"SIFT 2020: A Small-Scale Urban Intensive Farm and a Year of Local Food"

The National Center for Appropriate Technology’s multiyear, ongoing Small-scale Intensive Farm Training (SIFT) program involves education, outreach, research, and several different types of food production on a three-acre farm in Butte, Montana. The SIFT farm’s primary concerns are maximizing food donations for the good of the community and educating local farmers and gardeners in soil regenerative practices that help protect and grow resilient food systems.

As we detailed in SIFT 2020: A Small-Scale Urban Intensive Farm and a Year of Local Food, COVID-19 significantly highlighted the value of local food networks and outreach into the community. The situation revealed an important role for small-scale intensive farming in making the community more resilient and healthier, in addition to supporting those dependent on food-assistance programs. Though there were fewer empty shelves in 2021, food prices have been steadily rising for the last two years, and COVID-19—or its latest variant—continues to affect the flow of products and food. “Food prices have risen at a faster average rate since the onset of the pandemic than they did over the prior decade. Since April 2020, food prices have increased an average of 3.6% for food bought for at-home consumption and 3.9% for food away-from-home on a monthly year-over-year basis” (Lusk, 2021). As in 2020, the supply chain situation highlighted the importance of local food as we continued to operate through a second year of the pandemic in 2021. READ MORE