Moving from Philosophy to Function

Initially, we had set out to come up with a plan that would feed the poor, train and employ aspiring farmers, contribute to the rise of urban agriculture, increase the availability of local food, persuade conventional farmers to switch to more sustainable methods, and generally address environmental and social justice issues. Trying (and failing) to envision how all this would fit into a single business plan, I was reminded of a proverb: “If you chase two rabbits, you will lose them both.”

At our last meeting (Thursday, Sept. 18), we discussed how to narrow our focus to a single project, and came up with the idea to buy a vacant lot from the Columbus city land bank, build a greenhouse there, and produce mixed salads throughout the winter (and presumably the rest of the year as well). Karen suggested that these salads could be sold to local restaurants and in local grocery stores to compete with similar products imported from California and elsewhere. She also pointed out that Second Harvest would pay for produce that may not be of sufficient quality to sell on the open market.

We were talking about doing this as a non-profit organization and using that non-profit status to get a grant for the startup money we’d need. The problem was that we needed a charitable cause, some place to donate any profits. We randomly threw around ideas of possible beneficiaries–OEFFA, Four Seasons Community Garden, Ohio Food Bank, and some others.  Thinking on this since the meeting, I’ve come up with a different idea, one that could grow with us if and when we expand beyond the greenhouse operation, and that more directly addresses our concerns about a lack of processors and canners to handle food from local farmers. Following are some notes outlining this idea that could later be put into an actual business plan:

Overview

The purpose of the foundation is to encourage local production of food by offering material and instructional support to needy entrepreneurs who wish to start new farms or food processing facilities or expand existing small farms and food processing facilities to serve the local community. Principal funding to support this foundation would come from operating the very sorts of industries the foundation wishes to promote.

Goals

- To improve local food security and food quality by increasing the amount of locally produced food available to consumers.

- To strengthen the local economy overall by encouraging the growth of local food production industries.

- To assist people aspiring to work in agricultural or related fields when they might not otherwise have the resources to do so.

- To directly provide jobs, food, and land stewardship to the local community through the farms and other production or processing facilities operated by the foundation.

Operation

The way this would work is that the foundation would, through grants, donations, or other assistance, acquire startup capital to run a farm, orchard, greenhouse, livestock operation, food processing facility (commercial kitchen/cannery), or similar operation, and then run it the same as a private business. Revenues generated would pay operating costs including equipment, materials, supplies, labor, fuel, utilities, etc. Any money generated in excess of costs would go into a fund to be distributed as grants to start or expand local food production and processing operations.

As Karen pointed out, a non-profit organization is allowed to pay for services rendered, and many non-profits have paid employees, so it would be possible (assuming it’s managed well) for members of the organization to earn at least a modest, part-time income doing this. We may be able to get seeds and other supplies donated, and get a grant for the initial money to purchase land and to build a greenhouse. Karen and I have talked some about how to fit out the greenhouse to work as efficiently as possible, collecting and storing rainwater on site. There’s still a lot to work out.

One concern I have is about utilities at the greenhouse site. While water may not be necessary, I think electric is. To avoid the need to heat the entire greenhouse in the winter, we had discussed using soil heating cables in raised beds. Also, fans are useful in a greenhouse, both to ventilate during warm weather and to keep the air moving to prevent fungal diseases. This would require electrical hookup at the greenhouse, which could drastically increase the cost of building one to code. Obviously, this is going to require some more study before we apply for a grant.

On Friday, I met with Ellen Walker, township administrator and farmers’ market manager of Jefferson Township. She and I had been talking earlier in the season about Frijolito Farm renting some land. I’m currently leasing about a fifth of an acre from a friend in Kirkersville, but the 58 mile round trip has encouraged procrastination, not to mention it’s really darned expensive, especially in a truck that gets about 13 miles per gallon. Ellen told me the township owned a 10-acre parcel, seven acres of which they had been renting to a farmer for about twice the price I was paying for less than a quarter-acre. She went on to explain that when the tax assessor discovered a crop was being grown there for profit, he said he was going to tax the land far in excess of the money the farmer was paying to use it unless they destroyed the crop.

