If you build it, they will eat

When Rick Rennie and Chris Goblet saw the dirt lot that sits west of the downtown Albuquerque Rail Runner Station, they said they cringed to think it would stay barren and undeveloped.

So they decided to do something about it: That lot will become the Alvarado Urban Farm, which will feature 40 raised plant beds, a market and foreign sports courts.

Rennie, the Historic Downtown Improvement Committee (HDIC) asset manager, and Goblet, the deputy director for the Downtown Action Team (DAT), teamed up to improve downtown Albuquerque and promote culture and commerce.

“We didn’t want that space to remain a dirt lot until the economy got better, so we pulled together a bunch of people we know and made a proposal to the city,” he said.

Rennie said they developed a legal agreement that allows the city to own the land and the HDIC and the DAT to be the farm managers. He said he hopes to have the structures and the rest of the beds constructed by spring 2012.

The raised plant beds have been allotted to various organizations, such as Amy Biel High School and Albuquerque Public Schools Title 1 homeless project. Rennie said education is a big component of the project.

Goblet said they hope to find someone to take over the urban farm when their two-year lease is finished.

“The ultimate thing would be to build a public market building with rooftop grow space,” Goblet said. “It wouldn’t be the same size or scale, but we would still retain this idea of showing people their food before they eat it.”

Rennie said the urban farm would give low-income families access to fresh, local food. Because of the demographics, he said, there are not any produce markets in the area for downtown residents.

He said in two years he would like to bring in an outside developer as well as a full-time public market for local farmers to sell their goods.

Goblet said they plan to accept EBT cards and food stamps in the market.

Rennie said the urban farm is a way to involve several facets of Albuquerque, such as agriculture and restaurants, and bring them into one space where the outcome can have a wide impact.

“Ultimately we want to help people grow food for their family,” he said. “In a 4-foot-by-8-foot plot you can give a family of four lettuce all year ‘round.”