This week in our virtual meeting we’re going to read about people who are making a difference around the country and around the world, then we’re going to find someone in the local community who is at work to find solutions to the problems in our food network. Take a field trip to visit a local farm or to talk to someone in the local food industry.
Search for a list of local farmer’s markets and local farms or community groups working to improve food distribution to the poor in your area.
Dig Deeper will help you continue a conversation with the people you meet this week on your journey. Maybe they’ll help you discover a local problem that could be the seed for your Harvest Take Action Project.
Identify a local food or land issue and talk to some people about it…talk to grower, restaurateur, chef, gardener, and nutritionists and find out about challenges they face. Talk to them about how we can inspire others to improve their food print. Visit some local purveyors of food: See who is growing or producing food locally.
Plan a field trip to visit one of these local farms or community groups and to use the form “Dig Deeper” to find out what problems they face in the community.
Write about your field trip and what you discovered in the comments. Take a photo while you’re there and upload that too.
30 replies on “Week 6 – Connect with Community”
I went to a big local farmer’s market (the same one I’ve been going to my whole life). I talked to a couple vendors about their organic food and where they are sourced, and it was interesting to see that the stalls that sell only organic food make it very clear that there process is clean and healthy. I also had a conversation about in-season fruits and vegetables (in the summer it’s stone fruit and various berries). It’s interesting how not everyone knows which produce is in-season, making them more likely to buy fruit that requires more preservatives.
I visited Sankanac, which is a community supported agriculture. The farm employs disabled adults, which allows them a healthy community work envirorment. The farm is funded by the community, as they buy shares of the land. The profits are used to buy more land, seeds, and water. However, with supply prices going up due to inflation, and share profits going down due to the variety of fruits and vegetables available at grocery stores the farm is struggling. One thing they have implanted this year to try something different is partnering with animal farms, so people can buy meat shares. They also opened a café on the property, so people can enjoy organically made treats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
I went to Delicious Orchards, which is a farmer’s market and orchard. While I was there, I noticed that they had a lot of varieties of food made from their crops, like apple cider and pie. They also sold a lot of plants and novelty food items from small brands. I thought it was interesting that one small company was supporting others, creating a chain in the community. One of the problems they face is a lack of fruits and veggies in the off season. It can also be difficult to compete with larger, less expensive supermarkets. Finally, organic fruit is difficult to make because pests eat it without pesticides. This can make it an expensive journey that doesn’t produce nearly as much usable product as non-organic crops.
For my field trip, I visited the Gizdich Ranch, a family-owned farm in Watsonville. It is known for growing apples, berries, and serving pie. During this trip, I noticed that all of their main consumers were hungry tourists passing by. There were certainly long lines for their pie stand. I also noticed that they really focused on trying to please customers by adding food items that weren’t originally grown or made on the farm. They had a pie shop and a grocery store. This makes financial sense because the farm doesn’t want to lose out on a sale – even if it’s not homegrown. Although this helps keep the farm alive, it really decreases the idea of their produce being organic and homemade. For example, on their menu, they had cherry, berry, apple, strawberry and rhubarb, and pumpkin pies. I knew that they didn’t grow cherries or pumpkins, so I thought it was weird that they were selling them. While waiting in line, I saw that they were rolling in canned pumpkin filling from Libby’s, a totally different organization. When I got my pie slice, which had cherry filling, I noticed that the fruits didn’t taste fresh and seemed as though they were also canned. This supported my previous claim that the quality of the food really wasn’t the focus because they needed to please the passing tourists. When I went to another part of the farm, I noticed that they also sold honey and jams from different companies. While I realize that this farm just wants to stay financially alive, I felt that they were reducing the quality of their original product. It’s an apple and berry farm. I think by having so many options, they lose their individuality. In the end, this trip has taught me how family-businesses can lose sight of keeping things organic and healthy because they are fighting to make profits. So instead of the focus being on growing berries and apples, you instead have 10 different pie options and a small grocery store selling all kinds of goods.
I went to a farm in McDonough, GA called Good Shepherd Family Farm. I loved seeing how they lived and worked from their same home, and how they lived a very rural and earthly outdoorsy life. I was able to meet their dogs, their kids, and see where they kept all of their produce, mostly meat and dairy. With the milk I bought there I made cheese, and I bought ribs and barbecued them, both were great and I got to learn about where food comes from directly from the source.
I visited the Kandeda building at Georgia Tech and got a special tour, including their garden at the top of the building. Our tour guide explained how they use the food to enjoy and many clubs take time to care for the lovely garden. She explained how they can oversee exactly what they are growing in eating, providing reassurance from the use of pesticides and chemicals in their food. She also explained how self-gardening can reduce food waste since the amount of food eaten can be controlled far better than if the food was bought. Their main goal she said is to help encourage healthy eating habits and environmentally aware eating. The Kandeda building is entirely built to help the environment, with producing x2 the amount of total energy that the building consumes to function.
