Food and Sustainable Prosperity

by Brenna Spurgeon

Farm Aid is a non-profit organization that seeks to make easily available food that has been produced by a family farm. With the rise of agribusiness and corporate farms, many small family farms have been pushed out of business. Farm Aid encourages connections between farmers and consumers, and provides an expansive resource network. Assistance is available for those trying to make the move toward more sustainable farming practices, as well as support services for families in times of crisis.

In 2007, Farm Aid granted over $400,000 to local farm groups to assist in grassroots campaigns: Advocacy and Organizing, Growing the Good Food Movement, and the Resource Network.

Farm Aid also has the longest running annual concert event in the US, put on to raise awareness of issues facing family farmers.

by Brenna Spurgeon

The Organic Farming Research Foundation is a valuable resource for anyone interested in supporting organic agriculture, as well as the farmers themselves. OFRF funds grants for science-based research on how to improve and support organic farming, conducts its own research, and strives to ensure all policy-makers are well-informed about organic issues. It also seeks to disseminate its findings to the general public through networking, media, and education.

OFRF considers grant proposals for Education and Outreach twice a year.

“OFRF will fund the development of educational opportunities and materials that are:

1. Pertinent to organic agricultural production or marketing; and
2. Aimed at organic producers and/or those considering making the transition to organic certification.”

The grant program is open to residents of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

by Brenna Spurgeon

Rising commodity prices across the world have led to substantial media coverage of the food struggles facing developing nations.

A recent editorial in the Chronicle, “A quiet crisis” suggests Houstonians should pay attention to those struggling in their own community.

Everyone has noticed the price increases, yet lower-income families are hit harder because they typically spend a higher percentage of income on food staples. In addition, those with school-aged children are now responsible for the meals that were offered through free or reduced-price meal programs during the school year. In the 18-county Houston area, over a third of hungry families have had to choose between food and medical care.

Brian Green, president of the Houston Food Bank, cites the need for volunteers to help distribute the donated food. There is an increasing number of people using food assistance, and if there are not enough volunteers donations must be turned down.

by Brenna Spurgeon

Brian Steele credits the tractor as being an invention that “brought the greatest change to the American urban landscape.” With the industrialization of agriculture, modern society could flourish in cities nearly completely removed from area farms.

In Steele’s article, “Beyond the Backyard Garden: Urban Agriculture in Milwaukee”, he talks about the movement to bring farming back to an urban setting by setting up a myriad of small producers throughout the city.

Currently, there are two farm endeavors within the city of Milwaukee: Growing Power and Walnut Way Conservation Corp. The 10-acre Growing Power is “the only farm in the city of Milwaukee that is zoned for agricultural use.” Nearly 400 baskets of produce grown at the “Community Food Center” are distributed at low cost to low income citizens of the city, and the Center provides workshops to teach people how to grow their own.

The other urban growing center, Walnut Way Conservation Corp, operates on a much smaller scale, along the lines of multiple producers throughout the community. Vacant property has been leased from the city and transformed into gardens, while local youths are being taught how to prepare the fresh produce.

Both organizations have sustainability of the city in mind, but pose the greater question of whether “we will be willing to sacrifice the ease of the supermarket for healthier food grown inexpensively in our backyards.”

by Brenna Spurgeon

Farmer’s markets are a great way to learn about local food production, as well as providing an opportunity to meet the producers. Not only are you supporting your community, you are reducing the amount of miles the food travels to your table, thus a reduction in carbon emissions and a more sustainable supply chain.

There are many farmer’s markets in Houston, making buying locally easy even for those slow to get out on a Saturday morning. At least one market is open every day of the week.

Bayou City Farmer’s Market, Urban Harvest

3000 Richmond (between Kirby and Buffalo Spwy), located in the back parking lot. It’s not visible from Richmond; look for the cross street, Eastside.

Saturday, 8am - noon

Canino’s Produce

2520 Airline Dr.

Every day, 6am - 8:30pm

Green Market, Central City Co-Op

Andrea and Bill White Promenade of Discovery Green, 1500 McKinney Street

4-7:30pm Thursdays during Summer hours (March - September)
3-7pm Thursdays during Winter hours (October - February)

Houston Farmer’s Market - 2 days, 2 locations

Behind Onion Creek Coffee House, 3106 White Oak between Studewood and Heights Blvd.

Saturday, 8am - noon

Rice University: parking lot south of Rice Stadium, University Blvd near Montclair

Tuesday, 3:30-7pm

Midtown Houston Farmer’s Market

3701 Travis St, both inside and outside of t’afia restaurant

Saturday, 8am - noon

by Brenna Spurgeon

Geography is playing a greater role than genetics in the childhood obesity epidemic, and access to healthy food choices is one of the biggest causes, according to an article in TIME. Many Americans in rural areas have less access to fresh fruits and vegetables than those in more dense areas. Cheap processed foods, high in calories and readily available, are bought by default – a result of income and convenience rather than nutrition or even taste.

Additionally, studies have shown that poorer neighborhoods tend to have fewer recreational areas, while rural residents are too dispersed to make walking or bike transportation feasible. A child born in rural South Dakota would have to work harder to stay fit than a one born in Boulder, Colorado.

According to the 2006 figures from the Center for Disease Control, “30.7% of white American kids are overweight or obese, compared with 34.9% of blacks and 38% of Mexican Americans. As for income, 22.4% of 10-to-17-year-olds living below the poverty line–less than $21,200 for a family of four–are overweight or obese, compared with 9.1% of kids whose families earn at least four times that amount.”

Additionally, the 2003 National Survey of Children’s Health shows the influence of geography: “16.5% of rural kids are obese, compared with 14.4% of urban kids.” There is a misconception that rural kids are getting exercise working on the farm; many occupy their days with video games and television in the same way as urban children.

However, children in urban areas are likely to have the option of walking to school or play areas. In poorer neighborhoods, walking can become a safety issue. Xuemei Zhu, a doctoral student at Texas A&M University, found, “In low-income neighborhoods, the walkability didn’t matter. Safety is the No. 1 factor influencing [parents].”

One of the most successful groups to increase fresh foods in what has been labeled “nutritional deserts” is the Food Trust in Philadelphia. The Trust is trying to bring back supermarkets to low-income communities that have lost them over the years, attempting to improve the accessibility of fresh produce and nutrition education in elementary schools, and is taking fresh fruits and vegetables to neighborhoods that lack them, via farmer’s markets. The journal Pediatrics credits the Food Trust with helping decrease the occurrence of overweight students by fifty percent.

“The environmental factors are much more compelling toward obesity than they were 30 years ago,” says William Dietz, director of the division of nutrition and physical activity at the CDC.