See, the land is behind a school and had been set aside for development as a park; therefore, it was exempt from taxation. Since they weren’t immediately able to begin construction of the park, Ellen figured the land might as well be productive while they were waiting. When the county auditor got wind of the soybean crop growing there, he ordered it to be plowed under. Ellen’s idea for next year is to make this acreage the site of Jefferson Township’s community gardens, with individuals being able to apply for their own allotment. This is an appropriate use of park land, so it should put to rest any problems with the auditor.

Before she told me of her plan to turn the field into the community garden site,  I told her about this non-profit organization we’re putting together. I suggested that allowing us to use the land might be a way around her township’s tax problem. She didn’t seem too interested in that particular solution, but she was very interested in the organization itself. She’s involved (on the board, I believe) with the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, and in her work as Township Administrator she’s been dedicated to farmland protection and the preservation of the rural nature of the township. She introduced me to Eric Pawlowski of Shepherd’s Corners (who, according to Shepherd’s Corners’ website is currently on the board of OEFFA) and suggested that he might be able to help us in some way. She also gave me contact information for Michael Jones of Local Matters and the Greener Grocer at North Market.

by Frijolitofarmer

Local Food Bulletin Idea

To promote the use of local foods among restaurateurs and smaller groceries I thought there should be some way to let those customers know each month the following:

• what local food is available
• from what farmers, at what price, with direct contact info phone, email
• quantity available
• delivery schedule
• how long will it be available

A call can be made to each participating farmer each month where this info would be collected.  A database would be used to sort the data and make it most useful for the reader. The bulletin would be on a set schedule with a publishing cut-off time and date.

Meat and Dairy products as well as value added products would be included. Products would need to be grown or handmade by the seller.

The newsletter would be mostly this type of information but could also include a featured local dish of the week which would be contributed by a local chef or a culinary student working with local food from the participating farmers.

Funding: The newsletter would initially be free to all. It could be supported by donations from farmers or customers who find it useful.  If successful there could be ad support or sponsorship. Products commercially produced in Ohio from non-local ingredients could purchase an ad to be included. They would be marked as such to differentiate from locally grown goods.

Distribution: It has been suggested that this be an electronic email newsletter.  It is also possible to deliver via RSS, Instant Messenger or several other ways (using a service such as FeedBlitz) that would be readable to the recipients. FeedBlitz has a free version contains ads, but can be upgraded to eliminate ads later. It may be possible to deliver via fax or us mail for those users who require it and pay for the cost of mailing/faxing.

It may be necessary to create a separate bulletin for grocers, since there may be different pricing for them than for restaurants.

There may be opportunity for this to spawn a direct to consumer newsletter unless there is already one serving the local market in this way.  If anyone knows of such please advise.  Such a newsletter would include recipes and tips and could be circulated over the winter, if products are available such as preserved foods meat and dairy.

Any feedback is welcome.

by Mayda

danger…food!

Dangerous ideas in Food can be a really daunting subject to write about.  Where does one start?  One could address the issues of the effects of eating the wrong foods.  Or how about who grows, harvests and processes the food we eat.  All these subjects have had major outings in the past decade.  Who do you believe?  Do you have direct knowledge or opinions about the dark side of food in America. Would you like to have some say in the matter? The following are ideas that deserve some deep discussion and follow thru.
It’s easy to bemoan the plight of the illegal workers who have worked in this country for over 50 years.  But are you willing to grow a garden yourself?  Do you think it is enough to throw money the way of non-profits to create community gardens in the bad part of town?  Would you form a food coop and do all the legwork to locate and buy local food for yourself and a few friends?  How about building a greenhouse in your backyard and putting some chickens in it over the winter for your own fresh meat?  Would you study the outreach of the Farm Bureau and wonder
why there are so few family farms left within mass transit access of population centers?  How about wanting more 4H clubs doing animal husbandry or garden projects with inner city children (of color)?  And even seeing them display and win awards at a county or state fair?  One successful farmer/author was bemused that the best farmland had been paved over by roads, but maybe it would still be there underneath some day to be found again!  How ironic that new gardens are being recreated on top of pavement in neighborhoods that have totally run down within 50 years.  Cities, towns and villages in Europe have stood and have vibrant working buildings over 300 years old. With busy farmmarkets downstairs and a couple alleys over.   Why can’t we do that?  Maybe we can.  Please join me at sporeprint this winter to actively discuss and implement projects that deal with these issues.

