Tampa Expands Urban Agriculture to Feed Underserved Neighborhoods
22 October 2026
The City of Tampa and its partners have launched an ambitious initiative to increase access to fresh, local produce in the city's underserved neighborhoods through the expansion of urban agriculture.
In 2019, the City of Tampa, the Coalition of Community Gardens, and the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) Hillsborough County submitted a USDA grant application to address food access in low-income, low-access (LILA) areas, also known as food deserts. Hillsborough County Extension's Monica Petrella describes food deserts as LILA -- low-income and low-access regions. The effort was renewed in 2020 and ultimately successful.
The goal is to re-imagine and expand urban community gardens to deliver produce to underserved families in the city. The initiative, dubbed "Growing Our Community Gardens and Education," has specific aims: to increase fresh produce access, create new jobs, establish a local produce supply chain. Additionally, the initiative seeks to grow school garden programs that link children to fresh food and farming.
The plan calls for the reorganization of the city's roughly 200 community gardens into "urban clusters." This approach is to improve central points for food distribution at the neighborhood-community level. According to the Coalition, smartphone apps will also help connect residents with their local urban clusters.
Further adding to the project, the grant funding will support the establishment of new "garden fresh markets," free food pantries, and an education certification program. The program will also include career and entrepreneurial training.
Experts point to the success of Meacham Urban Farm, located in the ENCORE! Tampa neighborhood, as an example of how urban agriculture can transform underutilized land. The 2.1-acre organic farm opened fall 2020, financed in part by a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant. It provides community access to fresh vegetables, fruits, meat and eggs.
The initiative reflects a broader national urban farming movement. The USDA established the Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production division in 2018 to support innovative urban ag and encourage crop and animal production in urban and suburban areas. It's a farm that taps into demand that is closer to home.
For residents in LILA neighborhoods, many of which historians call redlined, the approach promises a localized answer to the lack of accessible food choice in Tampa.