Courtesy of Roxanne C., Philadelphia PA
Advocates inside and outside the farming industry are getting more and more creative with the words they use to instigate debate, engage supporters and propel change. There is even a lexicon of sustainability to help understand them all.
SPIN salutes all these words, and the concepts behind them. But our favorite word is profitability. It’s easy to explain, and it’s not as hard to live up to as many think. The same skills and effort to produce food at home can also be used to start a business, for those who have the desire or need.
Thanks to the ever-expanding ecosystem of food activists, bloggers, chefs, techies and pundits, a growing number of eaters at all socio-economic levels are deciding that eating healthy is worth it and are re-prioritizing their budgets accordingly. This is a business opportunity, one that SPIN is showing people with ambition and a couple of thousand, or even a couple of hundred, square feet, how to pursue. It teaches them to set an income target and figure out how many units, at what price, of which crops are needed to generate a specific income goal, and then how to market those crops. It even has a lexicon of its own.
Backyard food growing always surges during times of world wars and economic downturns to help communities get through hard times. What makes this time different is that there is money to be made. SPIN’s message is that by practicing the type of farming the reformers are preaching, you can put money in your pocket. And people who have been implementing the SPIN system in widely varying circumstances have been generating income. How much SPIN farmers make is up to them and their markets. What they all have in common, and what SPIN shows them how to do, is to turn backyard-scale growing into a business. In addition to advancing a good cause and improving your lifestyle, it’s another good reason to walk the talk.
 Sixteen year old Dylan Greer started a backyard SPIN farm on his summer vacation. When it comes to green, he likes being it, and bringing it home. His parents are glad that he knows how to put good on the table, one way or another.Â
