Urban farms represent highly heterogenous management environments, complicating on-farm food safety efforts.

Urban agriculture is increasingly promoted for its contributions to food access, equity, and sustainability, yet food safety risks in these systems remain underexplored in the United States. To address this gap, we surveyed 43 urban growers across 12 cities in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast U.S. Semi-structured interviews, field walk-throughs, and follow-up reviews were used to characterize farm practices, land use histories, infrastructure, and grower perspectives on microbial and chemical hazards. Findings revealed heterogeneity in practices and farm histories between and within farms. Many farms prioritized community empowerment, education, and food access. Growers frequently expressed concern about legacy chemical contamination but reported limited training or awareness of microbial hazards. Structural constraints such as insecure land tenure, limited resources, reliance on volunteers and donated materials, and staff turnover further complicated consistent implementation of food safety measures. These results highlight the limits of applying rural, commercial farm-oriented food safety frameworks to urban farm contexts. Improving food safety outcomes in urban agriculture will require flexible, field-specific risk assessments, alongside policies and technical assistance that address both knowledge gaps and structural barriers facing urban growers.