A chat with Michael Schenk

My Q and A, in podcast form, can be found here. 

How the government is supporting local farming

The U.S. government has many initiatives in place to further the scope of many local farmers. One of these initiatives is the Agricultural Marketing Service, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that concentrates on the "efficient, fair marketing of U.S. agricultural products, including food, fiber, and specialty crops," according to its site. 

Among some of its duties, this branch of the USDA is responsible for organizing the transportation for agriculture, fair trading regulations and, especially relevant, wholesale and farmers markets. 

In that last respect, the Agricultural Marketing Service can be invaluable to anyone interested in local food and farmers markets. 

The site has educational resources that perform a multitude of helpful tasks. Marketing Channel Research and Development collects information that helps agricultural producers connect with commercial buyers, much like a site I've mentioned before. 

Marketing Information and Education helps farmers learn about how to market their products to outside parties. This is the type of information that allows local farming to grow and become a larger part of a community. 

Especially important is the grant resources available at the site. The Farmers Market Promotion Program helps establish, expand and promote local farmers markets and other direct-to-consumer economic models. 

The Federal State Marketing Improvement Program provides matching funds to state agricultural entities who are looking for new ways to market U.S. agricultural goods, and "to encourage research and innovation aimed at improving the efficiency and performance of the U.S. marketing system," according to the site.

The site also has design information on how to construct or re-design a local market. Issues discussed include market analysis, building cost study, location analysis, energy efficiency and post-harvest handling, among other considerations. Although these are things that are taken for granted every week as customers walk down the aisles of the Athens Farmers Market, someone has to organize the semantics of such a huge operation. Even relatively simple operations require a huge amount of work, and this site tries to make that work just a little more bearable for those trying to offer great, local food to consumers.

Some of the best food to get in June

Now that May is at an end and June is ready for its annual run-around, let's take a look at some of the fruits and vegetables that are at their prime come this time every year:

Apricots

These little guys are packed with vitamins A and C and easy to carry around anywhere. Most of the year they are imported from either South America or New Zealand, so if you see any around the farmers market, don't hesitate to grab a bundle while they are still good. 

Blueberries

If there is one fruit that can be considered "the best" for you, blueberries are the ones, in my opinion. With heaps of vitamins A and C, dietary fiber and manganese. And when you choose blueberries, you don't have to drink your green tea for the day either because this fruit is brimming with antioxidant goodness. And according to tests, blueberries can defend your brain from such age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's and dementia. 

                     Corn

We still haven't thanked the early American Indians about introducing our ancestors to corn have we? Well, I'm here to officially thank them. This vegetable is ripe for the picking come June, and after reading how good it is for you, it's no surprise that corn is one of America's most well-known cash crops. Vitamins B1, B5 and C are all present in huge amounts in this great-tasting vegetable. Dietary fiber and phosphorous also are in this food. Folate, which is a huge part of corn, can help reduce heart disease as well as colon cancer. 

Watermelon

Ah watermelon, the quintessential summer food. And it is ripe just as the hot June air begins to flood Athens and students get antsy for the end of spring quarter. Packed with vitamins A, C, B1 and B6, this juicy fruit can be a snack that no one should mind eating all day. Men especially can find another reason to love this fruit: It helps fight prostate cancer. 

These fruits and veggies are great to have any time, but when they are in season it makes them so much better. Keep a look out for them the next time you're in your local farmers market.

Mapping out southeast Ohio's fresh food havens

View Ohio Farmers Markets in a larger map

A local take on local food

Bob O'Neal is the co-owner of Della Zona, a local brick oven pizza restaurant located on East State street. Along with his business partner Christine Hughes, O'Neal operates not only Della Zona but Village Bakery as well. 

Both restaurants specialize in using locally-grown organic  foods almost exclusively. By doing this, O'Neal explains, he is not only supporting the local economy, but offering food that is more healthful than most other restaurants. 

"There is no alternative for me," O'Neal said. The act of choosing local, organic food is very simple once you realize the facts of the situation, he said. O'Neal cited the use of chemicals and "slave labor" by food producers around the world as reasons why he uses as few non-local food producers as possible.

"There is the health crisis, which is directly related to the food that people are eating today," O'Neal said. Many producers use inhumane methods to create their food because it is cheap, even though those methods are not healthful for people who eat the food,  he said. 

O'Neal instead buys his vegetables, milk and meats from local sustainable farms. These farmers do not use harsh pesticides on plants or give steroids to animals, he said. Instead, these farmers utilize reusable composting methods and ecologically sound farming practices that produce better food, he said. 

