Takeaways from the annual Adirondack Food Justice Summit
By Mike Lynch
About 175 people from around New York state discussed challenges impacting local food systems and the organizations working within them, at the eighth annual Adirondack Food Justice Summit held Thursday at the Wild Center in Tupper Lake.
Here are five takeaways from the event:
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Solutions are a big focus
A large part of the conference program was geared toward developing solutions, with a big focus on successful food distribution systems and hubs from the Adirondacks and throughout New York state.
“Partially what this event is about is brainstorming,” said Josh Stephani, program manager with the Adirondack Food System Network, which organized the event. “It’s harnessing and leveraging that collective brain power that’s in all of these rooms and using that to kind of catalyze innovation.”
Audiences heard from nonprofits such as the Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming in the Hudson Valley. This nonprofit has been working with farmers and organizations to create a wholistic regional food system. The network connects farmers, processors, distributors and consumers with food that is transported a shorter distance and arrives fresh.
Other presenters included a representative from the Herkimer County’s Cornell Cooperative Extension, which highlighted its Veggie Van program that delivers fresh, locally grown produce and agriculture products to underserved communities in its region.
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Federal funding cuts hurt
Many of the food network’s partners and conference attendees are nonprofits that rely on federal money, including grants that have been frozen by the federal government or whose fates are uncertain.
“They’re waiting to be reimbursed back from these programs, and they don’t know if they will be reimbursed,” Stephani said. “There’s a lot of unknowns, and I think there’s a lot of questions being asked, and one of the things we’re working on right now is to kind of map that landscape and understand what are some of those big gaps.”
Distribution is a challenge
Many small farmers in the North Country struggle with distribution in the Adirondack region because they don’t have the money or the proper transportation equipment, such as refrigerated vans, to move products throughout the region. In addition, the markets are smaller in the Adirondack region compared to urban markets and not always as profitable.
That’s where nonprofits like the Essex Food Hub have come into play in recent years. Taking over operations for the Hub on the Hill, the nonprofit has transportation equipment and contacts to move products throughout the region and also into urban areas.
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“It’s incredibly expensive and time consuming for farmers to market and support their goods within the region, much less outside of the region where they really need to get in order to achieve any sort of scale and profit margin,” Willemain said.
Farmlands can store carbon
In one of the workshops, “The Future of Food Systems in a Changing Climate: Gathering Insights and Solutions for Resilience,” participants pointed to the opportunity to make food systems more climate-friendly.
Moderator Sunita Halasz, project coordinator with Adirondack Climate Outreach and Resilience Network, said participants talked about how soils could be improved to store carbon through composting, the use of cover crops, and other means.
Local food can be affordable
Cherie Whitten, owner of the Adirondack Food Hub and Whitten Family Farm, said she is “very focused on health, so I like to provide healthy, local food that is affordable.”
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Through her market in downtown Tupper Lake, she provides customers with a variety of options to get fresh, local food during the growing season. That includes a buffet and various takeout options.
“You can get a decent meal for $12 – organic, local, fresh,” she said about her venue. “I want people to have affordable food that’s good for them.”
Tim Rowland contributed to this report.
The biggest problem with “local” food is cost. Right from the Essex Food Hub today, 1 lb ground beef is $10, Price Chopper’s 1.33 lbs @$6.37 (this week’s flyer).
How much is $4 worth to you? Is it worth enough to support a local farmer responsibly raising meat that is likely far better for your body that the PC factory farmed stuff?
I’m not saying cost isn’t important to the average shopper. I know it’s important, maybe the most important part of it for many people. But there is more too it.
Consider that you can buy eggs at a farmers market (right now locally) for $6-7 dozen. You can also buy the lowest quality eggs at a Grand Union for $8-9. Unfortunately the farmers market might be looked at as “high price” to the outsider, and will be skipped entirely.
So yeah, you need to make this known and accessible for the average shopper who might not have the time to think about this stuff.
Availability of food, services, education, housing, retail, medical care, jobs will probably never be as good in rural mountains as they are in suburban areas, even with federal or state subsidies.
Programs need to be introduced into the communities where food is grown onsite. K-12 schools can introduce children to growing food which is then used in recipes in their cafeterias. Hospitals can also grow food on their grounds or rooftops and used to feed their patients and staff. Hoop tunnels allow a growing season year-round, without a heat source, with Cornell University proving this can be done even in the wintertime over the past 15 years. There is no reason for the Adirondacks to be a food desert with the abundance of land and water available…it will take fresh ideas and ingenuity to change what’s always been a “food desert” into a “food oasis”. It can be done.
Thank you for this important coverage. I also appreciate the civil dialog in the comments section.