard Youtube Channel

Educational videos about growing food in your yard. We especially like the videos on pruning fruit trees!

Edible Backyard

watch videos

Louisville Compost Co-op

Join the only residential compost service in Louisville, KY. For just $20 per month, residential members receive a weekly bucket pick up and drop off at their home, access to the quality compost produced by their own food scraps, and the peace of mind that comes with diverting your food waste from a landfill where it produces methane gasses..

Louisville Compost Co-op

Visit site

Community Gardens

Find a Community Garden

Use this map as a guide to discover local food resources in your community. Click on a point to find out more information about each garden and how to get involved.

Urban Agriculture Coalition

Visit the map

How to Start a Community Garden

Community Gardens in Louisville: A Start Up Guide, developed by the Louisville Metro Department of Economic Growth and Innovation.  This resource walks you through many important steps to take when starting a community garden.

Dept of Economic Growth and Innovation

read the pdf

Community Garden Toolkit

It’s always a great time to get your community together and plan for a garden! If you’re starting a garden from scratch or want to better organize an existing garden, the Community Garden Toolkit will help you get growing.

2021: Louisville Grows

read the doc

Community Garden Grant

Want to start your own community garden? Check out Louisville Grows’ Community Garden Grant (awards up to $1,000)! Louisville Grows

More About the Grant

 

UK Cooperative Extension Service

The University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service manages many community gardens around Louisville. This popular program provides access to plots that range in size, depending on the garden. Plots are rented by the year, with the option to renew your plot rental each year. At most gardens, water and small equipment, like tillers, are provided at no additional cost.

UK Cooperative Extension

Learn More About CES 

 

Common Earth Gardens

Common Earth Gardens is dedicated to improving the quality of life of refugee families and Louisville communities through agricultural opportunities.  They support the creation of new gardens and farms, connect new Americans to land at community gardens and community farms in Louisville, and run an incubator farm program for people to learn how to run their own farm business.

Common Earth Gardens

Visit site

 

Community Garden Guide

The goal of Grow Pittsburgh’s Community Garden Guide is to help neighborhoods like yours create sustainable community food gardens that will be enjoyed for generations to come.  Here you will find steps to take with your community to develop a vision, organize your group, build community partnerships, find land, and more!

Grow Pittsburgh

Visit Site

 

Community Garden Management Toolkit

This is a great resource that includes strategies to develop the community, land, and organizing aspects of a community garden.  Compiled by Betsy Johnson for the Springfield Food Policy Council Springfield, Massachusetts.

2014: Springfield Food Policy Council

VIEW THE PDF

American Community Gardening Association

The American Community Gardening Association builds community by increasing and enhancing community gardening and greening across the United States and Canada

ACGA

Visit Site

Legal Resources

Louisville Urban Agriculture Ordinance

Louisville Metro has recently adopted new guidelines for urban agriculture that are less restrictive. See the revised urban agriculture ordinance below.

2021: LDC Reform

Read the Ordinance

Zoning in Louisville

Check your zoning using the LOJIC map and then refer to the Land Development Code to see what’s allowed in your zone.

Louisville Metro

View the LOJIC Map

View the Ldc

Building the Legal Backbone of our Community

We are all stronger when we work together. When farmers and attorneys share knowledge, the entire local food system moves forward. Farm Commons fosters the discussions and connections that build a strong legal backbone for our community and provides resources and services.

Farm Commons

Visit Farm Commons

 

Animal Ordinances in Louisville

General list of what is considered livestock and minimum enclosure requirements.

Restraint (5): minimum lot size requirements for livestock over 40 lbs.
Restraint (7): fencing requirements for livestock over 40 lbs.
Restraint (8): poultry rules based on property size.
§ 91.023 OTHER REQUIRED LICENSES AND PERMITS. Swine owners must obtain a permit. No permit needed for other livestock as long as you meet the required property size and/or your neighbor’s don’t report you!

Louisville Metro Animal Services

Read the Ordinances

Kentucky Organizations

Community Farm Alliance

Community Farm Alliance (CFA) works to organize and encourage cooperation among rural and urban citizens through leadership development and grassroots democratic processes to ensure an essential, prosperous place for family-scale agriculture in our economies and communities.

Community Farm Alliance

More About CFA

 

Organic Association of Kentucky (OAK)

The Organic Association of Kentucky (OAK) is a non-profit, membership-based organization dedicated to improving the health of the environment and the citizens of Kentucky. OAK provides resources and educates Kentucky farmers and consumers who are interested in driving change for a more sustainable and organic food system.

Organic Association of Kentucky

More About OAK

 

KSU’s Third Thursday Thing

The Third Thursday Thing is a monthly sustainable agriculture workshop put on by KSU targeting
small farmers, beginning farmers and agricultural professionals covering a different topic each month.  Workshops are currently being held virtually.

Kentucky State University

visit site


Advocacy & Policy Resources

Food, Health, & Environmental Justice in Louisville 

Eater’s Guide to the Farm Bill: Kentucky Edition

We know that food and farming activists make an impact when they are able to impress upon policy-makers the importance of sustainable farming and community food systems. This guide provides questions you can ask candidates for elected office to understand their positions on the policies that impact farms and food systems. Questions for Candidates aims to get candidates and their communities thinking about farming, food security, urban agriculture, the environment and food.

