Community Garden Magazine Issue Five January 2016 | Page 27

1. Every hour, our country loses 50 acres of farmland to
development and urban sprawl.
2. The housing demand is encouraging hungry developers to
offer sky-high prices for farmland to farmers who face financial
uncertainty.
3. Over the past 20 years, the average acreage for new
housing per person almost doubled.
4. More than 90 percent of our fruits and nearly 80 percent of
our vegetables are grown on farmland closest to our cities,
which lies directly in the path of developers’ bulldozers.
5. WE CAN WIN. You have already helped to permanently
protect more than five million acres of farmland that will never
be paved over for shopping malls, subdivisions, highways or
parking lots.
6. Your donation will go THREE times as far if you make it
before the midnight deadline.
7. AFT’s staff has the expertise and credibility to stop the
bulldozers, advocate for family farmers in state capitals and in
Congress, and provide expertise to family farmers who need our
guidance and direct assistance.
Family farmers need our help. And to do more, we need yours.
Please donate now and one of AFT’s founders will TRIPLE
the powerful impact of your tax wise year-end gift.
Sincerely,
Buzz Thompson
Board Chair

27