yearofplenty

Food Fight, Ctd - In Praise of the 10,000 Mile Diet

A recent Chicago Tribune article had one of the more thorough treatments of the debates between industrial agriculture pragmatists vs. local food idealists.I was intrigued to hear about an upcoming book;

...economist Hiroko Shimizu and University of Toronto geographer Pierre Desrochers are finishing a 2011 book, tentatively called "In Praise of the 10,000 Mile Diet," that argues locavorism is a misleading marketing fad that, among other problems, ignores the threat it poses to the current affordability of food and to the economic health of developing countries.

Food security can suffer if "you put all your eggs in one local basket and something goes wrong," Desrochers said from his Toronto office. "I also have a problem when local food activists want to promote food that is either not economical or cannot compete with foreign food in that area."

Go here for a brief article of the same name by Shimizu.

The whole Tribune article is worth a read but I should clarify one point regarding the use of food stamps at farmers' markets. The article offers that as a counterpoint to farmers market elitism but early reports are that while many markets take food stamps, few consumers are taking advantage of it. Unfortunately, this has been true at the Millwood Farmers' Market where we haven't had a lot of food stamp transactions this summer.

Go here for my response to these debates.

Idaho Potato Commission: Local Food Movement a Threat to Idaho Potato "Global Brand"

Picture: Mashed potatoes from last year's potato harvest featuring the natural colors of the potato flesh.

Northwest Food News has a great report on how local food advocates and the Idaho Potato Commission recently butted heads in the Idaho legislature.

A resolution was brought before the ag committee simply proposing that the Idaho legislature endorse local food. In response to this rather tame, teethless proposal Frank Muir, the CEO of the Idaho Potato Commission stood up as the lone opponent;

Well Mr. Chairman, Representatives it will probably come as somewhat of a surprise that the Idaho Potato Commission is here to testify in opposition to HCR-56 and on the surface I would be shocked too because it sounds positive, in support of the grower, in support of eating locally and the problem that we have with this is that Idaho Potatoes is not local.  Idaho Potatoes is a global brand.

He went on to explain that the growing emphasis on locally grown food led Walmart to shift gears;

The largest retailer in the country discontinued Idaho potatoes in 5 distribution centers – not 5 stores – 5 distribution centers.  Not because Idaho potatoes wasn’t selling; it was because they were now focusing on buying from the local farmers.

There are several fascinating aspects to this development. For one, stores as big as Walmart are shifting gears in the way they distribute food. I've always said that any substantial shift toward local food would take change at the large retailers and it looks like that is actually happening.

The other interesting aspect is that this shift creates dilemmas for places like Idaho that have low populations and high production of food. A big portion of the Idaho economy is built on exporting milk, potatoes and other agricultural products. When McDonald's in Seattle starts bragging about using Washington grown potatoes that's a problem for Idaho potatoes. They can't compete with that. People that have gone to great lengths to nurture "global brands" are coming to grips with a new marketplace that values local brands.

The whole story is worth a read or listen. If you're interested in local food in the Northwest, Northwest Food News is a must follow on Facebook or Twitter.

Spokane's "Sustainable September" Calendar of Events

This will be the second year for Spokane's Sustainable September series of events and activities. I think this concept was originated on the west of the state, but some leaders in Spokane, specifically the folks at Community Minded Enterprises, are takin it to the next level. Here's the description;

Sustainable September is an annual month-long series of events dedicated to promoting sustainability in the Spokane community. Sustainable September includes discussions, activities, presentations, and tours designed to build community and increase awareness so that Spokane can become more environmentally and economically resilient.

There are currently a diverse variety of environmental and community building non-profits in our area. Sustainable September’s goal is to bring many of these organizations together to build a united front in supporting the environment and health of our community.

Community-Minded Enterprises is partnering with several organizations and businesses to build a strong coalition in promoting action and education within the greater Spokane area. This year Sustainable September is building on partnerships including The Lands Council, the Community Building, LaunchPad INW, Avista, the Sierra Club, and the Northwest Eco-Building Guild.