For my “Dig Deeper” field trip I decided to visit a local Texas strawberry farm and was given the opportunity to speak to the Master Gardener on site. I asked a couple of questions revolving around pesticides, ways of transport, and preservatives in their locally made and distributed jams and jellies. The first question I asked, regarded the chemical portion of the strawberries such as which pesticides they do/do not use. Ms. Krowly went on to inform me that, like most farms, half of the field is certified organic and the other half uses light spray pesticides to protect against bugs and create larger/sweeter strawberries. Secondly, I asked how the transportation process works if their strawberries are being transported across the country and she greeted me with a simple response: refrigerated trucks and ice packs. I was slightly surprised by this answer due to the fact that my whole life, I’ve grown up unaware of the fact that my fruit is being frozen before I ingest it. Lastly I asked Ms. Krowly what they use as a preservative, she told me they simply use lemon juice, and xanthan gum- both natural and non harmful additives. I was happy to hear this answer and will now check the labels of all my jams in the future.
I volunteered at a 5k run and got to talk to some local farmers and workers from Hollandia. They spoke to me about how the food is grown and transported. They wash the fruit and vegetables before they sell them. The workers from Hollandia were pleased to tell me about their restocking and how they drive from location to location to provide milk.
According to a small farmer, it is apparently very difficult to receive the organic certificate. The organic certificate verifies a particular farm as sustainable and without the use of chemicals, such as pesticides. He said it is hard to obtain it, unless they grow a large volume of crops.
A local farm near me was Okeechobee farms. They sell free range meat that are 100% grass fed. They maintain a natural living environment for their livestock. As well as a healthier and natural way of eating meat. And i could not upload a picture
I was doing research on food issues in texas when I found this website (https://www.reformaustin.org/lifestyle/texas-has-a-serious-food-insecurity-problem/) and it stated ““Food desert” is a term that has grown in popularity over the years, for areas where there’s a grocery store shortage, or when a grocery store shuts down and causes limited access to nutritious food, which affects the health of the community, especially for those without an automobile. “(Harkrider, 3) I was very surprised that a state like Texas was facing issues like food insecurity and lack of food. I discussed this with my mom and we had a discussion about how this issue affected people and how we could be affected.
I talked to my friends parents about beekeeping and its benefits to the environment. I always knew bees pollinated, but never really thought about how much they actually influence. I learned that normal worker bees actually die each year during winter, and that bears, pesticides and urban production have led to more than 75% of bees being killed and millions of hives are destroyed by outside forces. Beekeeping may seem small by just saving a few bees, but any change is a big change with our natural world. Next year, they may be selling local honey at markets!
I spoke to some local bee farmers at my farmers market. They said they tried hard to keep their carbon footprint down. Most of their products are not put in plastic and their bees are kept in flower fields and don’t have a very large carbon footprint in the first place.
I went to my neighbor’s flower and vegetable garden. I also visited a local produce stand on the highway next to my town. The things they grew were tomatoes, squash, okra, and peppers. They grew that because the vegetables grow well in our climate and taste good. Families and community shoppers use what they grow. The family gardener has mold due to the high humidity in Tennessee. She fights against this by removing the leaves with the mold and throwing them away in sealed plastic bags, so it won’t spread. Another challenge is that birds and small animals eat the produce. Both growers use fences and use things to scare them away like fake snakes, scarecrows, and strips of foil or material. They use compost and organic fertilizers. New technology has shown that it is better not to rototill to prevent growth of weed seeds in lower soil areas. It is better to put clean dirt and mulch for planting. The produce farmer learned from family that farmed before. The neighbor learned by doing and garden tours. Some of her seeds she brought from other countries that she visited. The produce ends up on family tables and they are at the start of the food network.
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Hello, this is Brooklyn
I talked to a local beef in my town and their entire purpose is to know exactly how there cows are raised and feed. They don’t like big commercial producers which I don’t either so having them in town helps a lot. They are also reducing the carbon footprint because they are doing all of their work inhouse. They help my community a lot. Going to see their process was very simple because they have the cows living around the store on a farm and then everything is easy to see after that too.
I spoke to a local produce stand near my school. I asked them questions about how they source their products and how they try to reduce their carbon footprint. They said that they grow the majority of the products themselves. What they don’t grow themselves, they buy from local sources. For example, they sell honey that is made by beekeepers who live in their neighborhood. They said that they do face competition from some of the larger stores such as publix and kroger, but they have a reliable customer base due to their healthier products.
I spoke to a local beef farmer. It was interesting to learn that when you buy local it helps preserve the community’s culture and help with carbon footprint. Most of the processed cow is sold to the community. It is amazing to know that in one’s community you can by local meat, fruit and vegetables.
