//FLEET FARMING IS AN INITIATIVE THAT INVOLVES CONVERTING AREAS OF LAWN TO CHEMICAL-FREE FOOD PRODUCTION. //


Because Orlando is relatively flat, this facilitates cycling. In fortnightly ‘swarm rides’, dozens of volunteers cycle through these neighbourhoods, stopping together at the ‘farmlettes’ to help with short working bees which last about twenty minutes each. This provides scope for participants to ask questions, and to gradually learn food-growing skills that can then be applied at home. Equally important, these gatherings are about building community and stimulating motivation. Fleet Farms is very much a bike-


powered company, and produce is transported using bike trailers. In a type


of decentralised Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) system, the produce is sold locally at farmers’ markets and restaurants. In order to keep it hyper- local, in each suburb everything takes place within a five kilometre radius. The money raised goes back into running the organisation. Fleet Farming is also partly funded


through donations, made online by many who are inspired by what it is doing. Growing food locally has a range


of environmental benefits, including cutting food miles and reducing carbon emissions. Fresh chemical-free produce boosts health, and growing it locally improves food security while boosting the local food economy. As an incentive to participate, the


householder receives a share of the produce grown, which is as much as the family can eat. This generally equates to about 5-10 per cent of the total harvest. However, it is not an entirely free lunch; participants are requested to contribute up to US $500 (AUD $660) towards setup costs. There is a minimum two-year commitment. For householders in the Winter Park and Audubon Park


areas of the city who have surplus fruit, volunteers can now collect it and distribute it to nearby restaurants. To date, 26 lawns in the Orlando area


have been converted, and the company has a goal of creating two hundred farmlettes in Central Florida by 2020. At present, there is a local waiting list of hundreds of properties. The idea has since spread to West Oakland, California, and Kampala, Uganda. l


RESOURCES Fleet Farming www.fleetfarming.com Fleet Farming Oakland www.facebook.com/fleetfarmingoak


Connect with other readers & comment on this article at www.livingnow.com.au


Martin Oliver is based in Lismore, and writes on a range of environmental, health and social issues. He takes the view that sustainability is


about personal involvement, whether this involves making our lives greener, lobbying for change at a political level, or setting up local eco-initiatives.


MARCH | APRIL 2018 53


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