The word “urban” can elicit a number of mental images relating to the inner city, such as blocks of housing developments for urban dwellers, miles of streets that stretch into the city and clusters of buildings that house cubicle-congested offices.

Edwin Marty, founder and executive director of Jones Valley Urban Farm, has a different mental picture for the urban setting.

On what was once a vacant lot surrounded by abandoned houses in the Southside neighborhood of Birmingham, Marty cultivated a garden that has flourished into a non-profit supplier of local produce.

Marty said food transported from factory farms miles away from inner-city markets has replaced homegrown, local produce that can be sold in a much healthier fashion.

With the organic produce grown in JVUF, Marty said he hopes to ameliorate public health issues.

“We’re bringing the idea of agriculture into the dialogue of public health,” Marty said.

Marty said the “pervasive voice of ‘get big or get out’” has omitted local suppliers of produce from the agricultural market.

To reduce the “food-mile” and additives used to preserve food, Marty said he hopes to inspire the cultivation of local produce in the urban environment.

Marty said the state of Alabama imports 95 percent of its food instead of harnessing its environmental resources in what he said is “an awesome growing climate.”

Refocusing agriculture to local markets will not only drastically curtail the consumption of foreign oil for transportation purposes but will also give consumers the pleasure of tasting food as it should be, Marty said.

“We’re reminding people that fresh, healthy, locally produced food will taste better than [food shipped from] anywhere else on Earth,” Marty said.

Marty said he wants to see a new demographic of students and citizens excited about growing food, even if the garden planted is confined to a small patch of land.

He said a new generation of farmers will become a necessary element for the future of agriculture in Alabama.

“The most pressing issue in agriculture right now is the age of the farmers,” Marty said. “The average age of farmers is from 60 to 62…and so in a short time, Alabama will not have any more farmers.”

Marty said the practice of farming necessitates an intimacy with the land and climate to bring about a successful growing season.

“We need to train and inspire the next generation of farmers,” Marty said. “Agriculture should be seen as a viable way of life and a beautiful way of life.”

He said college students will bring this new generation of farmers and their local, organic produce to life.

“College students will be the ones that will have the power to make the changes,” Marty said.

Grant Luiken, a senior majoring in international studies and Spanish, teaches a class called “Food Movement in America” that Marty agreed to speak to this past Monday.

Luiken said access to healthy, locally-grown food should be a right and not a luxury.

“It’s something that needs to be inclusive,” Luiken said. “People should have the option of being healthy… but some don’t even have the chance.”

Luiken said he studied overseas in Uruguay, and during his stay, he ate from a farmer’s market two blocks away from his housing.

Luiken said he believes Marty envisions similar “food-systems” being designed into the American urban environment.

Raul Ramirez, a senior majoring in psychology, said he sees the growth of local produce as advisable but not imperative.

“It’s a good option but not an entitlement at all,” Ramirez said.