Local Food to Local People: Enlarging a Regional Food System Through Nutrition Education

2002 Annual Report for ENC00-047

Project Type: Professional Development Program
Funds awarded in 2000: $60,145.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2002
Region: North Central
State: Kansas
Project Coordinator:
Nancy O'Connor
Community Mercantile Education Foundation
Co-Coordinators:
Nancy O'Conner
Community Mercantile Education Foundation Inc

Local Food to Local People: Enlarging a Regional Food System Through Nutrition Education

Summary

This project has coordinated an extensive education program with the goal of increasing consumption of locally grown and produced foods, thereby expanding the market for local producers. This goal has been achieved through a partnership of educators, businesses, and growers who together have coordinated a multi-faceted approach to education, utilizing presentations, samplings, demonstrations, cooking classes, farm tours, and special events. Targeted audiences include health professionals, educators, Extension agents, children, seniors, growers, and general public. A summer camp for teens, Local Food to Local Kids, included farm tours, education about local food systems, demonstrations, and daily meals prepared from local foods.

Objectives/Performance Targets

To train nutrition educators, administrators of feeding programs, farmers market staff, and government agencies serving low-income people, seniors, and schools, in selection, purchase, preparation, and preservation of locally grown foods.

To improve the diets of agency clientele by providing them with the skills to prepare tasty and nutritious meals using locally produced food.

To increase the production of locally and seasonally produced food in the target area.

To improve communication and networking among various nutrition educators and to promote partnerships around their common mission.

To model a nutrition education program based on this cooperation, which significantly impacts the production and consumption of local foods.

To extend the model to other counties, agencies, and regions.

Accomplishments/Milestones

To train nutrition educators, administrators of feeding programs, farmers market staff, and government agencies serving low-income people, seniors, and schools, in selection, purchase, preparation, and preservation of locally grown foods.

In February, we began planning a workshop with the Atchison, Kansas Farmers’ Market group. The two-hour class, held in April, presented ideas, information, recipes, cooking demonstrations, and sampling to Farmers’ Market vendors to help them promote their produce and products.

Also in February, we participated in the Kansas Sustainable Agriculture Roundup, held in Salina, Kansas. The two-day conference is targeted primarily to Extension and Research personnel, and growers and ranchers from across the state. We gave a presentation about our Local Food to Local People project, complete with handouts and samples of local food items. We have been invited to return to the 2003 Roundup to speak again about the work of this grant.

In April, we were invited back to give a presentation at the University of Kansas Social Work Day, having been there to present in 2000. The one-day conference offers continuing education credits for social workers throughout the area. Our presentation on healthy eating offered information on local food choices and the value of buying from and supporting local producers.

In September, we attended a Sharing Our Abundant Resources (SOAR) conference in Minneapolis. The conference was sponsored by the National Cooperative Grocers Association and was attended by marketing personnel and educators who work in cooperative grocery stores across the United States. As part of the conference, we shared information about our Local Food to Local Kids camp and compiled a list of co-ops that are waiting to receive a copy of our camp curriculum upon its completion.

By far, our largest outreach effort came in November when we were invited to participate in the 17th Annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference sponsored by the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, held in Boone, North Carolina. We were invited to participate after conference organizers read an article about our Local Food to Local Kids summer camp in the national publication “Growing for Market.” During the three-day conference, attracting nearly 500 growers, producers, Extension agents, and educators, we gave three presentations as well as setting up a beautiful display on our Local Food to Local Kids summer camp, which was viewed by all conference participants. Our presentations included a panel discussion on Teaching Stewardship to Our Youth, an hour-and-a-half slide presentation and discussion about Local Food to Local Kids, and a cooking class on using seasonal produce, which was held at the local Cooperative Extension Cooking Facility. The food prepared for the cooking class was a wonderful fusion of Kansas products that we took to North Carolina in order to talk about our food producers, produce we bought from local roadside vegetable stands, and gorgeous broccoli harvested especially for this class by a local producer working with County Extension to convert his former tobacco farm to broccoli production.
Other presentations made during the year were to groups as diverse as senior organizations, Lawrence USD 497 School Administrators, Lawrence Visitor Center staff, Hillcrest Elementary School staff, students at Haskell Indian Nations University, students at the University of Kansas, law students at Washburn University, Douglas County Homemakers Association, staff at Topeka Area Retarded Citizens, Parents as Teachers organization, and various philanthropic, educational, and civic organizations.

