Lets Eat Local

By Melissa Kossick
Contributing Writer

Food used to come from the farms that surround our agricultural based community, rich in nutrients and produced by folks we know. The business of industrial agriculture has changed they way we eat over the last thirty years, and local consumers are yearning for a more local, sustainable food system.

Progress towards restoring a local and sustainable food supply is evident in our community. Where a handful of CSA’s (Community- Supported Agriculture) have become available to Fargo-Moorhead residents, consumers have also had their local foods demands met by Swanson’s in downtown Fargo, which recently expanded and carries fresh local produce, and Sydney’s, South Moorhead’s health foods store which also features a farmer’s market.  There has been an explosion of local farmer’s markets in the community, expanding from 12 to 44 in North Dakota alone.

There is long grocery list of important reasons why communities are concerned with a quality food supply. These reasons include health concerns such as food safety and diabetes, as well as environmental concerns such as depletion of fertile topsoil caused by industrial agriculture, use of pesticides and chemicals, and the 20% of our nation’s fossil fuel usage being exhausted by industrial agriculture.

Most importantly, eating local is good economics. Local foods support community agriculture, and money spent in our local food supply supports local farmers, who in turn, spend their earnings in our community.

According to Maggie Adamek, consultant hired by Cass Clay Food Systems Initiative, “Good Food” is “food from here, for here”, or food that is, healthy, green, fair, and affordable. This is exactly what the Foods Systems Initiative strives to achieve in Fargo-Moorhead’s food supply.

The initial Let’s Eat Local! event held September 28 is part of the Cass Clay Food Systems Initiative (CCFSI), which was started with the purpose to impact all levels of our community food system to assure that residents have access to safe, nutritious, and affordable foods.  With guest speakers from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Farm Service Agency, and the North Dakota Farm Bureau, 115 concerned community members gathered to begin the discussion on changing Fargo-Moorhead’s food systems and policies.

The CCFSI aims to improve the production, distribution, sales, and consumption of healthy, locally grown foods within our region.  Organized by local community leaders, from farmers to distributors, CCFSI’s planning committee is represented by several local government agencies including; Fargo Cass Public Health, Clay County Public Health, Cass County Extension Service, University of Minnesota Extension, Moorhead, and NDSU Extension Service.

One of the goals of the CCFSI is to strengthen the local food system, which will benefit the health, food security, economy, and environment of our two-state community. Kim Lipetzky of Fargo Cass Public Health says, “It was nice to see the large number of individuals and organizations interested in coming together to work toward strengthening our local food systems to assure residents within our community have access to healthy foods and local foods.”

The CCFSI seeks community involvement of those with an interest in improving our local food systems. Even if you missed the first two meetings or are learning about local Foods Initiative for the first time, it’s not too late to become involved.  The individual task forces are just beginning to form and take their first steps towards their goals. These Food Infrastructure, Economic Development, Urban Agriculture, Outreach and Education, and Accessibility task forces are open to all community members from the greater Fargo-Moorhead community who would like to affect local food policies and advocate for healthy and accessible foods.

For more information, visit letseatlocal.org or contact Kim Lipetzky by email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or phone at 701-241-8195.  Information from October’s meeting will be available online, soon.

(Can you make a separate side box for the meeting schedule?)

Each task force has planned separate meeting times before the large group meeting on January 26th, 2012 from 2-4 p.m., and community members may join more than one task force.  To attend the next task force meeting, see the schedule of individual meetings below:

Food Infrastructure: Mon. Nov. 14th, 3-5 p.m., Atomic Coffee meeting room, Downtown Fargo, 222 Broadway N
Economic Development: Mon. Nov. 21st, 3-5 p.m., Atomic Coffee meeting room, Downtown Fargo, 222 Broadway N
Urban Agriculture: Dec. 14th, 3 p.m., Downtown Fargo Public Library, Meeting Room Complex, 102 3rd St. N.
Outreach and Education: Mon., Nov. 21st, 6 p.m., Cass County Extension Services, basement conference room, 1010 2nd Ave S, Fargo.
Food Access: Mon. Nov. 28th, 1 p.m., Fargo Cass Public Health, 401 3rd Ave. N., Fargo
Melissa Kossick is a local community artist and educator.
Questions and comments welcomed at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Editor’s Note: This article was realized with some collaboration from food editor, Jeni Hill

Questions and comments welcomed at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)