A group of people who turns lawns into farms

A Group of Volunteer Squad Helps Turning Lawns Into Farms

Do you know what lawns do? And have you ever wondered that you could turn this into mini farms and earn money from it? Surprising, right?

Well, this may sound crazy at first. But the idea came from a group of bright, first-time farmers in Florida who are slowly turning people’s lawns into working gardens.

Chris Castro on Fleet Farming

Co-founder Chris Castro said America have more than 40 million acres of lawn in total, and it is scarce and expensive. That's why they came up with the project, Fleet Farming.

How does Fleet Farming work?

Homeowners need to contact Fleet Farming first to discuss how to convert their lawns into mini-farms, and they need to prove that the land has been pesticide-free for two years. There is also a $500 non-obligatory donation which covers the start-up costs and can be paid installments.

Lawn as vegetable patches

Since Lawns doesn’t produce any food, they have turned their fleet farms with rows of vegetables like cabbage, radishes, potatoes, to name a few.

When it's harvest time, some produce goes directly to the homeowner, and then the remaining is distributed through farmers neighborhood markets and local restaurants in the surrounding community. Castro said that the farming system and sales have allowed the community to be financially self-sustaining.

Volunteers only ride bikes to deliver their products

Fleet Farming's volunteers only ride bikes. They visit from garden to garden to harvest the produce and delivers to local vendors, restaurants and farmers markets.

Fleet Farming hopes that their project will not only reduce the pollution created by grass lawns but aims to create a more sustainable, food system.

Fleet Farming in other communities

The organization is also taking measures to extend beyond their boundaries into low-income neighborhoods where there is a lack of fresh produce for food deserts.

As a matter of fact, people are eager to see Fleet Farming spread globally. According to Castro, there’s already a list of more than 400 homeowners in Orlando wanting to volunteer their lawns.

Please visit their site at http://fleetfarming.org/ for more information.

Way to go, Fleet Farmers!

“Everybody wants to support his own region and economy and farming. If we can preserve the land and if we can preserve the ocean, we all know, deep inside that we're doing the right thing.”

- Eric Ripert