Local Food Group Meeting at Sporeprint

Hi everyone.  Hoping to see you Thursday the 18th at the next meeting.  Many exciting developements to discuss.  6:00-8:00 at Sporeprint office on 5th Ave  (between 4th and Summit)

We may have a website/blog to use.
Hope to show support for 4 Seasons Harvest festival on Mound St in Oct.  We will also be discussing a Greenhouse project for the inner city.  Meeting will be brief and followed by local food potluck.
For future topics please research and think about the following.

How effective are farm organizations for the local food movement?
What’s the need for local processing facilities for small and midrange farms in Columbus?
What do you know about doing a cottage industry?
Please call for more info.  Karen 614 825-4736

Food Distribution Research Society 2008 Annual Conference

Event ‘Food Distribution Research Society 2008 Annual Conference’ by Casey Hoy

Entrepreneurship in the Food Chain When “local” is King

This year’s conference features speakers and panelists with
expertise on entrepreneurship, the food chain from a-z and the local
purveyors. Highlights of the conference include some truly unique
speakers, a chance to experience food retail like you can’t imagine, a
special Food Marketing Challenge for stu-dents, and a record number of
research papers on Wednesday.

October 11-15, 2008 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Dublin, Ohio-
click the link below for more information

Read more: http://socialsynergyweb.org/oardc/node/209
Post reply: http://socialsynergyweb.org/oardc/comment/reply/209#comment-form

Meet the urban sharecroppers

Want to grow your own organic fruit and veg but don’t have the time? Why not find a neighbour who longs to garden but doesn’t have the space?

Tanis Taylor reports on the rise of garden-sharing schemes in the UK.

Food Pantry Research

By Karen G.

Thank you for the opportunity to address an issue that is very near and dear to my heart. That is the need to talk about and make changes in the availability of fresh vegetables. I would like to enlist the help of churches, non-profits and even individual gardeners to grow locally and donate it to pantries. The following information and ideas are from my research into why and how food could be improved for everyone.

The need for fresh and healthy produce is vast and unending. Fresh locally grown pesticide free food would solve many problems our society is facing. Health problems such as heart disease, colon cancer and obesity could be prevented.(over 30% according to health experts. 50% was quoted by a Surgeon General at a hearing according to “Diet for a New Planet”) Why shouldn’t everyone be able to eat the best food possible? It is well documented that mental, emotional and physical well being are all affected by food from before birth. Local skilled and unskilled jobs in farming, processing and nutrition could be returned to our communities with the growth of more local food. One place to start would be with the distribution of food to the poor and elderly.
One outlet that I would like to work with is the food pantry. They service the most vulnerable people the best they can. But they fall short on getting and distributing healthy fruits and vegetables. The majority of their offerings are high sugar, high starch and high salt. I have witnessed this by accompaning a number of people to pantries around Columbus. A bag of supplies was noted for having numerous processed cake and pasta mixes, canned food with high sodium counts and a lot of cookies and white rice. This was the standard for numerous visits by my diabetic friend. Why is this? Distributing food to the needy has become a big business that the corporations have worked into their business plan. High profit margin foods such as pasta, cereal and pastries make up a large portion of their tax write-off donations. They encourage people to buy at full retail to give a can to the poor. Yet the pantries could buy at wholesale 8 times as much with that as a cash donation according to the Mid-Ohio Food Banks’ own literature.

Good fresh healthy produce is at a premium since being eliminated from the local economy. Of the 590 farms listed in Franklin County by Farm Bureau statistics only a few are farm markets or produce anything other then cattle, corn and beans. The majority of our processing and farming jobs have been moved out of state, across country and even around the world. We can improve the standard of living for many by thinking and growing locally.

Understanding the needs of the facilities is key to knowing how and where support could be given. Many of the pantries are limited in their ability to handle perishable goods such as dark leafy greens and salads. They may not have an upright refrigeration unit that could hold such things or the budget to cover the electric that is necessary. Such produce needs cleaning and packaging on the farmers end also to ensure freshness.

