Local food advocacy emerging from hibernation?

Here we are at the middle of 2021 and it has been fifteen months since COVID-19 exploded the world of  the grocery and wholesale food industry. Supermarket professionals stepped up and dealt with major supply chain disruptions, health and safety concerns, and online + delivery retailing challenges.  Wholesalers had their entire business model upended, with shuttered restaurants and institutions, and pivoted their supply chains as best they could. Despite the challenges, retailers and wholesalers, working with their farmer partners, kept the food flowing to American families. Americans barely noticed the heroic efforts going on behind the scenes.  In particular, farm workers and food processing workers carried a heavy burden, soldiering on under dangerous conditions. In all this turmoil, our local foods advocacy work went a bit dormant, waiting for better times to emerge.

Today, where are we and where do we go next?

Local Organic Y'All believes that it is time to re-energize the local food movement and once again address the issue of scaling up. And that means more local product, more local stories and better transparency in retailers' stores.  The supermarket industry, in particular, is as healthy economically as it has ever been. The past year has seen strong growth in revenue and profits across the industry. Moreover, supermarket professionals are finally seeing a return to normalcy and are not putting out fires right and left.  Some are probably exhausted.  There is still a labor shortage.  But that will soon pass.  If ever there was a ripe moment for supermarket companies to step up to the plate and begin to invest in local food infrastructure, this is it. Moving forward, supermarkets can invest big dollars in the growing of local foods and systems to distribute it, just as they invest big dollars in food banks and food charity. Loans and grants to young and beginning farmers would be a good place to start.  (As an example, Chipotle has committed $5 million to young farmers over five years, as part of its local buying-sustainability efforts.)

Here are a few other issues to address.  First, we have learned that our national diet of processed and junk foods made COVID-19 more deadly. We must redouble our efforts to encourage consumption of tasty, fresh, organic produce, and fight the scourge of diabetes and obesity. Some supermarkets, like Food Lion, in partnership with Reinvestment Partners, are moving in the right direction. They and others can be a part of the solution by purchasing and featuring great tasting local and seasonal produce. Subsidies are great, when possible. Race and poverty are embedded in this problem. Social justice demands that affordable access to fresh produce remains a priority for the food movement.

Second, we must shine a laser light on the growth of corporate hydroponic (soil-less) fruits and vegetables that are taking over the produce sector. The vision of too many in the food industry is that all our produce should come from a handful of giant factory greenhouses, filled with plants fed fertilizers by tubes, tended by robots and bathed in LED lights. And, tragically, they want to call this "organic." This is not only a wrong-headed energy and chemical intensive path; it is also a prescription for unhealthy food, devoid of the benefits of soil micro-organisms.  And it robs rural communities of the chance to grow real food for nearby population centers. There are examples of community-driven small scale hydroponics that can have a place in a local food system.  But, overall, hydroponics is a looming threat and we are like frogs in a pot of water set to boil.

Third, we can applaud the pandemic-related rise in the amount of home cooking (although unfortunately it sometimes came at the expense of local restaurants.)  As Americans cook more, they become more careful and eco-friendly food buyers. We can encourage this home cooking resurgence to last, but it must be done quickly and with a clear strategy. Farmers markets can redouble their efforts to provide recipes and cooking demonstrations. Supermarkets can be encouraged to offer and pay for cooking classes, build in-store cooking facilities and link their products to existing cooking videos and websites.

Fourth, as the local food movement engages with supermarkets, we should remember that climate change will be a major driver in the next few years. Grocers can be approached with a package of climate-friendly requests. In addition to sourcing closer to home and prioritizing regenerative agriculture practices, supermarkets will be sensitive to their refrigeration footprint. Some companies are already investing in more climate-friendly freezer cases and addressing leaks. Tying local foods projects to these existing initiatives can help to speed their acceptance in the industry. Walmart is a possible leader in this arena.

Last, but not least, the local food movement needs to keep close track of developments in food distribution systems and link that to accountability and transparency. Supermarkets, flush with cash from the pandemic, are investing more than ever in sophisticated (and expensive!) distribution centers and computer tracking systems such as blockchain. (Walmart started this trend years ago and Amazon is king of the hill now.) Local foods need to be included in these systems, not left out. In particular, supermarkets can use their resources to greatly increase the real time story-telling of the foods they are selling. A carrot that was grown ten miles away at a biodynamic, woman-owned farm should proclaim that fact. Retailers, now more than ever, need to tighten up their labeling, using their new systems to assist them. If a retailer is claiming to have "hyper-local" offerings, as some are now saying, they need to back up that claim with a data chain that is visible and understandable to consumers. ((Whole Foods Market is opening a self-proclaimed hyper-local store in Tampa. it sources from far away Miami.  Oops. Not hyper-local.)  Shoppers want honesty and clarity.  They don't expect the impossible and will reward a good faith effort.  Just keep it real.

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