Evaluating Urban Agriculture Policy Implementation in California: A Case Study of Bakersfield

This research investigates how urban agriculture (UA) policies function on the ground in a mid-sized urban context, using Bakersfield, CA as a case study. Bakersfield illustrates the core paradox of California’s food system: a major agricultural county with persistently high food insecurity, limited municipal engagement in UA, and no dedicated USDA Urban Service Center. The paper examines whether federal and state programs are operationally accessible in such settings and identifies the community-led strategies that emerge when institutional infrastructure is weak or absent.

It draws on a review of federal and state UA policies, field observations at USDA Service Centers across California, and six in-depth interviews with USDA staff, urban growers, extension advisors, and policy experts. Findings reveal significant structural gaps: delayed federal hiring, unstaffed or unopened Urban Service Centers, reimbursement-based cost-share models unsuited to small-scale growers, and minimal outreach to communities not already connected to agricultural networks. As a result, growers in Bakersfield rely heavily on community organizations, mutual aid networks, and nonprofit intermediaries for support—structures that, while effective, are not substitutes for sustained institutional investment.

Key recommendations include fully staffing USDA Urban Service Centers, urban-specific program adaptations, streamlined land-use pathways, support for UA intermediary organizations, and the reinstatement of federal equity provisions.