Welcome to the blog for Colgate University's interdisciplinary course on food. This is the place to keep up with what students in the course are experiencing in their work at Common Thread Community Farm and through their everyday encounters with food.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Eating Local Brown Bag

On Wednesday, October 8th, Oxfam hosted a brown bag lunch focusing on eating locally and sustainably as well as the importance of purchasing from local farmers. With a local food movement active in Madison county, four guest speakers were invited to speak at the brown bag. These speakers include Brett Christensen and Glenna Thomas from the Colgate Community Garden, Wendy Burkhart-Spiegel from Common Thread Farm and a representative from the Madison County Agricultural Economic Development Program. 

During this discussion, the first topic touched upon was why we should buy local and what are the benefits of purchasing local food. Buying local associates with supporting local farmers and community-supported agriculture. Community Supported Agriculture, as we have learned in class are locally-based models of agriculture and food distribution where individuals pledge to support a local farm. Farmers and consumers share risks and benefits of the food production. CSA members pay for a farm share for the anticipated harvest to support the farm and CSA members receive whatever is being harvested that growing season. Many community members of Madison County purchase farm shares from Common Thread as well as other local farms in the county. In addition to purchasing farm shares, supporting local farmers at farmer's markets also plays a role. 

Other reasons for purchasing local food include health reasons and knowing where your food comes from. Purchasing from local farmers allow the consumer to understand how their food is produced and what chemicals (or lack thereof) are being used. Nowadays, we are able to purchase a variety of food at the supermarket, however the origins of these products are unknown to us. Purchasing local not only allows us to have knowledge of where our food comes from but it also gives us the opportunity to connect with local farmers and community members. 

Another topic touched upon in this discussion was the access to and knowledge of local food. Who has access to local food? What prevents people from having access to local food? Members of the community who are in poverty lack access to local food due to the expense, however it is predominantly knowledge of the benefits of local food that needs to be promoted to low-income residents. Many residents rely on the easy access to big department stores and the low expense of its product, however purchasing a farm share is actually a better value than purchasing vegetables from big grocery stores. Spreading the knowledge of the benefits of purchasing local is important for individuals to know where your food comes from for health reasons and to build a connection with community members and local farmers.

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