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Here’s What Happened at the Meeting…
MISSION HILL, SD – Twenty-five nutritionists, dieticians, health care professionals and family farmers from three states gathered recently at Garrity’s Prairie Gardens and Hebda Family Produce near here for a special local food tour. The meeting, sponsored by Farm to Family Connection, a project aimed at increasing awareness of locally grown food, focused on ways institutions and farmers can work together to offer food to patients and employees that is locally grown.
Among the farmers presenting at the workshop were the meeting hosts, Dale and Rena Hebda who operate Garrity’s Prairie Gardens, marketing apples and fruits, vegetables and homemade pies, jams and jellies through an on-farm retail store and farmers markets in Sioux Falls and Sioux City.
Garrity’s was originally established and operated by Pat and Jan Garrity some 20 years ago, until last season, when the business was passed on to the Hebda family. Hebdas began their efforts in producing food locally when son, Steven, began selling his 4-H produce at the local farmers market.
John and Janna Wesselius of Cornucopia at Sioux Center, Iowa discussed their produce farm, utilizing high tunnels and early season produce as an especially unique offering. They discussed how they came into farming and vegetables and talked about their philosophy in making a living from the family farm. John shared his thoughts on a local food system, getting children involved in the farming operation, and how he and his wife serve as partners, each exhibiting their own special talents in the operation, in trying, as John put it, "to make the world a better place."
Patti Bancroft of Vermillion, SD discussed her herb gardens and vegetable marketing challenges and success. She talked about distribution systems, contracting with farmers for specific needs and some of the hoops that farmers must pass through on their way to organic production.
Jim Knopik of North Star Neighbors, a family farm marketing group from Fullerton, Neb., talked about how several neighbors who all believed in local food and raising food naturally, banded together to establish a home delivery system for farm fresh poultry, beef and pork. He talked about the philosophy of these farm marketers and his discussion led into a new program known as the Nebraska Food Cooperative, where local food can be ordered online and delivered for pick up in metropolitan Omaha or Lincoln.
Marvin DeBlauw of Waucapona Farms near Hartington, Neb., discussed how he raises and finishes grassfed beef. Marvin talked about his own beliefs, how grassfed systems are environmentally sound and how beef finished on grass and forages is superior in health benefits. Marvin cited several Utah State University studies showing sizeable increases in conjugated linoleic acids and Omega 3 fatty acids found in grassfed beef and grass-based dairy products. He also cited studies showing increases in vitamin levels in grassfed beef. Marvin imparted his own cooking tips for varied grassfed beef products. For grassfed beef, slow cooking is the key.
Finally, Dean Burbach of Burbach Countryside Dairy at Hartington, Neb., talked about the explosion in his milk marketing business. The Burbachs now have their milk in grocery stores and convenience stores in Omaha, Lincoln, Norfolk, Sioux City, Yankton and Sioux Falls and several spots in between. Their milk is antibiotic and hormone free. It is packaged in glass containers, which can be returned. They market whole milk, one percent, two percent, skim, cream, chocolate, strawberry and flavor of the week.
Pat Garrity, founder of Garrity’s Prairie Gardens and Executive Director of the Floyd Boulevard Local Foods Market in Sioux City, talked about the importance of bringing local food into health care institutions. He said that price should not be the main factor in purchasing food. Garrity said food should be important enough that quality should be the key reason consumers and institutions purchase food locally. Garrity even suggested that some potential patients in health care institutions in the future may choose one over another because of food service and local food choices.
Garrity, who has been marketing local food for nearly three decades, said that people are hungry for local food that is less traveled. It is environmentally sound to purchase food locally and he encouraged the dieticians present to look into finding more food for their food services from local sources.
Dieticians and nutrition specialists shared their own obstacles with farmers, discussing distribution, ordering, food storage and availability concerns. Important discussion took place, opening up communication that offers at least the opportunity to work together more.
Those attending enjoyed a delicious meal of local food prepared by executive chef Marlin Simpson of Fiona’s Firehouse Bistro in Sioux City. Simpson discussed his own efforts to utilize local food in his restaurant and talked with farmers about how to make more of those connections.
The meeting was sponsored by Farm to Family Connection, a local food campaign funded in part by a grant from W. K. Kellogg Foundation and administered by the Northeast Nebraska RC&D, based in Plainview, Neb. This project helps produce "Farm to Family Connection", a weekly radio show airing each Thursday at 7:45 am and 5:45 pm on KKYA, 93.1 FM based in Yankton, SD, and featuring local family farmers who are marketing their farm fresh food.
The project also supports a companion website – www.farmtofamily.net – that includes audio clips and transcripts of each week’s show, a family farm and local food directory, health and wellness tips, consumer buying tips, farm marketing tips, local food recipes, photos and more. This site is also partially sponsored by Avera Sacred Heart Hospital of Yankton, SD.
In addition to the radio program and website, the project surveyed family farmers and farmers market vendors, investigating new ways for family farmers to reach out to their customers. The project will develop a toolkit by next summer for use by farm groups, consumer groups and radio stations to develop their own local food campaigns across the country.
Everyone attending the dieticians’ local food tour felt that a follow up meeting would be beneficial to the cause, to allow more discussion and to develop new concepts in getting local food into local institutions.
Farm to Family Connection Contacts
Project Director, Sandy Patton – 402-842-2555
Assistant Director, Curt Arens – 402-388-4798
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
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Kim Sawatzke
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