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Septmeber 2007
For the Health of It
Dear Friends,
A group of dieticians and nutrition professionals from Norfolk, Yankton, Sioux City, Sioux Falls and several points in between met last week with family farmers from Sioux Center, Vermillion, Yankton, Fullerton and Hartington. In the midst of this meeting, something wonderful happened.
Farmers started telling their stories. You know, the important stuff, like how they got started farming or direct marketing, how their families got involved, how things didn’t always go right, and how much fun they have on the farm.
The nutrition specialists asked questions, shared their own beliefs in eating food grown in our own region, as close to home as possible, and shared their own obstacles for distribution of local food through the food services and institutions they are employed by.
Two Cedar County farmers, grassfed beef farmer, Marvin DeBlauw, and local dairy farmer, Dean Burbach, were among the speakers sharing stories and pointers about their unique endeavors. The meeting was hosted by Dale and Rena Hebda, who raise produce of all kinds as well as apples, and operate Garrity’s Prairie Gardens, just east of Yankton.
Even the noon meal was homecooked and locally grown, prepared by a chef who works with the Floyd Boulevard Farm Market at Sioux City, a hotbed in the local food movement in our region.
I think many family farmers who are direct marketing local food may be frustrated with the sheer amount of work there is in producing food and doing all the marketing, door to door in some cases, by themselves.
If institutions in our region, including hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living centers, schools, restaurants and food service suppliers, could work a single entrée that came from a local source into their offerings, even once a month, it would provide some stability to the markets necessary to support some of the farm families who are working in these ventures.
That was the premise of this meeting. The chef who works with one major food service at an institution in Sioux Falls does much of his shopping at the farmers market at Falls Park, so patients and workers at that institution are treated to fresh food that has high quality and low miles.
Wouldn’t it be great if just once in a while, our school children could eat a meal that was grown in our own county? How about more "Cedar County Burgers" or "Hartington Chops" appearing on a menu at our local restaurants? I would think local folks would respond to more of these kinds of efforts, and travelers to our vicinity would always go for some additional "local" cuisine.
Judging by the comments from many of the dieticians, who understand that freshness, quality and low travel miles always equal more nutritious and healthy meals, the concept of local food in local institutions has come of age and is worth developing. Farmers have to figure out a distribution system on a regular basis and institutions have to figure out how to promote these local products and work with farmers and their own seasonal harvesting schedules.
However, the idea of eating locally goes along with the idea of purchasing locally. It is a no-brainer and is a win-win-win situation for farmers, for communities and for consumers.
Hope you have a good week.
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
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