Many of these problems could be solved with a more direct approach to charitable giving and having the farmers deliver directly to the pantry. The farmer might need an employee to prep and deliver fresh produce. The pantry needs an overseer knowledgeable of the product. They currently can order what they know is in season and being overproduced by commercial farms mostly in the northern parts of the state through the organization 2nd Harvest. They work with commercial farmers around the state and also with several of the Amish produce auctions. They have access to a delivery and pick up service. And also a preapproved payment plan (at reduced rates) for produce overages and damaged farm produce. However they are limited in their response time to get the more perishable items on to their final destination. The local pantries would take as much as they could get but are limited by their budget to preorder fresh produce. Having new local sources would benefit everyone involved with this issue. Supporting the pantries and more local farmers at the same time would start us on the road of recovery and self sustainability. The following is a possible overview of local produce that could be provided to a food pantry. A farmer would need to know in the fall what quantities to plan for planting and harvest. Any one farmer with a pick up could deliver up to 600 pounds, conservatively 2 or 3 of these, in case packaging. Volunteers could divy it out at the pantry.

Given that a family of 4 people ate 5 servings a day. A family should expect to eat 18 pounds of fresh produce a week. A family given their choice of 3 from group a: 2-4 choices from group b: and one choice from group c would gain numerous health benefits over the canned and prepackaged food they may be use to.
100 Families Group A Tomatoes 2 lb 200 lb Potato’s 5 lb 500 lb Onions 2 lb 200 lb Group B 50% 1st choice Cabbage 1 head/3lb 50 head/150 lb Dark Greens 2 lb
100 lb Salad Greens 2 lb 100 lb Celery 1-2 stalk 75 stalk Group C 30 % 1st choice Cucumbers 2 lb 70 lb Beets 1 lb 35 lb Squash 2-3 lb 100 lb Corn 6-12 ears 35 doz Carrots 2 lb 70 lb Green beans 2 lb 70 lb
Total quantity could be increased by 10-20 % to give more choice for groups B and C.

The yields and growing needs for different vegetables vary. According to the planting guide in Johnnies Select Seed catalog; Tomatoes produce as much as 150 pounds per 100 foot row. Baby greens would produce 20 pounds every month in a 100 foot row. Many of the root crops would produce about 1 pound per foot every 60 days. Pole beans produce more than 100 lb per 100′row foot and could easily trellis on fenses and be wind breaks too! To produce two hundred pounds of the root crops every week would require (4) 4′ x 50′ bed. (perhaps allow an extra 40 sq feet for each bed) Seed would cost less then $10 for a season of weekly plantings for most crops. Each bed would rotate into something else starting with the first harvest. Corn needs a lot of space and full sun. Most of the other crops have varieties that would do just as well in vacant lots with partial shade to meet most needs. Thinking on a larger scale! A few hundred acres and a few of our grain farms transitioned into produce would feed the majority of the people getting food stamps in any given county.

Cost is usually a major factor of how well people eat. Most of the higher valued dark leafy greens and roots are valued at $2-$3 Lb. at current market standards. The onions and tomatoes can fall to as low as 75 cents at the peak of season. This represents about $15 to$25 for the low end of conventional cost and $35 to $50 for good quality food in a family’s budget. Currently food stamps provide about $150 a month to those who have fallen through the giant cracks our corporate society is creating. The cheap high starch/ high sugar/high salt content of the foods currently available from our food pantries are just creating more health problems for the down and out. This effects everyones income through taxes and insurance costs. We must change this situation sooner not later. A food bank or pantry could consider sponsoring a farmer to grow 1/2 an acre or more. The following are some basic statistics concerning food.

U.S.D.A. percapita Yield per retail cost acre for consumption 1983 acre fall 07 1000(aprx) beans 6.8 lb 4,000 lb 1.50lb 2 cabbage 10.3 31,500 .79 3 1/2 carrots 9.4 30,000 1.50 3 lettuce 22.4 27,000 varies 1 1/4 tomatoes 74.4 28,000 1.50 3 onions 13 38,500 1.00 3

These production yields are based on commercial farms reporting in various trade magazines. They use a monocropping system that uses chemicals and migrant labor imputs that have not been totally analyzed for their effects on our economy and environment. Most of these crops are trucked here from out of state even at the peak of our growing season. California reports that 400,000 truck deliveries occur in their state alone just for their tomato crop in the last year. Growing local would reduce this extra expense and create jobs here. Ohio does have a thriving tomato, celery and cucumber industry. But because of our lack of local processing it does a lot of traveling first! Truckers at truckstops comment that it is not unusual to pick up a load here. Take it there. Then bring it back again in a different format. Who’s paying for this! And Why!