Here are some off the food related events:

Kickoff Luncheon
September 1, noon at Masonic Temple

This event will kick-off the month long series of Sustainable September. Please join us for a talk from your chef, Jeremy at Sante Restaurant, a speech from Mayor Verner and a Keynote address by Kevin Danaher, founder of Global Exchange. Tickets available at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/123974

The Ethics of Eating Event
September 9, 5:30pm at Trezzi Farm

Guest speakers explore the ethics of eating and access to healthy food in our community. Meal will feature local ingredients. Tickets required and available at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/122812. Download SSS Ethics of Eating for this event.

Green Drinks Spokane
September 14 at The Swamp

Green Drinks monthly event, www.greendrinks.org Featured Organizations: Down to Earth, Sustainable September Cost: FREE Time: 5:30 pm

Food Summit
September 27, 1-3pm - (location to be determined)

Gathering for non-profit and other groups committed to local food and food access issues. meet and greet, and discuss current projects, goals, and challenges. Potluck lunch. RSVP to Kristi at lavenderlaver (at) hotmail (dot) com.

Wheat, Wine and Wild Salmon 4th Annual Dinner
September 29, 10-11 am at Hills Restaurant

DescriptionEach year 3 local organizations, Slow Foods Spokane River, Save Our Wild Salmon & Spokane Falls Trout Unlimited, come together in support of one single issue... supporting the longevity of wild salmon & steelhead in Salmon Nation. Many challenges face these fish, so critical to the health of the NW ecosystem, economy and culture. Extremely local and delicious meal. Tickets available now at www.brownpapaertickets.com/event/118578 Discount for early ticket purchase (before 9/22).

There are a full slate of activities. Go here for the full calendar of events.

Picture: Indian Paintbrush at Mt. Spokane taken last week.

Main Market Food Co-Op 2.0

My recent provocative proposal to have the folks from the Rocket Market run the business side of the Main Market Food Co-op received as strong a reaction as any recent post in memory. Between the two sites there were over a dozen comments and the reactions keep coming. Here is a compilation of some of the responses and ideas;

"...What I feel we need is a BULK FOOD store for Eastern Wa. and No. Idaho. No frills."
"...What's really needed is a place to process and sell local fresh meats. We have no market for this in Spokane. If they can't figure how to do it, lease the kitchen to someone like Jeremy Hansen at Sante' who knows what to do with fresh local meat."
"...I think something that would help is adjusting their hours. Being downtown, they have the potential to attract a lot of people that work downtown. I have wanted to go in several times on my way to work, but they don't open until late, like 10 or something...Slashing prices also makes it much more attractive to me. It was the most expensive store in town, so I still usually chose Fresh Abundance, or even Huckleberries in a pinch (Rocket Market is too far away for me, and unfortunately I have yet to make a visit). It would be less expensive if I became a member, but I can't afford their sky-high membership rates (another reason I chose Fresh Abundance)."
"...I appreciate the innovative architecture of the Main Market. It's great to have such progressive environmental pioneers in our area. One last note: The co-op in Bozeman, MT is a great store they might want to model themselves after."
"...ALL the co-ops I've been to weren't housed in glitzy buildings complete with pricey rooftop greenhouses. They found places with extremely low rents, hired minimal but dedicated staffs and worked tirelessly in other ways to KEEP THEIR PRICES THE LOWEST POSSIBLE!"
"...Most co-ops I've seen are pretty nice and relatively expensive - Missoula, Bozeman, Bellingham… I hate to say it but maybe we're more of a 'Jack's Thriftstore' type of town."
"...As far as prices in general, yes, certain items are going to be pricey. I don't buy those things. There are fabulous deals to be had in the bulk and produce sections. If you are willing to learn how to cook and take the time to do so, you can eat local and organic and affordably all at the same time."