To improve the diets of agency clientele by providing them with the skills to prepare tasty and nutritious meals using locally produced food.

As it was last year, this is again an area of strength for this project. We give many presentations and cooking classes focusing on the use of fresh, seasonal produce as well as other Kansas products, including locally made tofu, fresh Kansas milk products bottled in glass and sold locally, salsa, jam, eggs and locally raised meat products—just to name a few. This past year we provided nutrition education on a bimonthly basis to seniors through a contract with the Lawrence Housing Authority. The presentations are held at a low-income senior housing site, and include discussion of local products and fresh produce. We also have spoken to clients of Social Rehabilitative Services, seniors enrolled in the Personal Actions to Health Program, clients involved in support groups at Douglas County Citizens Commission on Alcoholism, at-risk teens involved in the job-training program Jobs in the Arts Make Sense, clients of Community Living, seniors involved in church and social organizations, and seniors living in a variety of settings. We regularly teach in public school settings and conduct classes on site at the Community Mercantile Cooperative Grocery.

To increase the production of locally and seasonally produced food in the target area.

On October 26, 2002, we hosted the second annual Local Food to Local People event. The day began at Community Mercantile Cooperative Grocery, a 28-year-old cooperatively owned natural food grocery store with annual sales of over six million dollars a year. The event is co-sponsored by Community Mercantile, Community Mercantile Education Foundation (CMEF), and the Kansas Rural Center. As the result of last year’s event, and with the help of this grant, Community Mercantile has developed a signage system to promote the sale of local food items. The buying staff of the co-op worked out parameters for what they consider a “local” product and a “regional” product. We added the “regional” designation after last year’s event because we felt that even though our focus is much more on local products we support consumer choices. When local products are not available we felt it was better to inform consumers of a choice that was at least from our extended region rather than from across the continent. We feel it is all part of the educational process of closing the miles from farm to table.

The definitions for “local” and “regional” designations are presented in both written and visual (a map) form around the store. Two symbols were developed to indicate that a product is either local (a carrot symbol) or regional (a single wheat stalk), and small signs were made, and are available for buyers to hang in front of appropriate products. For the one-day event, a shopping list is compiled for the entire store with all regional and local products listed (with over 150 items across all departments!). Volunteers greet customers at the store entrance and give them a shopping list and coupons that are good for 50¢ off any item on the list. As customers move throughout the store, they are met by local producers who are sampling and talking about their products. This year’s returned coupons totaled 400 in just one day—proof positive that the connection was made and consumers purchased local products. Additionally, Susan Krumm, Douglas County Extension Food and Consumer Science agent and major collaborator on the camp, was in the store helping to staff our Local Food to Local Kids display. She was assisted by several campers who volunteered to help.

Following the store events, there was a farm tour and potluck dinner at Fieldstone Farms in rural Overbrook, Kansas. Owner Ken Krauss is very active at the Community Mercantile promoting and sampling his apples and fresh cider. Additionally, his farm has an extensive asparagus crop, grapes, Asian pears, and small livestock. The event was a great success even though the weather was uncooperative and put a literal damper on the farm tour. This event has now been established as a successful annual event and will be moved to an earlier autumn date in 2003 in the hopes of catching warmer and more reliable weather.

