local foods - center for environmental farming systems€¦ · local foods and economic development...

Local Foods A Systems Approach

Joanna Lelekacs

NC Cooperative Extension Coordinator for Local Foods

Outline

• Motivating factors for local foods efforts

• Local Food Systems A Value-Chain Approach

• Stakeholders and Partnership opportunities

•

Changing Consumer Landscape

70 percent of consumers want to know where their food comes from and would pay more for locally produced food if they could find it. (Packaged Facts, 2007)

Changing Consumer Landscape

Factors motivating local food purchases:

• Freshness

• Quality

• Healthy eating

• Food safety

• ‘Giving back to the community’

• ‘Keeping dollars in the community’

• ‘Supporting small farmers’

• ‘Farmers receiving fair returns’

(Bond et al. 2008, Grabowski 2004, Nurse & Thilmany 2010, Ostrom 2008, and Schneider & Francis 2005)

Local Foods and Healthy Eating

• One in three children are overweight or obese.

• Obese children are more likely to have asthma, type 2 diabetes,

high blood pressure and high cholesterol

• A third of the children born in 2000 or later will develop diabetes

• 25% of those going to military recruiting centers are deemed unfit to

serve due to being overweight or obese

• NC annual expenditures to treat obesity and diabetes - $5 billion

• Financial loss due to loss of productivity - $73 billion nationally

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/facts.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/basics.html

Children that grow fruits and vegetables in

school gardens recognize and choose these

foods over less healthy options. (Graham, et al, 2005)

It is important for children to have repeated

opportunities to taste and eat fruits and

vegetables. (Heim, et al, 2009)

Local Foods and Healthy Eating

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults

BRFSS, 1985 (*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)

No Data <10% 10%–14%

http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html



No Data <10% 10%–14%



No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19%



No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% ≥20%



No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% ≥25%

(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults BRFSS, 2002

No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% ≥25%



No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% ≥25%



No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%

Local Foods and Economic Development

• We spend $35 billion per year on food in NC.

• A consumer / business commitment of 10% of their food dollars to

support local food producers, related businesses and communities.

$3.5 billion endeavor

• Tracking $54 million spent on local food. (as of 10/26/13)

Local Foods and Economic Development

Around the Country

If Iowan’s ate the recommended five servings

of fruits and vegetables per day, and Iowa

farmers supplied 25% of those servings, the

production and marketing of those additional

crops would add a net $300 million and 4,000

jobs to Iowa’s economy.

(Swenson, 2006. The Economic Impacts of Increased Fruit and Vegetable

Production and Consumption in Iowa: Phase II. ISU.

<http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs-and-papers/2006-05-fruit-and-vegetable-

production-phase-two>)

And where are jobs coming from?

• All along the value chain

– Production • Inputs

– Marketing

– Distribution

– Retail outlets

• Processing Centers

• Value-Added Centers

What is a Local Food System?

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Describing Local Food Systems

Food as a

System

Distribution &

Aggregation

Food

Production

Food

Processing

Marketing Purchasing

Preparation &

Consumption

Resource &

Waste Recovery

Food System

Elements

Adapted by Christy Shi, from Cornell University, Discovering the Food System; A

Primer on Community Food Systems: Linking Food, Nutrition and Agriculture.

Distribution &

Aggregation

Food

Production

Food

Processing


Preparation &

Consumption

Resource &

Waste Recovery

Food System

Elements

Food Production

Supporting New & Beginning Farmers

o Farm Schools

Piedmont Farm School – Davidson and surroundings

o Incubator Farms

Breeze Farm Enterprise Incubator – Orange

Elma C. Lomax Incubator Farm – Cabarrus

Onslow County Incubator Farm – Onslow

Maverick Farms - Watauga

Food Production

Community Gardens

• 113 NC Community Gardens have self-identified through the

NCCGP website as of 5/2/13. However, members of the

NCCGP estimate the total number to be more on the order of

800-1000.

• Share the Harvest of Guilford County

Donation-focused network of community, church, school, and

individual/family gardens.

Aggregation &

Distribution

Food Hubs & Aggregation Facilities

• Madison Family Farms – Madison

• Sandhills Farm to Table – Moore

• Pilot Mountain Pride – Surry

• TRACTOR – Yancey

• SENCFS / Feast Down East – Southeastern NC

• The Produce Box – Triangle, Triad, Wilmington

• Firsthand Foods - Durham

• Eastern Carolina Organics - Durham

Food Processing

Value-Added Processing

• Blue Ridge Food Ventures

Buncombe

• Eastern Carolina Food Ventures, Incubator Kitchen

Duplin

• The Piedmont Food and Agricultural Processing Center

Orange

• Rockingham Community Kitchen

Rockingham

• Stecoah Valley Food Ventures

Graham

Working toward authenticity in ‘local’ branding

Regional Branding

• Piedmont Grown

• Appalachian Grown

• Feast Down East

• Goodness Grows in NC

Marketing

Farmers’ Markets

• NC DHHS reported in April 2013 that NC has 238

farmers’ markets, 38 of which have one or more

vendors accepting SNAP/EBT.

Purchasing

Farm to School: Farm to Cafeteria

• >75% of NC school

districts participating in

Farm to School.