Della Zona uses food from farms and farmers that we know, O'Neal said. "We know that it's healthy," he said.

O'Neal said that he works with local farmers to make sure that they are producing food that lives up to his high expectations of sustainability and healthfulness. Of course as a restaurant owner, O'Neal must make sure that he has enough product to satisfy his customer's cravings. In this capacity, he works with local producers to procure enough of a year's yield to ensure that he will have enough vegetables and meats to last the year, especially when certain necessary vegetables, such as tomatoes and peppers, are not in season. 

O'Neal said that even though he goes to great lengths to find the perfect food to make his pizzas with, certain foods just cannot be found in Ohio, so he must go elsewhere. Olive oil and artichokes are two things that we get from outside ohio, he said. But the artichokes are organic, at least, he said. 

O'Neal said that there is a thriving local food initiative among students in Athens, but it is difficult sometimes for undergrads who are living in the dorms to cook their own food, especially considering they must eat dining hall food the first two years of college.

Below is an interview conducted by Athens F.M. with Mr. O'Neal. In it, this local foodie discusses everything from local farms to Ohio University students to maple-roasted rhubarb.

Study shows farmers market's are on the rise

A study done by Allison Brown shows that, despite the fact that farmers markets are no longer the main source of sustenance for people in small and large towns alike, they have grown in number for the past 30 years.

Between 1970 and 1986, writes Brown, farmers markets grew at an estimated rate of 500 percent, according to one source. One main reason for this, according to the report, is the passage of the Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Marketing Act of 1976.

In a previous post, I mentioned that the Athens Farmers Market was established in the summer of 1972. That means that the AFM was part of that estimated 500 percent increase.

Brown goes on to say that farmers markets, like almost every thing else, seem to go through times of growth and decline. In the end, however, as can be seen by Brown's research, the aggregate amount of farmers markets appear to grow over time.

This is a very good outlook for all farmers markets, but more importantly for a market in a small, rural area whose residents do not always have a large amount of disposable income. And, as was noted in a previous post, Athens farmers market has seen a huge growth since its quaint beginnings, which also mirrors the national trend.

An interesting and often-discussed issue regarding this, however, is that much of the market's possible customer base is on a rotating basis. As mentioned in earlier posts, students are a huge, untapped customer base for the market, but it is difficult, if not impossible, to get a consistent flow of student buyers because, after four or five years, they are all gone and replaced with a whole new group of students who must be wooed 

he offerings of the market. That is another reason why this blog is important. It is a link to past students, as well as current and soon-to-be students to become accustomed to the wonders of the farmers market.

The photo was provided by Creative Commons image search.

Review: LocalHarvest.org is a site for sore eyes

Now here is a Web page that a few news sites could learn a lesson from. LocalHarvest.org is, according to its "About Us" page, "America's #1 organic and local foods website." The site promotes small farmers creating a "nationwide directory of small farms, farmers markets, and other local food sources." 

Although this site does a great job promoting local food sources and expanding the selling power of small growers, some might argue that other sites do the same thing just as well. What's so special about this site, they might ask. Well, to answer that question and to get back to my point of how some news sites could learn a thing or two from LocalHarvest.org, I will show you a quick screenshot of the homepage:

Now let's take a closer look:

That is an interactive map of all the small farms, farmers markets, restaurants, grocery stores and others that have registered with the site. You can click on the map to get a closer look, or you can search by name/description/product or by zip, city or state. 

Furthermore, the site hosts forums, issues a newsletter, hosts blogs and touts a massive photo gallery with pictures from around the United States. 

Additionally, the site has a store where growers from around the nation can come to sell their products through an electronic supermarket.  Eggs, herbs and even soaps can be bought directly from the producers via the Web site. 

What LocalHarvest.org does that makes it stand above the rest is it connects like-minded individuals, whom otherwise never would have met, through an interactive social-networking site geared toward local food enthusiasts. They can meet and network amongst one another to help expand the demand and breadth of local foods and products. 

One criticism, though: There is an enormous maw of nothingness at the bottom of every page. It is noticeable, especially when you scroll down the screen and are suddenly staring a completely blank page. Also, there are some small grammatical errors on the site. Most people would not recognize the errors, but as a journalist I pick up on them. 

There are no videos, either, which I was disappointed to see. It certainly would have added another aspect to the site. Pictures can only do so much. A few videos thrown into the "Photos" section (and a name change from "Photos" to "Photos and Videos") and there could be a whole new angle from which to see farmers markets and small farms from. 

The site is a great find, and it is recommended for anyone interested in local products and connecting with others around the nation.