2018: Food In Neighborhoods

Learn How to Take Action 

The Farm Bill-From Seed to Plate

To learn more about the 2018 Farm Bill and how you can take action, watch this great 4-minute video from National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

2018: National Sustainable Ag Coalition

From Seed to Plate

The Louisville Local Food Demand Analysis

The Louisville Local Food Demand Analysis is a comprehensive, qualitative and quantitative analysis of demand for local food in Louisville Metro/Jefferson County, Kentucky.  The findings will be used to support efforts by Mayor Greg Fischer and others to create linkages between urban consumers and rural producers as a long-term, regional, integrated economic development strategy.

2012: Seed Capital

Read the Study

Hunger Innovation Fellowship

The Hunger Innovation Fellowship is a collaboration of the Lift a Life Foundation and the Community Foundation of Louisville providing social, intellectual and financial capital for an individual to research opportunities for systems-level change within Louisville’s food ecosystem. Identified opportunities will have the potential to significantly accelerate and elevate the collective efforts of local organizations and their partners. Solutions may even inspire change for communities facing similar challenges.

Community Foundation of Louisville

Learn More

Louisville Food Ecosystem Map

The Louisville Food Ecosystem Map lists the locations of various food access organizations and resources within Jefferson County, KY. It includes information on food insecurity, food access organizations, community food pantries, restricted food access points, free meal services, community gardens, farmers markets, fresh stop markets, grocery stores, other SNAP retailers, and poverty rates.

Community Foundation of Louisville

View Map

Health Equity Report: 2017

The 2017 Health Equity Report is designed as a tool for policy makers and residents to better understand how they can create more equitable policies and practices, and it examines the history of Louisville and how our past has influenced our present. It reviews 21 health outcomes such as infant mortality, homicide and heart disease, and examines 11 root causes for those outcomes, ranging from food systems to neighborhood development. These health outcomes are arranged in the order of the life course, from infancy through old age, to demonstrate how root causes have different impacts at every life stage and can have cumulative effects over time.

Center for Health Equity

read the report

Antiracism in Food & Farm Advocacy

Support Black Farmers

A list of organizations and resources dedicated to supporting Black farmers locally and nation-wide.

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

View the Google Doc

Black Farm Cooperatives

Discussion about how cooperative farming and racial equity in federal food policy can create economic sustainability in Black communities.

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

watch the video

Annotated Bibliography: Structural Racism in the US Food System

The annotated bibliography offers a foundation for learning and communicating about structural racism in the U.S. food system. It includes 350 publications and 35 videos that explore structural racism across the national system, in specific food system sectors, and within local and regional geographies.

MSU Center for Regional Food Systems: 2021

View Bibliography

Soul Fire Farm: Action Steps

Soul Fire Farm is an Afro-Indigenous centered community farm committed to uprooting racism and seeding sovereignty in the food system. This guide provides action steps to end racism in the U.S. food system. 2017: Soul Fire Farm

Read the Guide

Roots of Resistance Resources

This is a list of resources from the “Roots of Resistance: Centering Black Agrarianism & Land Liberation” event put together by the AACP Health and Environment Committee.

AACP: 2021

View Google Doc

 

Farmworker Advocacy

Farm Labor Organizing Committee

FLOC has built a membership of thousands of migrant farmworkers by incorporating two key principles:

1. Farmworkers need a voice in the decisions that affect them.

2. Bring all parties to the table to address industry wide problems.

Stephen Bartlett is the FLOC KY Field Organizer. Phone number: 502-415-1080. Email: estebanbartlett@gmail.com

FLOC

visit site

The Farmworker Support Committee

Founded in 1979, the Farmworker Support Committee (CATA) is non-profit organization focused on organizing and empowering the immigrant community as they fight for justice for themselves, their families and their communities.

CATA

visit site

United Farm Workers

Begun in 1962 by Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, Gilbert Padilla and other early organizers, the United Farm Workers of America is the nation’s first enduring and largest farm workers union. The UFW continues organizing in major agricultural sectors, chiefly in California.

UFW

visit site

Scholarly Articles 

Community Development through Gardening: State and Local Policies Transforming Urban Open Space

Neglected vacant lots in the modern urban setting pose great hazards to community life. Despite the prevalence of vacant land and the reality of urban blight, many communities have been successful in transforming vacant land into thriving community gardens. The development of community gardens has led to the beautification and greening of many neighborhoods and has fostered a spirit of community cooperation. Community garden organizations routinely face a number of problems, including permanence, lack of access to resources, and legal liability. Designing and implementing effective statutes could solve many of the problems that confront community gardens, thereby enhancing gardening as a tool for community development.

2000: Schukoske

Read the article

Urban Agriculture and Community Food Security in the United States: Farming from the City Center To the Urban Fringe

Prepared by the Urban Agriculture Committee of the Community Food Security Coalition to raise awareness of the ways that urban agriculture can respond to food insecurity. The document advocates for policies that promote small-scale urban and peri-urban farming, and thereby prepare the next generation of urban farming leaders. The task is to increase public knowledge and support, in order to transform urban agriculture “from its cottage industry status into a major instrument against hunger and poverty.”

