Dear Mayor Jones

This week, our task was to keep it local: to write our mayors about local food policy and to make a request that aligns with the needs of our own community.

I have been to a few food system-related events in Richmond, so I know that the city has a Food Policy Task Force, but has a ways to go to be a leader in the movement.  (The public meeting that I went to was a crazy process of having people present ideas to advance a better food system, and then to decide on one to move forward - all based on about six minutes of information and recorded through voting with clickers, of which there were not enough for everyone in the crowd to vote.)  What came of that meeting was a proposal to allow backyard chickens.  I'm not sure that was the best way to move the system forward, but the vote is coming up before City Council in January so it's good to know that something may come of it.  Meanwhile, we still need access to irrigation for community gardens and greatly improved regional public transportation to reduce food deserts (and address a whole host of other issues) in our area.

Anyways, I wrote to my mayor, Dwight Jones, and here's my little letter: 

Advocacy calls!

For our second week of advocacy in the LPF Compact, we were to call our congresspeople to urge them to keep moving the 2012 Farm Bill forward. I called my representative, Bobby Scott, and asked specifically that it would reward farmers for their environmental stewardship, link crop insurance to conservation practices, and protect conservation funding.  All these talking points are from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, a group of people working for a food system that is better for people and the earth, which I found out about when I went to hear my food-guru crush, Michael Pollan, speak.

The lesson I learned: check out your Congressman's stance on that particular issue before calling!  His representative told me something along the lines of, "As you probably know, the Congressman is one of the sponsors of the bill."  Um, yep.  I usually like what Bobby Scott stands for, but definitely should have done my homework.

I made a video of the call on Facebook - let me know if you'd like to see it so you can see how easy it is to speak your mind to your very own Congressperson!

My Visit to a local Farm

Hey all-

I recently had the opportunity to visit Indy Urban Acres, an amazing example of what collaboration around local food can do for a community.  This partnership between Indiana University Health, Gleaners food bank, and the Indy Parks and Recreation system has resulted in thousands of pounds of fresh produce finding its way onto the shelves of food pantries in Indianapolis.  As of this summer, they were the only farm in the country working with the Parks and Rec system the way they are and they are serving as a model for cities across the nation.  Something unique in the placement of this farm- the land is adjacent to a major interstate cutting through Indianapolis and tucked at the back of a neighborhood.  Quite an example of an urban farm, if you ask me.

One thing that really stuck out to me the first time I spoke with Tyler, the gentleman who coordinates and manages the farm, is that they want to get the youth involved.  So many youth, particularly in cities, think that the food they eat originates in the grocery store.  When I went to visit the farm last week with my friend Jen, there were a handful of kids ranging from 5-15 that were there helping out.  They were on their fall break and wanted to hang out at the farm all day, so Tyler had been putting them to work.  They were clearing out the crops that were done for the season and moving them to the compost piles, and helping to figure out the measurements and placement for the new greenhouse that they just got a large grant to build.  As they were pushing the wheelbarrows by us, they were smiling and telling us how hard they were working to be farmers. It was a really sweet moment to see the kids so excited about their involvement with the farm.

I'm honored to say that one of my students is currently being hosted by Indy Urban Acres as part of his service scholarship.  He spends 4 hours a week working at the farm and had never spent any time gardening or farming before this.  He talks frequently about how much he has learned through his experience.  Indy Urban Acres has become a great community partner of ours and it was wonderful to finally have the opportunity to get out and see the farm.  I would highly recommend seeking out the community gardens and local farms in your area to just explore them and see what great things are happening so close to your home.

Harvest Restaurant in Louisville, KY

I have to say that I had one of my most enjoyable dining experiences recently.  Well, I had it twice actually- the exact same meal, even.  About a month ago Jarod and I drove to Louisville to see Wicked (which is absolutely amazing and a must-see if you haven't seen it!) and received the recommendation to eat at Harvest Restaurant from the owner of the Gift Horse.  He said that it was a farm to table restaurant and we immediately knew that we had to eat there.  Here is a slice of information heaven right off the front page of their website:

"Harvest is all about local – to be precise local and sustainable. We pledge to source at least eighty percent of our food from farmers and growers which are within a 100-mile radius of the city. These are not just ordinary farmers… these are people who we consider custodians of the county side, people who are committed to sustainable farming practices and impeccable standards of animal welfare. Even the lavish design of the restaurant is in line with our local and sustainable vision; much of the wood and other materials used in the decor is reclaimed from buildings around the city."

We had a great conversation with our server and learned that the photographs along the walls were all of the farmers who supplied produce and meat to the restaurant.  Their logo was designed to show the 100-mile radius around the city to demonstrate their commitment to providing local food.  The service was excellent, the atmosphere was lovely, and the food was truly amazing.  I can say with 100% honesty that after every single bite I said "Oh, wow. That's good."  So what did I eat?  Fresh pretzel bread and beer cheese for an appetizer and herbed ricotta gnocchi with vegetables for my main course.  Enjoyed alongside a Schlafly's pumpkin ale brewed in St. Louis, Missouri.  It was such a fresh meal so full of many flavors and goodness that when I returned to Louisville two weeks later, I went back and enjoyed the exact same thing.  It was just as good as I remembered, if not better.

If you'll be in the Louisville area, I would highly recommend checking this place out.  Not in the area?  Check out farm to table restaurants near your area.  They are popping up all over these days and it's so exciting to see the movement toward this type of dining experience- fresh, local food with a wonderful atmosphere.

The Logo for Harvest- the circle represents the 100-mile radius around the city.  To the left are photos and bios for the farmers that supply food to the restaurant.