Menu planning is another place where we fall short as consumers. People utilizing food pantries don’t have this luxury. They may not have learned how growing up. Or just can’t afford to do it now. Most health organizations and diet books recommend 5 to 7 servings of fruit and vegetables a day. In a week this could break down to the following for a family of 4.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner Snacks Mon fruit tomato soup carrots fruit 2 ea lg mixed salad greens w onion Tues vege dish salad w onion potatoes celery/apple cabbage Wed fruit broccoli beans /onion carrots/celery slaw tomatoes (any) Thurs potatoes
soup squash melon peppers greens w onion Fri fruit bean salad peas w onion caul/broccoli fruit soup (any) Sat potatoes melon stirfry or carrots/celery soup lg salad Sun fruit tomato sauce carrots carrots/broccoli

The shopping list to accomplish this is: (Frozen substitutes would bring cost down)
apples 3 lb $2.50 salad broccoli 2 lb 2/$3 iceberg/leaf 2 lb $3.50
carrots 2 lb $3 dark greens 2 lb $3.00 potatoes 5 lb $2.79 celery 1 stalk $3.00 onions 3 lb $3 squash 3 lb $2.75 tomatoes 2 lb $3 cucumbers 2 lb $2.00 cherry/slicing beans dry/frozen 2 lb $2.50 sauce $2.25 broccoli/cauliflower 2 lb $2.75 peppers/eggplant 3 lb $4 peas/corn 2 lb $2.50 cabbage 3 lb $2.50 fruit/melon 3-5 ll $5.00

This menu doesn’t include meat, condiments, beverages, rice or pasta. It totals over $55. Doing your math should tell you that a family earning $6.85 an hour for a 40 hr work week and making $274. less expenses for home/transportation/medical and everything else are probably having a rough time of it. Our community has thousands of people on fixed incomes with a total of $150 to $200 in food stamps for the entire monthly food budget. Food is very important. Spend your money wisely. Let’s close here. I foresee food councils being developed to address these issues. I see people getting food they can enjoy eating. I see communities coming together over the dinner table.

Refined plans and other results of collaboration will be posted under the Resource Library.

Another Food pantry idea

Another idea that might be used to promote donation by farmers to food pantries is the one below.  Already used by CFI in Athens, Ohio.

Subject: PSA-Harvest a Row for the Hungry
From:    “Community Food Initiatives” <cfi@frognet.net>
Date:    Tue, September 2, 2008 8:38 pm
To:      undisclosed-recipients:;
—————————————————-

Please post this until September 15th, 2008
Contact: Ronda Clark
740-593-5971

Are you awash in produce from your gardens and don’t know what to do with
it? If so, please donate it to the CFI Donation Station at the Athens
Farmers Market or bring them to 143 Morris Avenue, Athens.  We will get
them to the local food pantries, My Sisters Place, Goodworks and the Rural
Womens Recovery House.  For info 740-593-5971 or cfi@frognet.net

Food Pantry Ideas

I have an idea on how to help food pantries get more local and fresh produce during the season.

There are several farmer’s markets around the city, all with vendors that bring alot of produce during the summer season.  Could an organization organize and train volunteers to make the rounds at these markets and talk to the farmers about contributing their unsold produce at the end of each market day to local food pantries? There would need to be a few or more volunteers to make the contacts. The volunteer would arrange to pickup the produce at the end of market day or at a set location that same day and take it to the food pantry.

Volunteers could not be at all the markets right at closing time, so arrangements could be made with local businesses for the produce to be left at their location for an hour or so until the pickup is made.

Volunteers would need to work Saturday mornings and other market days and arrange for produce to be set aside and then make the pickups.

Volunteers would need to be able to issue a tax deductible receipt to the vendors. This could be filled out at pickup and mailed to the vendors. It could be emailed if vendor wishes.

I wonder if there are other similar models that do this?

Welcome to the new blog

I hope we will use this to put forth ideas and refine them into working plans that promote and encourage local food for the Columbus, Ohio area.