Thanks for all the great input. I've received word from the Co-op board that they have reviewed all the comments and will discuss them at their next board meeting. However the board chooses to move forward, the key to future success is their responsiveness to the demands of the community, and they can't be responsive unless there is something to respond to. I've heard it said, "We get the government we deserve." Maybe the same can be said for the Main Market, "Spokane gets the food co-op it deserves." If we're not willing to speak up and participate to shape a truly viable co-op then we will get the co-op we deserve, which could be no Co-op at all.

I've received a back channel response from an employee of the co-op who is very excited about the changes they are making. I have offered them the opportunity to write a guest post to share the vision for Main Market 2.0. That offer is open to the Co-op board as well. Stay tuned.

Why the Main Market Co-op Should Ask the Rocket Bakery to Run the Market

Last year the Main Market Food Co-op in Spokane opened with great fan fare as the flagship enterprise of Spokane's burgeoning local food movement. The old Goodyear building was converted into a state of the art retail food facility, a large staff was assembled, funds were donated, memberships were subscribed, and a top notch group of community leaders were recruited to serve on the board. Thursday, four months after cutting the ribbon, the Spokesman Review business section announced that the co-op is regrouping;

After its January launch, Spokane’s only full-service food co-op is revisiting its business strategy and trying to win new customers. Main Market Cooperative in downtown has slashed prices, started searching for a new general manager and expanded its deli selections, and it hopes to mount a marketing campaign to get the attention of shoppers.

Its interim general manager, Jeanette Hamilton, said there’s no chance the co-op, at 44 West Main, will close. She’s convinced the store will succeed. “But the most successful co-ops take time. It doesn’t happen in the first two years,” Hamilton said.

I'm reading between the lines here, but it sounds like sales at the market have been poor and that the business model is not working. The article mentions that along with lowering prices, they plan to hire a marketing firm to raise the visibility of the co-op and do a national search for a new manager as ways to right the ship.

As a local food advocate and someone who would love to see the market succeed, I'd like to offer a humble proposal; Don't bother with a fancy marketing firm and executive search that are just going to dig a deeper hole in the short term, and are questionable solutions in the long term. Instead, set up a meeting with the folks at the Rocket Bakery/Rocket Market and beg them to come in and run the business side of the co-op.

Before I proceed, let me put my cards on the table. I am friends with the outgoing manager of the co-op and hold her in high regard and I know folks on the co-op board. I am also friends with Jeff and Julia who own and operate the Rocket Bakery and, in partnership with Alan & Shanda Shephard, own and run the Rocket Market. I don't have a membership at the co-op and my only business tie to the folks at the Rocket is that I spend a small fortune on their scones and coffee.

The only example of a successful retail food outlet in Spokane (that I'm aware of) that has figured out how to buy from local farmers and make money while doing it is the Rocket Market. Huckleberries has some offerings around the fringes but is mostly a send up of Whole Foods Market. Fresh Abundance makes a good effort but my sense is that they aspire to be a cultural movement and that the business model is secondary. (I'd be glad to be challenged on either assumption.)

Since 1999 the Rocket Market has been sorting out a unique business model in a converted gas station that, as they say, has "more food per square foot than any store this side of New York City." And it's true. I've only been there once, but the place is packed with interesting food and drink items, and much of it is sourced locally. They have four local egg vendors, heirloom tomatoes from Sand Point, ID, and a bunch of other quirky stuff that only they stock and sell. They've had over 10 years incubating this business model in Spokane and are better equipped than any expert from out of town to flesh out what could work at the Main Market location. It's worth mentioning that several of the expert staff brought on to run the co-op were from the Rocket Market.

If I were on the board of the co-op, I would contract with the folks at the Rocket to run the business side of things. Let them experiment and put their hard earned Spokane sensibilities to work. They've already turned one auto related location into a thriving business, how about giving them a shot at doing it again at the old site of Goodyear tire. That arrangement would free the board up to pursue the important education and community engagement initiatives that they are having to set aside in the midst of the business crisis.

I hope the folks advocating for the Spokane Public Market are taking note of what's going on with the co-op. Without a viable business model the Public Market concept is not going to work.

