We had the pleasure of hearing from real food innovators from around the country including Annie Novak, co-founder and farmer of Eagle Street Rooftop Farm in New York City, and Ashley Atkinson, Director of Project Development and Urban Agriculture at Greening of Detroit. These organizations have created urban farms in some fairly unlikely places and are changing the fabric of their cities by doing so.
Ashley Atkinson, who has a contagious enthusiasm for urban farming and gardening, described how their Garden Resource Program Collaborative has helped transform a desolate city littered with vacant lots into one where neighbors are supporting each other and growing over 100 tons of food each year. It was uplifting to hear how radishes, tomatoes and a little hard work can make a city more livable.
We also heard from one of my sustainable food heroes, Steve Sando of Rancho Gordo. Steve is charming, funny and forthright as he tells the story of how, at the age of 40, he realized he hadn't accomplished what he wanted with this life and started growing beans. With a little luck (Thomas Keller, chef of The French Laundry, started buying one of his bean varieties and everyone wanted the Keller bean) and a lot of passion, Steve has created a truly unique food company selling heirloom beans, corns and spices.
Most importantly, he has done all of this while also working with farms in Mexico and creating a trade relationship that helps those farms thrive while providing a rare product to his customers. It's a truly unique partnership, but to Steve Sando it's just common sense. It would never cross his mind to do business in a way that didn't benefit everyone. If only we could clone him.
As much as I enjoyed hearing these stories of local food success, my big "aha" moment from the conference came from a panel moderated by Tom Philpott, food editor of Grist, about activists and advocacy.
To be honest, when the panel started, I was half engaged; listening, but also tweeting with folks back home. About 15 minutes into the panel, Debra Eschmeyer, the Marketing & Media Manager of the National Farm to School Network and the Center for Food & Justice, said "Too often in the real food movement, we talk to each other and we don't reach out to people beyond our circles. We can't succeed in changing our food system if we don't talk to people we may not agree with on other issues."
Now, I was paying attention. Debra had just articulated one of my big concerns about the real food community - we talk to each other, we preach to the choir, but we don't reach out often enough. I love my friends in Austin's real food scene, but I see the same people at most of the events.
Then, Ralph Loglisci, Project Director for the John Hopkins Healthy Monday Project, chimed in. He told his personal story of growing up obese and hating food, then losing 200 lbs through a weight loss plan at John Hopkins, a program that he believed in so much that he now works for them. You may know his work best from the Meatless Monday campaign, a challenge they started not to convert people to a meatless diet, but to get people to eat mostly vegetables and grains one day a week and to start the week healthy and mindfully.
Ralph encouraged us to be practical. To realize that many people aren't going to convert to an all local diet for a variety of reasons, but that getting people to make one small change can be the key to them making larger changes long term. I wanted to run up and hug Ralph (I restrained myself, but may have gushed a little after the panel.)
I left this panel and the conference with a mission for 2011 and I'd like you to join me. Ask yourself who you are reaching out to outside of your immediate circle to gently (no preaching) share local food. Can you take a local food dish to your office potluck or next book club meeting? Instead of meeting a friend for lunch, how about meeting up at the farmers market? Can you take your child's girl or boy scout troop to a local farm or farmers market? Or, could you cook something fresh together?
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| Farm tour with my nephew at Urban Roots farm |
This last year, I mailed a few Edible Austin issues to some of my friends and family, and my family in Wichita Falls loved it so much that they subscribed. When I had extra vegetables this summer, I took them to my strength training coach and that inadvertently started a discussion about growing your own vegetables and CSAs with the entire class.
How are you spreading the word about eating local and fresh? I'd love for you to share your ideas and stories. Let's work together to make 2011 the year of less junk and more real food by making one small change at a time.