For the ninth consecutive year, the Rolling Prairie Farmers Alliance (RPFA) has used the Community Mercantile Cooperative as a distribution point for its 200 customers. Once a week, either on Monday or Thursday night, from mid-May through mid-October, customers come to pick up a bag of local, organically grown produce. Rather than viewing this effort as competition for its own produce department, Community Mercantile Co-op and CMEF have worked together to use this as an educational opportunity to promote local products. Each Monday and Thursday evening during the three-hour pick-up time, we prepare and sample a recipe using several of the produce items that are included in the bag. Sampling of recipes is open to all shoppers in the store, not just the Rolling Prairie customers. Community Mercantile produce department also carries locally grown produce items similar to what the RPFA customers receive so sales are also generated for the store through the sampling. All recipes are from the “Rolling Prairie Cookbook” written by Nancy O’Connor. All RPFA customers receive the cookbook as part of their subscription, and it is also available for sale in the store. Individual recipes for the week are printed on 3x5 cards available for all shoppers as well as RPFA customers. This SARE grant has enabled us to strengthen this effort and distribute the “Rolling Prairie Cookbook” to educators throughout our region in an effort to help increase awareness of local markets and products, and ultimately increase sales of local goods.

Although these are most notable examples of directly increasing production and sales of local products, we feel each class we teach, each local food item we sample to customers, every presentation we give with a clear and passionate message about supporting local food systems, strengthens our farms and supports our neighbors. We are here to help rebuild the connection between consumer and grower. We are very grateful to have the assistance of this grant to make our work a little easier.

To improve communication and networking among various nutrition educators, and to promote partnerships around their common mission.

Two of our strongest partnerships in this grant work have been with the Kansas Rural Center and K-State Research and Extension of Douglas County. In July, we hosted our Local Food to Local Kids summer camp—a formidable undertaking that could not have been accomplished without the help, resources, and leadership of Susan Krumm of Douglas County Extension. The staff of Douglas County Extension have been very generous in their support of this project, and specifically the camp. Susan was on board from the outset, helping to choose our camp coordinator, providing us the use of Extension facilities to hold the camp, participating in every aspect of planning and execution. With her help and that of Connie Detweiller, also from Douglas County Extension, we put together an excellent weeklong summer camp for 30 junior high-aged students from across Douglas County. We also had assistance from Douglas County Ag Agent Bill Wood and 4-H and Youth Agent Cathy Musick. Director Trudy Rice attended the huge feast prepared by our campers at week’s end. Susan also helped us promote partnerships with area farms that hosted our campers and counselors. She arranged for support and partnership with the Home Baking Association, whose representative, Sharon Davis, coordinated a terrific hands-on afternoon focused on locally raised grain products. The camp also enjoyed the partnership of seven area chefs who believed in our message of supporting local food systems and generously shared their time and expertise to prepare a fabulous feast of local foods for one of our day’s lunches.

The Kansas Rural Center and staff, under the direction of Director Dan Nagengast, have been with us at every turn in the project. They have enthusiastically assisted us with both Local Food to Local People events, in 2001 and 2002, contributing to the success and ensuring the future of this event. Dan also lent assistance with our Local Food to Local Kids camp. He acted as our forager, collecting local produce items for the week’s menus and the large local feast for 80 people at the camp’s culmination. Along with his wife, Lynn Byczynski, Dan hosted the campers at their Wild Onion Farm, giving the campers an intelligent and thought provoking talk about the true costs of agriculture as we know it, and also providing sound information about organic farming methods. Campers also toured their hoop houses and fields of produce and flowers.

As information about our camp was spread through various venues, we began receiving a number of e-mails and calls about our curriculum. We have received requests from all over the country for general information about the camp and specifically for a copy of the curriculum. We are currently working on a written curriculum that we will provide to nutrition educators, Extension agents, co-ops, farmers, and anyone supportive of promoting local food systems. In May of 2003, the national publication Cooperative Grocer will be publishing an article that we will write about our nutrition education efforts in general and the work of this grant more specifically. We have felt encouraged by the interest and support there is to promote local food systems.

