What’s in your Future, Foodie?

Food production is in full force in central Ohio. The pick-your-owns are finishing up on early strawberries and asparagus, newly created community gardens are full of leafy greens and more gardens are added every day. For those really into local food, you could even plan a trip to a produce auction in Amish country up north. Perhaps you would buy a pressure cooker or dehydrators. Units start at $30-$40 and are well worth the effort to put up scads of produce for winter when they are at their peak.
From the commercial point of view, I foresee that as more farmers come into being, that more local produce auctions might spring up as side lines to farm markets that become more permanent in other parts of town. I mention this because of how important it is to mom and pop stores and restaurants to have access to local produce that is at a negotiable price. Supporting and understanding the supply and demand marketing factors of food is a major part of getting nutritious high quality product directly into sustainable walking communities. This will empower a lot of small businesses and communities to take control of their own destiny. It will strengthen the local tax base by creating more jobs for more places that don’t currently have grocery stores within walking distance. Perhaps even the corporations will need to restructure so that they can buy smaller quantities on demand from local farmers. Some corporations such as Chipotle’s and Whole Food have found that a 300 acre local farm can supply the quantities they need to do this. First we need to train enough farmers and create the infrastructure to support this economy of scale. Many young aspiring farmers have done the internship for little or no pay. We need to get them on their own land now. Communal plots of several families (shades of Amish business plans) are probable, too.
The following organizations need your support to accomplish this: OEFFA, 4H, Ohio Farmland Preservation and as many groups that would duplicate the efforts of AceNet in Athens. So keep buying local anywhere you can. There’s a new movie out that sounds good. Check it out if you can Food,Inc. Well, that’s it for now. Kareng