Our Mission
The Urban Farmer was established to give individuals and communities the tools needed to grow their own food as well as to offer access to locally grown foods. Our goal is to empower the individual to take back control of their food source. Too often we don’t know enough about how our food is being grown or where it comes from. For this reason we offer resources to you the individual or community to change this. We at The Urban Farmer are always doing research on the best way to grow efficiently and effectively. We want to only offer the best growing systems. We also want to educate communities from youth to adults about the different aspects of growing successfully to be self sustainable. We are also dedicated to recognizing the small farmers of our community. There is a slow-food movement underway, and our mission to help spread this movement!
A Brief History about The Urban Farmer
The Urban Farmer was co-founded by Jon Albee and Jessica Padron. Together we researched diligently the concept of the slow-food movement and bringing it to South Florida.
Jon Albee is the owner of Bluestream Builders, a Nationally Recognized Award Winning Remodeler. Alongside Bob Erickson (General Contractor for Bluestream), Jon grew a successful Remodeling company. In 2009, Bob was given little time to live. Jon was not only losing his colleague but also his long-time good friend. It was at this time that they talked about where the company should transition, or really where Jon should transition to. Jon was looking for a new direction for his investments. Bob Erickson, who came from a traditional farming background, talked about food. Erickson Farm, is a 4th generation family farm in Canal Point Florida where Bob grew up. After many heartfelt conversations and reflection, Jon realized his friend had good advice about the new journey his 
life would take.
I was thinking about food too - in a different but very important way. For me it began with the birth of my daughter Bella Sofia. Realizing that I was responsible for the food my daughter would eat and that it would play a significant role in her health and development, I shared this concept with Jon. I wanted to find a way of putting the control of food safety, sustainability, and security back into my hands - the individual’s hands. If I wanted to know where my food was coming from or about how to grow it myself, then there would be others who wanted to know as well.
After much research and thought, The Urban Farmer was officially opened in 2010. We believe that individuals, families, and communities should have the opportunity to know exactly where their food is grown and where it came from.
Sincerely,
Jessica Padron
President, The Urban Farmer