To model a nutrition education program based on this cooperation, which significantly impacts the production and consumption of local foods.

Since receiving this SARE grant to support and expand local food systems, we have made many contacts through a number of channels. Most notable is the National Cooperative Grocers Association and its regional counterparts. The Midwest Cooperative Grocers Association, of which Community Mercantile is a member, is an alliance of 14 retail stores with combined annual sales of more than $65.6 million, 48,500 member households, and over 890 employees. Among co-ops there is an open sharing of information and resources, as was evident at the previously mentioned SOAR conference. Co-ops also share information through the web-based Cooperative Grocers Information Network (CGIN), and the national publication “Cooperative Grocer.” This networking is in place and is helping us disseminate information about our grant work. We have had many exchanges on CGIN about our grant project, and have had a request to post our curriculum in an electronic form once it is complete. There is a natural alignment between independent cooperative grocery stores and independent, local producers and a real dedication to supporting each other.

Our recent participation in the North Carolina Sustainable Agriculture conference was also affirming of our work. Here we made many contacts with others who are also focused on developing ways to promote the production and consumption of local foods. We are still following up on contacts made at the conference and will be networking with some of these people on a regular basis to share resources.

To extend the model to other counties, agencies, and regions.

We were very pleased to be invited to the North Carolina conference where we felt we had so much exposure, with nearly 500 people in attendance. We were pleased also to participate in the Kansas Sustainable Agriculture Roundup in Kansas where we met Extension and research personnel from across the state. Working with other Farmers’ Market groups, like the one in Atchison, has been beneficial. And certainly, our sharing of resources at the SOAR conference in Minneapolis has built connections from coast to coast. Next year we have been invited to participate in a number of regional conferences and meetings where we look forward to continuing to share what we have learned to help bring table and farm closer together.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

We continue to see a measurable increase in requests for presentations, classes, and information about our work as the direct result of this project, and not just from our immediate community. Through our networking efforts we are now communicating by phone and e-mail with educators, farmers, Extension staff, and others involved in food security throughout our region and the country. We are receiving requests to share some of the models we have developed through the work of this grant.

In our classes and presentations we use local products that are always available at Community Mercantile Co-op. Following these presentations we can see a measurable increase in the sale of local products we have promoted.

Our relationship with several area agencies has been greatly strengthened through the work of this project, most notably the Kansas Rural Center, K-State Research and Extension Douglas County, Lawrence Public Schools USD 497, and Kansas State University’s Kansas Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops. We look forward to continuing work with these organizations.

Our successful Local Food to Local Kids summer camp has brought much attention to our project and its goals. We received excellent local media coverage. Additionally, stories about the project have been featured in the Kansas Rural Paper, Growing for Market, the Midwest CGA publication, the Cooperative Grocers Information Network, among others. This allows us the opportunity to share our information and goals with more and more people. We continue work on a written curriculum for the Local Food to Local Kids camp that will be available in early 2003. We have developed a slide presentation and display of our Local Food to Local Kids camp. Both have received great reception and we look forward to sharing this information in the coming year.

Our continuing education of customers of the Rolling Prairie Farmers Alliance has helped support this CSA, now in its ninth year.

Our second Local Food to Local People event held at Community Mercantile on October 26, 2002 resulted in not only increased awareness of local products but resulted in the measurable sale of over 400 local products in one day. Also, as the direct result of the first Local Food to Local People event, Community Mercantile has developed a well-defined system for signing and promoting the local products they sell.

The work of this project continues to strengthen the business of Community Mercantile Cooperative Grocery, which in turn provides a reliable, year-round marketplace for local growers and producers. This project continues to bring local, state, and national attention to the co-op for being a leader in education, commitment to community, and its support of local growers and producers.

Now that we have achieved a level of success in our own community, we have been able to reach out to other communities and regions. We were very pleased to be part of the large Sustainable Ag conference in North Carolina. We look forward to several more conferences in the near future.