2003: Brown et al.

Read the article

Vacant Lots to Vibrant Plots: A Review of the Benefits and Limitations of Urban Agriculture 

This review provides an overview of the documented sociocultural, health, environmental, and economic development outcomes of urban agriculture. Demonstrated and potential benefits, as well as risks and limitations, of this growing field are  discussed.

vacant_lots_to_vibrant_plots

2016: Santo et al.

Read the Review

Comparing Community Garden Typologies of Baltimore, Chicago, and New York City (USA) to Understand Potential Implications for Socio-Ecological Services

Urban community gardens offer unique social and ecological benefits in cities.  In this study, we use garden locations provided by stakeholder groups and fine-scale spatial data to compare community gardens across three cities: New York City, NY, Chicago, IL, and Baltimore, MD (USA). Our case study cities exhibit different garden typologies, histories, and potential for ecosystem services. This work provides critical insight into the typology in and around community gardens in different cities, which is useful in understanding the potential ecosystem services and planning trajectories of these cities.

2019: Anderson et al.

Read the Article

Is Local Food Affordable for Ordinary Folks?

A comparison of Farmers Markets and Supermarkets in Nineteen Communities in the Southeast. In regards to some criticisms of farmers’ markets as being “elitist,” in 2011, SCALE, Inc. conducted a study of twenty-four farmers’ markets throughout six states in Appalachia and the Southeastern United States. The findings showed that farmers’ markets closely compete with mainstream supermarkets, and this was demonstrated in their slightly lower prices comparative to that of the supermarkets. The majority of produce was less expensive at farmers’ markets than at mainstream supermarkets.

2011: Flaccavento

Read the Article

Analyzing Healthy, Local Food Systems

This study provided insight into the local food system in Owensboro, Kentucky. Though this study was specific to Owensboro, the author does a great job of outlining how to understand and analyze a community food system. Hayden makes reference to several other cities in Kentucky, including Louisville, which she feels are leading the state in terms of the local food movement. The author provides a questionnaire used to survey participants at local farmers’ markets and other local food distribution sites. The questionnaire allows readers to understand exactly how Hayden learned about the specifics of the Owensboro local food movement. Hayden not only discusses how to strengthen the local food movement in a given community, but also acknowledges the challenges involved with promoting this social and food movement.

2013: Hayden

Read the Thesis

“Don’t Just Care for Yourself: Understanding Leadership Approaches and Volunteer Engagement in Community Gardens”

Scholarly article in Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development by Jeffrey Gilbert, Christina Chauvenet, Brett Sheppard, and Molly De Marco.

2020: Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development

Read the article

Shop Local Resources

Food in Louisville

Lou Food Guide

Food in Neighborhoods Community Coalition created the LouFoodGuide, a Louisville Guide to Local (and Free) Food & Farm Resources, because we want people to have the information they need to eat affordably and nutritiously and to support the local food economy.

2021: FIN

lou Food Guide

Kentucky Double Dollars

The mission of the Kentucky Double Dollars program is to remove obstacles for WIC FMNP, SFMNP, and SNAP participants to increase the purchase and consumption of locally-grown food with point-of-sale matching incentives at multiple access points across Kentucky, including urban and rural farmers’ markets, Fresh Stop Markets (community-driven, sliding fee scale farmers markets), and pilot retail sites.

CFA

Learn More

 

Louisville Community Grocery

The vision of the Louisville Community Grocery is to combine the best features of a value-oriented grocer and a modern consumer food cooperative offering everything available at a large grocer. This will be a place where everyone feels welcome, owner and non-owner alike. The success of this business will be driven by the ideas and input of ALL customers and workers.  Get involved to share what you want out of a cooperatively owned grocery store in Louisville!

Louisville Community Grocery

Louisville Community Grocery Site

 

Farmers Market Calendar

Visit the Food In Neighborhoods calendar page and click the top right arrow if you would like to view Farmers Markets and Food in Neighborhoods meetings and events.

Food In Neighborhoods

Farmers Market Calendar

 

Find your Community Fresh Stop

Fresh Stop Markets—New Roots’ main initiative—are run by volunteer leaders in a grassroots food justice movement that operates from the belief that fresh food is a basic human right.  Connect with a Fresh Stop Market near you and sign up for a share of ten varieties of seasonal, local, organic produce you’ll pick up during the scheduled two hour “pop-up” you choose, at your choice of 17 different Kentucky and southern Indiana Markets. Each FSM pops up biweekly in the same location for the 22-week growing season, from June through November.

New Roots Fresh Stops

Fresh Stop Market Map

 

Find Food Assistance Near You

Dare to Care Food Bank leads our community to feed the hungry and conquer the cycle of need.  They fulfill this mission through innovative programs, efficient operations and by partnering with local food pantries, shelters and kitchens to get food to people in need.  Check out the map to find food near you!

Dare to Care Food Bank

Dare to Care Location Map