New Report: Local Food Could Be the Savior for Struggling Local Economies

Picture: Cherry blossoms from the last remaining orchard on Orchard Prairie in Spokane, WA.

Not every region and foodshed is capable of producing most of its own food for local consumption, but a new report on the Treasure Valley of southwest Idaho begs the question why regions that are capable of producing a majority of their own food don't even come close. Ken Meter of the Crossroads Resource Institute was hired by the Treasure Valley Food Coalition to assess their local food system and in a recent presentation he explained;

Idaho is one of the nation’s top producers of wheat, milk, cheese, onions, potatoes and dry beans. Nationally, according to the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, we rank in the top 10 for production of 26 different crops and livestock. Yet most of that food leaves the state and we receive about 98 percent of the foods we consume here from outside sources...

Treasure Valley consumers spend $1.87 billion on food each year, yet $1.7 billion worth of that food comes from outside our region. According to Meter, if consumers bought just 15 percent of their fresh produce from a local farm or at a farmers market, it would be enough to produce $165 million in new farm income per year. Imagine what could happen if we all bought 50-75 percent of our produce, meat and dairy from local sources. “If you don’t invest in local production it won’t grow any higher,” Meter said.

He concludes;

...the current food production system removes wealth from rural producers and communities instead of leaving it where it is needed most: the local economy.

This sounds straightforward until you get to the part about farmers making an economic decision to grow fresh produce which is labor intensive, climate sensitive, with a short shelf life and few guarantees from local wholesalers that they will purchase locally instead of from California or Florida. Growing fresh produce has to be one of the most challenging ways to make a living.

Almost all of the subsidies that provide some stability for farmers go towards commodity crops, so farmers, who are putting their livelihood on the line (and often their life savings) every time a seed goes into the ground, generally choose commodity crops. 

Like Meter suggests, it will take some kind of "investment" in local production, whether it's from government or elsewhere, to shift the percentages. It will also take consumers of a particular region demanding local produce not only at the Farmers' Market but at Albertsons and Wal Mart. It would also help if we all ate more fresh seasonal produce instead of processed foods.

Check out C&S Hydrohuts for the kind of local food production experiment that may pave the way for more local food consumption in northern climates like Spokane.

h/t @NWFoodNews

Grinding Your Own Flour

I've had a couple of inquiries lately about people interested in either promoting their products or wanting to know about products for grinding your own wheat to make flour so I thought I would combine the two interests on this post.

When we set out to eat locally for a year in the one of the richest grain producing regions in the world we planned on grinding our own flour for the year. We bought a used Magic Mill grinder on Ebay that had been recommended to us by some friends, acquired some whole wheat berries from a farmer, and then never got around to grinding our own flour. Making butter and ice cream and yogurt among other things was all we could handle I guess. We also lost a little steam when we found out that almost all the flour for sale in the stores nears us is not only local but it's actually the same flour no matter which brand you buy. 

But I did investigate enough to know that it's difficult to find the whole grains to grind. They aren't readily available in stores. I was pleased to find out recently about Joseph's Grainery in Colfax Washington, about 45 minutes south of Spokane. They are selling barley, hard red wheat, lentils and soft white wheat. We ought to figure out a way to sell their products at the Farmers' Markets. 

Local Harvest is also a good place to investigate places nearby that sell whole grains. 

The wheat you grind at home is likely almost identical to the product that is ground at the ADM Mill down the street from my house, but there are some advantages to grinding your own wheat. It will be fresher and be free of preservatives and additives that may be in store bought flour. When we asked the folks at the ADM mill if they added preservatives they denied it, but explained that they do add nutritional supplements.

Home ground flour is also free from the industrial environment of a modern flour mill. When we visited the ADM Mill during our year it was a little disconcerting to find out that on that particular day they weren't grinding any flour because they were fumigating the whole mill. Even though they do this in a safe way that ensures safe flour on our store shelves, it is empowering to oversee the production of the flour.

