On Monday night, the Ohio Microfarm Project, an initiative with “roots” at The Ohio State University at Manfsield, took to the stage in Columbus to share its vision.
The setting was an evening set aside for the ten finalists in the Alliance for the American Dream initiative to present their respective programs. Each is vying to be one of the three efforts selected to be presented to the initiative underwriter for funding and support, and to be shared as well with the three other universities involved in the Alliance – the University of Utah, Arizona State University, and the University of Wisconsin.
Earlier this year, The Ohio State University collaborated with Schmidt Futures to launch the Alliance for the American Dream – designed to identify ideas that will foster true social mobility, true equality of opportunity, and a true middle class that is attainable and sustainable.
In August, ten finalists were announced, and each presented on Monday. The top three will be made public on December 10.
The Ohio Microfarm Project is the brainchild of Kip Curtis, a professor at OSU Mansfield. At the beginning of the presentation, Brian Snyder of OSU described it as an “unprecedented effort to lift Ohio’s economy and legacy communities by building new local food infrastructure.” The team proposes to create a six-city local food production and marketing network in Ohio in OSU affiliated communities (Mansfield, Marion, Wooster, Lima, Columbus, and Newark) with “continuous yields year after year.”
The presentation can be viewed here (click on “Watch Again”); the Ohio Microfarm Project presentation begins about the 19:30 minute mark.
For an overview of the Alliance for the American Dream initiative, see the video below. It features remarks at the Alliance’s kickoff event this spring.
