Published by City Farmer, Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture

44% of Vancouver Households Grow Food says City Farmer

© City Farmer September, 2002

A poll conducted by Ipsos-Reid on behalf of City Farmer - Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture found that 44% of people in Greater Vancouver live in households that produce some of their own food.

"This is the first time in Canadian history a question of this sort has been asked by a professional pollster and the result is significant," says Michael Levenston, Executive Director of the 25-year-old non-profit society based in Vancouver.

"That figure represents more than three-quarters of a million people in Greater Vancouver who live in households growing vegetables, fruit, berries, nuts or herbs in their yard, balcony or community garden."

"People have grown food in urban centres from the earliest times and they continue to do so despite the fact that our cities are becoming more populated every year", says Levenston. "This is a positive sign showing us that our cities are still liveable despite recent concerns about the urban environment."

City Farmer teaches food gardening at its Demonstration Garden in Kitsilano. "Urban Agriculture is more than just food production; we teach people about urban issues such as waste disposal (composting), and water conservation (rain barrels and drip irrigation).

"As our cities grow, planners must set aside more of our green space for growing food", says Levenston. "Three possible models include, community gardens which have small plots, European-style allotment gardens with larger plots and small cabins for overnight stays, and thirdly mini-market gardens for city dwellers who want to try their hand at commercial growing."

Media Contact: Michael Levenston 604 685 5832 Email: cityfarmer@gmail.com

Urban Farmer

1. Do you, or does anyone in your household grow food, that is vegetables, fruit, berries, nuts, herbs in your yard, on your balcony or in a community garden?

Proportions/Means: Columns Tested (5% risk level) - A/B - C/D - E/F/G - H/I/J - K/L/M - N/O/P
* small base
V/B (Vancouver/Burnaby) SLM (Outside Lower Mainland)

		Region		Gender		Age			Union Household			Education			Income
	Total	V/B	SLM	M	F	18-34	35-54	55+	Priv	Pub	No	HS	PSec	Unv	<30	30-60	60+
		A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O	P
Base: LM respondents	500	231	269	250	250	141	224	129	49	101	347	127	184	188	87	154	223
Weighted	500	218	282	246	254	178	196	121	51*	97*	348	130	186	184	89*	155	220
Yes	222	91	131	111	111	83	96	43	28	56	136	50	87	85	18	76	116
	44%	42%	46%	45%	44%	47%	49%	35%	54%	58%	39%	39%	47%	46%	20%	49%	53%
							G			J						N	N
No	278	126	152	134	143	95	100	78	24	41	211	79	98	99	72	78	104
	56%	58%	54%	55%	56%	53%	51%	65%	46%	42%	61%	61%	53%	54%	80%	51%	47%
								F			I				OP

New Feature! Search Our Site

Return to Contents' Page