My delicious meal- herbed ricotta gnocchi with fresh veggies and bread

A Few Good Thank Yous

It is awesome.  Taking time to thank a local farmer, restaurant, brewery/winery, or grocery store that cares about the environment.  I love it.

I've added pictures of a few of the thank you notes that I wrote with Katy to thank people who do this.  It really builds a sense of community.  Honestly, when is the last time that you thanked your farmer?  Or brewer?  You don't get a chance to do that very often.  But, this simple gesture means more than you could know.

I recommend everyone does this at least once a year.  Even it if it just one person.  It builds a connection to someone that you might not have already.  But, it motivates and appreciates the people that, honestly, motivate me and that I appreciate.  To Linda Proffitt at Global Peace Initiatives, Pogue's Run Grocer, Sun King Brewery, Three Sister's Cafe, Trader's Point Creamery, and Butler Winery, THANK YOU for all that you do for the local food movement and the community in tow.  You are amazing.

Where the Heck is This Stuff From?

Hello, friends-

May 12 was when I started this blog post.  Yep, almost 5 whole months ago.  I could feed you a line of excuses about how I forgot or got too busy, but that seems a little boring and, well, frankly I just kept putting it off on purpose.  This is hard.  By the time I got to my fourth blog post in the month, I was sick of calling companies only to be rejected and told that they "had no idea" where my food was from, or they couldn't tell me any more information than the fact that it was probably from America, but it may not be.  They couldn't tell me for sure.

So, to give you some insight to this process, you will find below what I considered to be Phase One of the process.  I wrote down the food I ate all day with as much info as I could get from the label.  I was fortunate that during this time I was able to get a lot of fresh produce from the Farmer's Market on my way to work.  While I have may cities designated, the thing that made this so challenging is that was typically the distribution center.  It took a series of phone calls, transfers, exaggerated stories about this being a school project that I had to have this information for, etc. to get even short answers from these places.  I guess it's better that way- I may have started a riot at the mega farm where my eggs were laid because I had a secret vendetta against chicken farmers.  Hippies.  

Anyway, I'm sorry that I didn't finish this.  I won't make excuses, I'll just accept my shortcomings and hope you won't judge me too harshly.  I will wrap up by saying that I learned a lot from this exercise.  I learned how convoluted and intense our food system can be, and at one point equated it to the mafia.  I was reminded of the power and value behind supporting all things local- particularly our farmers and food producers.  I was challenged to think critically about every bite of food that I put in my mouth.  Months after this activity (supposedly) finished, I find myself reading many labels of the food I eat- not to see the calories or grams of fat, but to see where it originated and to try and discern the path it took to get to me.  I think I will continue to track my food in the future when I start to feel disconnected from what I am eating.  You know, a friendly reminder to be thoughtful and intentional with my eating habits.

To any faithful readers out there, thanks for your patience.  I challenge you to try this for a day- I can promise it will change the way you think about your food.  With no further ado, my food list:

red lettuce- Indy farmer's market - VanAntwerp Farms, 11418 E. County Rd, 1100 N. Seymore, IN 47274

spinach- indy farmer's market-  VanAntwerp Farms, 11418 E. County Rd, 1100 N. Seymore, IN 47274

carrots-green giant (bakersfield, ca)

sugar snap peas- southern selects (pompano beach, fl)

broccoli- no idea... bermuda triangle - target, but no clue where

cucumber- Indy farmer's market

tomato- Indy farmer's market-  VanAntwerp Farms, 11418 E. County Rd, 1100 N. Seymore, IN 47274

string cheese (Lincolnshire, IL) 

raspberries- Driscoll (Oxnard, California)

marshmallows (Grand Rapids, MI 49548

salt and pepper potato chips (White Plains, NY 10604)

Hummus (White Plains, NY 10604)

Feta (Monrovia, CA)

Cucumber- Indianapolis

red pepper- Trader Joe's- Bermuda Triangle

pita- no idea?

Mike & Ike's (bethlehem, pa 18017)

Trying to be intentional in Indianapolis,
Katy

Laziness at it's prime

I'll admit it...I've been lazy.

Ok, I'll go even further, I've been downright lethargic when it comes to doing my food maps for this compact.  After thinking about it a bit, though, I have pinpointed the problem (also know as an excuse).  The food industry doesn't make it easy for us to find out where our food comes from.  In my last food blog post, I told of one day's worth of food that I tracked.  For the 3 meals that I during that day, I spent nearly 9 hours of work to only wind up saying, "It's from Bermuda."

Our food system shouldn't be this convoluted that we can't honestly say that we know 100% where anything that I buy at the grocery store is from.  What frustrates me about this is that the food companies do know this information.  They have to.  If there is a recall because a certain farm has an E.Coli outbreak, you'd better believe that they know exactly where that spinach went.  So why not pass this information to the consumer?  I'm not going to go to the farm and start picketing.  I'm going to be more aware about how far my food has traveled.

I know being part of this compact shouldn't be easy, that's why we do it.  But finding our sources for food shouldn't be hard.  That's why eating local is so nice.  That's why knowing your farmer is great.  Having a garden is even better.  I get so excited when I pick something from the garden and it is in my meal that week.  I get even more excited when the whole meal is based on my garden growing items.  That's pretty incredible.  In today's age, it's hard to completely move to that lifestyle (growing, harvesting, canning, cooking), but the thought of not knowing where my food is (and not having the time, energy, social capital, or resources to find it) makes me want to do this all the time.

I'm going home tonight and eating a freshly picked tomato.  Maybe tomorrow I'll have Taco Bell, but for tonight, I am doing my part to bettering the food system.  And that, my LPF Compact Blog reader friends, is worth it's weight in gold.