I talked to a person from a local farmers market and found really inspiring things. It was really interesting to hear everything about simple question on the basic “How do you deal with competition,” or “What’s it really like being a local farmer here?” I got two really good responses from those questions that really made me feel something. The person said the competition wasn’t as bad as the thought it was since the mainly go to farmer markets to sell their produce. Second, they said being a farmer really makes them feel like their helping the community even if it’s a small portion they felt accomplished bringing smiles to people’s faces by their produce. The whole experience was really uplifting for me, and it held a sort of connection due to my exposure to agriculture. Throughout the rest of the interview, we mainly chatted about different things in the agriculture business and how the person had big dreams of owning more land and being able to bring smiles on more people’s faces.
I talked to a person from a local farmers market and found really inspiring things. It was really interesting to hear everything about simple question on the basic “How do you deal with competition,” or “What’s it really like being a local farmer here?” I got two really good responses from those questions that really made me feel something. The person said the competition wasn’t as bad as the thought it was since the mainly go to farmer markets to sell their produce. Second, they said being a farmer really makes them feel like their helping the community even if it’s a small portion they felt accomplished bringing smiles to people’s faces by their produce.
I went to my local farmer’s market and inquired about where they grow their plants and how buying from them reduces my Carbon Footprint. I discovered that because they are local and they don’t use as much energy to bring the produce to their customers, they help the environment and in turn so do we. I asked about the competition they face from whole sale grocery stores such as Walmart, Costco, Harris Teeter and how it impacts them and the environment. I asked them if they donate to local food shelters and if they employ people who other wise would’ve been severely disadvantaged because of their socio-economic status.
I talked to a local restaurant owner, who says that they try to get food from smaller, local sources. However, it’s a struggle when that food doesn’t last as long due to lack of modification for longer shelf life. He also mentioned that it feels immensely wasteful to have to throw out the food they can’t use, when they could be reselling or just giving it to people who will use it in recipes. For example, people like my grandma who like to make pies out of mushy fruit that we won’t eat.
I spoke to a local restaurant owner. They would like to donate left over food but it is against the law. Which is frustrating at times.
My parents enrolled me in an agriculture camp, where I encountered one of my troop commanders, a Texas Warrant officer that focused in crowding and the food sector.At camp, he and as well as some other speekers mostly talked about fish, how some species are displacing populations of other fish, and how many people aren’t well-informed about hunting and end up killing entire species.The major reason he and a group of others started this free summer camp was to teach minorities in low-income neighborhoods about agriculture and how they don’t have to settle for low-wage employment. I admire how he and his teammates used education to give back to the community.
My parents signed me up for an Agricultural camp and there I talked to one of my Troop leaders who happened to be a Texas Warrant that specialized in overpopulation and the food industry. During camp, he and others talked mainly about fish, how some species are overtaking one population of another fish, and how lots of people aren’t really educated on hunting and end up responsibly hunting off a whole species. The main reason he and a group of people created this free summer camp was to educate minorities in poor communities about agriculture and how you don’t have to settle for minimum-paying jobs. I love how He and his group of co-workers gave back to the community in an educational way.
I had an interview with a guest speaker, Peggy Schultz, to talk about her Sagewood Vines online and person-to-person business that makes and sells homemade jellies, jams, preserves, and biscotti. She talked about problems like drought in our area, organic versus non-organic, local versus non-local, the complexities of acquiring a food license, and other behind-the-scenes problems she faces and conquers. Schultz also let us know about the process of labeling food or produce labels and the rigorous process to get approval. She also discussed farmer’s markets and the difficulties they face in making profits or trying to out compete with the establish grocery stores. But even with all the challenges, Mrs. Schultz loves the challenge, making her homemade foods, and making customers happy.
I selected my school because we value our community and growing our food locally. We even have a meal program that they plan on opening up for people who don’t know how to cook and are on a budget. We also created a garden that produces a lot of vegetables that we use in our lunches and the food that we can’t produce, we buy at local and sustainable businesses. We also do internships where you and others learn how to tend to a garden.
I talked to my boss who owns a restaurant. I observed where the food goes while it’s being cooked, served, and after it’s on the table. I observe a lot of food waste because we can’t reuse any food once it is on the table due to sanitation. We talked about ways to make it better, such as smaller portion sizes and increased awareness about food waste. Another thing I do to support the environment in the food industry is only offer straws upon demand.
Due to covid- we watched 4 videos regarding food issues in Iowa. We learned that SNAP is the new food stamp system, the importance of planting cover crops to protect the soil, meat is hard to come by in food banks so deer hunters are donating deer meat, and a lot of food goes to waste so if we can get the food to food banks it would not go to waste.
Discussed the people each girl knows in the food industry. Farmers, restaurant owners, gardeners. Discussed challenges associated with each of these businesses. Decided to have a friend attend our next meeting and share her love for gardening with us.