BUFFALO, N.Y. — Could the mushroom be the food of the future or perhaps the key to creating a more equitable food system? That might be a little overzealous, but mushrooms are forming an interesting trend.

This is part two of a look mushrooms and urban farming.

What You Need To Know

  • Buffalo long had urban farms before they become popular around the nation 

  • Urban agriculture are a pillar to neighorhoods battling food insecurity 

  • Mushrooms are a great crop to grow in Buffalo, especially since they cultivate for a longer time period, it can be done indoors

  • Nearly 56,000 households in the Buffalo-Niagara region do not live within walking distance of a grocery and don’t have a personal vehicle

They come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

“We haven’t heard reports of extensive mushroom cultivation, but we know that interest is growing,” said Samina Raja, professor of urban and regional planning in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Buffalo.

Raja says there a number of factors why love for mushrooms is blooming.

“Mushrooms you can actually cultivate for a longer time period, it can be done indoors,” Raja said.

Just like over at Flat 12 Mushrooms in Buffalo’s Black Rock neighborhood. The urban farm is a success story. It’s one of many actually. Raja says the city is already rooted with 10 to 15 of them. That doesn’t include the hundreds of community gardens.

Raja says Buffalo has been at the forefront of urban agriculture as a whole. Now, it’s the way of the future.

“It is also an opportunity for income generation,” Raja said.

Urban agriculture can also be a weapon in the fight against food insecurity. She says nearly 56,000 households in the Buffalo Niagara region do not live within walking distance of a grocery store and don’t have a personal vehicle.

The pandemic exasperated this issue. So, using her team at the Food Lab at UB, they created a map as part of a project called Seeding Resilience. It’s a community-led coalition that’s seeking to strengthen the local food system in response to COVID-19. On the map are food resources across Buffalo.

“Cities have always been places where people think they are the places for homes and dogs, but I’ve never met a person who can live without food,” Raja said.

Raja says the key, though, is us. We will have to take charge to create the farms and grow them into success.

“I think in the future, we are going to see a much tighter integration of urban agriculture into our city’s fabric,” Raja said.

To see part one, click here.