For a thriving, resilient Miami Valley, support local growers
IDEAS & VOICES
Dayton Daily News, April 18, 2023
By Ambassador Tony Hall, Founder of the Hall Hunger Initiative
America has always been a farming nation — even today, 1 out of 7 jobs in Ohio are connected to agriculture. However, there has been a dangerous change in the last few years, and many people aren’t aware.
America is now importing more food than we export. Even more troubling is our increasing dependence on other nations for fruits and vegetables — the kind of healthy food that is so vital is supporting children growing up strong and helping adults avoid illness. We are now importing twice as much fresh produce as we were just a dozen years ago.
We’ve become dependent on other countries for some of our most important health food.
Harriet Rhodes volunteers at Edgemont Solar Garden in Dayton.
A nation that can’t feed everyone faces some big risks. We have seen the impact on food supply caused by the war in Ukraine. If we don’t increase the amount of food grown here, we can be facing empty grocery shelves because another nation or region experiences flood, drought, civil unrest or a new pandemic.
We can turn this threat into exciting opportunities. In the Miami Valley, we have the ability to create good jobs around healthy food, help the environment, and become a more resilient community by supporting our local growers. The average age for a farmer in America is 60, so this is the ideal time to bring young people into farming.
We are fortunate to have hardworking folks dedicated to developing the next generation of growers. Edgemont Solar Garden and Oasis Agricultural Learning Center, for example, have experienced experts who are passing their knowledge on to the younger generation. They have green facilities growing a variety of healthy food in West Dayton, offering an opportunity for hands-on learning in the city.
Central State University has an excellent program for new farmers that helps them understand both the growing and business aspects of farming as a career. Sinclair’s Urban Agriculture program can teach students how to grow in small city spaces while still being profitable. For those who want to grow on a smaller scale, Five Rivers MetroParks has garden plots and support. Dayton Urban Grown has frequent trainings with everything you need to know to be a successful gardener.
A century ago, 15% of America’s farmers were Black and now that number is less than two percent. We are fortunate to have a community organization working to reverse that decline. The BIPOC Farming Network (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) was born out of the 2020 Black Farming Conference, when attendees expressed a desire to stay connected and to build a network to support marginalized small-scale farmers. Their mission is to provide access to resources for food producers to ensure plenty of affordable and healthy food for under-resourced and marginalized communities. The Black Farming Conference, hosted by the BFN, is a two-day event in September offering hands-on skills training, entertainment and cultural activities as well as keynote speakers and a space for community-building among BIPOC farmers, advocates, allies and partners. It’s an event of national importance hosted here in the Miami Valley.
Our new community grocery store, the Gem City Market, is a great place to find local produce at a great price. Another easy way to support local growers is to shop at the historic 2nd Street Market, a project of Five Rivers MetroParks. Every week, vendors set up shop with an amazing variety of produce and hometown specialties. Next year, Homefull will open their food hub and farmers market at their Gettysburg location.
If we want a thriving, resilient, Miami Valley, we have to support the people working to restore our agricultural traditions. It’s how we build healthy families and a healthy community.
Ways to support your local growers:
Look for local food when you go to the store. Ask them to carry more local produce.
Purchase CSAs (community-supported agriculture) from growers like Mission of Mary. With CSAs, you get a box of fresh produce every week or two straight from the farm. It guarantees fresh food for you and income for the farmer. Anything you don’t use can be donated to a food pantry.
Look for farmers markets setting up throughout the summer and shop for the healthiest food you can get.
Dine at local restaurants that use local ingredients. You get a fresh, delicious meal while supporting our local economy.
Tony Hall is a former member of Congress, UN Ambassador, and founder of the Hall Hunger Initiative, a food justice organization. To find out more about HHI, email: mark@hallhungerinitiative.org
