On Wednesday, Feb. 15, Salt Lake City will introduce a one-of-a-kind digital tool that may encourage residents to grow more of their own food.

The Community Food Production Mapping Tool – the first of its kind in the nation – will allow residents to access a City map, click on their property and find out how much food they could grow.

The purpose of the mapping tool is to provide residents with an estimation of how much they could supplement the produce they buy with food grown in their gardens. The tool was developed by Salt Lake City GIS Coordinator Kevin Bell and University of Utah Department of City and Metropolitan Planning students.

Also on Wednesday, Mayor Ralph Becker and members of Salt Lake City’s Food Policy Task Force will officially launch the next phase of its Community Food Assessment, which evaluates the life cycle of the City’s food system from production to plate to food waste

The announcement takes place at 10 a.m. in room 326 of the City & County Building, 451 South State Street. A demonstration of the new mapping tool will follow at 10:30 a.m.

The first phase of the Community Food Assessment, started in August 2011, concentrated on compiling historic and current data related to food production, health and nutrition in Salt Lake City.

The next phase will focus on surveying community members to learn more about how and where they are getting their food and what guides their decisions. Salt Lake City is also hoping to hear about the challenges residents face in feeding their families and in accessing healthy food options

More information about the Community Food Assessment is available at www.slcgreen.co