All this has got me thinking I need to break out our old Magic Mill and give it a shot.

When it comes to flour grinders the highly rated Magic Mill that we purchased is discontinued. How about you flour grinding veterans out there. Do you have a machine to recommend to those interested in grinding their own flour?

Food On the Table Conference in Moscow, ID | March 26-27, 2010

This conference looks great. It's sponsored by Rural Roots, a Moscow, ID based organization that promotes sustainable food and farming. Here's the scoop.

Join local growers, educators, sustainable food advocates, and community members as we collectively address our regional food system priorities in this unique "working" conference.

Friday Community Dinner at the 1912 Center (5:30 pm - 9 pm) | "Shepherding Change:  How Localizing Food can Transform the Landscape and our Communities"

Saturday Conference Sessions at the UI Idaho Commons (8 am - 5:30 pm)

Farm to Institution:  Integrating local food into restaurants, schools, hospitals and universities

Processing on the Palouse:  Bringing local meat and value-added products to market

Farming as a Business and Lifestyle:  Starting your farm and selling to your community

Backyard Bounty:  Increasing community self-sufficiency

View Conference Flyer

Friday dinner $20 | Saturday conference $20 (lunch not incl.) | Saturday lunch $15

Registration deadline is March 18 (Space is limited so register early!)

Millwood Community Garden Organizational Meeting, Thursday March 11

Plans are quickly coming together for a community garden on the southeast corner of Argonne and Maringo just across the street from Inland Empire Paper Mill. Go here for background information.

We will be holding an organizational meeting on Thursday, March 11 at 7pm at the Crossing Youth Center in Millwood, for anyone interested in learning more and possibly participating in this project. The preliminary plan is to have three uses on this corner lot; individual raised beds that people can sign up to use to grow your own veggies and plants, a large set of row crops to be grown and given to Second Harvest Food Bank, and wildflowers and native plants to serve as a buffer and border between the road and the garden. The circles pictured above would be pumpkin patches in honor of the fact that this piece of land has been known as the pumpkin patch from it's long time use previous to the death of the farmer who tended the land five years ago.

The Paper Mill, which owns the land, will provide a basic amount of water. I'm working with Dew Drop Sprinklers to put together a drip irrigation system. The greatest need is a core group of people in the community who want to help shepherd the project and get it started. We're also looking for partner businesses who want to help. There will be a nice sign for the 30,0000 plus cars to read as they go by every day and we're planning on including sponsors on the signage.

Go to Download Millwood Community Garden Proposal to read the initial proposal.

Email me at goody2230 (at) gmail (dot) com with questions or input.

Almost Half of Western Washington Bee Colonies Suffer Collapse

I ran into Jerry Tate from Tate's Honey Farm at the Rocket Bakery this morning. I asked him how his bees are doing and he said they are great, but added that Western Washington Beekeepers are really hurting. I probed for more information and he explained that based on the research of the state beekeepers association, 45% of Washington bee colonies have collapsed (died) west of Ritzville. By contrast, only 25% of colonies to the east of Ritzville have suffered that fate, which is about average for beekeepers since the rise in recent years of varroa mites and the phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder. The survey included all state beekeepers with over 1,000 colonies.

Jerry's hunch is that the late supply of nectar in the Spokane region helped eastern Washington bees whereas western Washington bees didn't have as much available late in the summer. From what I've read, the onset of colony collapse usually has a multiple factors that conspire together. It's a good lesson in the complex nature of the environment. We'd like to think there is one innovation that will fix everything, when it's actually the systems and the interactions of a variety of factors that need to be addressed.

One bit of trivia I learned from Jerry is that many western washington beekeepers send their bees to the Dakota's for part of the summer. He also mentioned that California bees also come north and spend some time in Washington before heading east to the Dakotas.

Jerry and others from the state association will meet with the state Secretary of Agriculture tomorrow in Olympia. Our state's economy is incredibly dependent on tree fruit, especially apples, and without bees to pollinate the trees there won't be any apples.