• ~19% of NC school food

purchased locally

Purchasing

• Partnerships between NC Cooperative Extension,

FoodCorps, NC 10% Campaign, NC Fresh Produce

Safety Task Force, NCDA&CS and others

http://www.fns.usda.gov/farmtoschool/census#/state/nc

http://www.fns.usda.gov/farmtoschool/census#/state/nc

Preparation &

Consumption

The main goal of the program is to

promote consumption of local

vegetables and fruits as part of a

healthy lifestyle that reduces risks for

diabetes and other chronic illnesses.

Program that provides educational

resources to farmers and consumers

to encourage them to buy and

consume more NC fruits and

vegetables.

Resource &

Waste Recovery

• Composting/ Vermicomposting in

community gardens and school gardens

• Foster-Caviness – a NC-based distributor –

vermicomposting food waste

Food as a

System

Distribution &

Aggregation

Food

Production

Food

Processing


Preparation &

Consumption

Resource &

Waste Recovery

Food System

Elements

Process and Practices

• Food Safety

• Nutrition & Health

• Food & Agriculture Policy

• Food Access & Food Security

• Food Justice & Food Sovereignty

Youth, Family and Communities

• Farm to School: School Gardens

• Farm to Preschool

• Other Youth Agriculture Programs

• Youth Food System Entrepreneurs

• Youth Food Councils

• Community Gardens

Who is involved in local foods work?

• Agricultural Service Providers

• Local Government

• Service / Community Groups

• Education Community

• Funders / Potential Funders

• Local / Regional Farmers

• Community of Health

• Gardening Groups

• Local Food Groups

• Local Businesses

• Banks

• Chefs

• Grocery stores

• Hardware Stores

• Planners/Designers

Specific NC Organizations involved…

• Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project

• Carolina Farm Stewardship Association

• Commodity Organizations

• Conservation Fund

• Feast Down East

• NC Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services

• NC Dept. of Health and Human Services

• NC Farm Bureau Federation

• Rural Advancement Foundation International

• And many others

Example Project

Distribution &

Aggregation

Food

Production

Food

Processing


Preparation &

Consumption

Resource &

Waste Recovery

Goal: To create a strong base to help launch and grow new food-businesses in

the Piedmont, focusing on a 75 mile radius in all directions.

Example Project

Distribution &

Aggregation

Food

Production

Food

Processing


Preparation &

Consumption

Resource &

Waste Recovery

Where does PFAP fit in

the supply chain?



Example Project

What other sectors of the

supply chain were

engaged early?



Distribution &

Aggregation

Food

Production

Food

Processing


Preparation &

Consumption

Resource &

Waste Recovery

Funders:

Tobacco Trust Fund

NC ADFP Trust Fund

NCDA&CS Specialty Crops

NC Dept. of Commerce

Golden Leaf

RAFI

US HUD

Example Project

What stakeholders were

involved? Orange Co. Government land and fiscal agent

Alamance, Chatham, Durham County

Governments

NC Cooperative Extension

Breeze Farm Enterprise Incubator

Producers

Food Entrepreneurs

Weaver Street Market

Whole Foods

NCDA&CS – Concept facility planning

Others….

Contributions to

Feasibility Study



Have Questions? Thoughts? Comments? Catch me any time during the conference

or send me an e-mail.

[email protected]

Research-Based

Support for Local

Food Systems

[email protected]

ncgrowingtogether.org

mailto:[email protected]

Context: The Local Food Phenomenon

Evidence: The Case for Local Food Systems

The “Local Food” Phenomenon

Local Food & Local Economics

Local Food & Local Health

Local Food & Local Economics THE GO-TO ARGUMENT = The Multiplier Effect

Local Food & Local Economics The Multiplier Effect

Local Food & Local Economics Local food => a thriving community

When John and Jane can sell at the local

farmers market or the local grocery or

restaurant, their farm operates as a small

business.

And everybody likes small businesses.

Farms = businesses, let’s promote thriving

local businesses in our own communities

Peer-reviewed evidence:

► Multiplier effect is real and documented

► CSAs and farmers markets serve as business incubators

► Farmers markets => spending at nearby businesses

► Community gardens increase neighborhood property values

Local Food & Local Health The argument you’d like to make –

Local food => improved health

The argument you can make:

Eating fruits & vegetables => improved health

Early and frequent exposure to eating fruits &

vegetables => eating fruits and vegetables

Early and frequent exposure to growing or being

in a household with someone who grows fruits &

vegetables

=> eating fruits and vegetables

Peer-reviewed evidence:

► More direct-from-farm sales = better health

► Kids in gardens = more eating of fruits and veggies

► Community garden participation = more eating of fruits and veggies

► More green space = better health, higher property values, more exercise, less vandalism

► Green space reduces city temps, absorbs pollutants, and sequesters carbon

Making it Happen

Ryan Finch, General Manager, Raleigh City Farm

Wonderful

Widgets

Noah Ranells Small Farm Agribusiness Management & Marketing

Widget

a. An element of a GUI, such as a text box or

button, that displays information or settings

that can be entered or altered by the user.

x

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http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-environment-atlas.aspx

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