Why Support Local Foods?

In 2008 when the price of gasoline rose above four dollars a gallon, the Food Bank of North Alabama experienced its worst crisis since its inception twenty-five years ago. This crisis woke us up to four key factors underscoring the importance of local foods and farmers.

• Self-Reliance

• Health

• Food Security

• Economic Development & Resiliency

The North Alabama Food Policy Council Steering Committee's recognizes these four factors and intends to work towards a more locally-based, sustainable, and self-reliant food system that improves the environmental, economic and social health of our region. Consider joining this effort!  

Self-Reliance

In 2008 when the price of gasoline rose above four dollars a gallon, food prices increased by 7.5%, but the cost to transport food into North Alabama rose precipitously.

To give you a sense of scale – the Food Bank of North Alabama distributed at the time over 5 million pounds of food across 11 counties in north Alabama.  The inbound freight expense to transport food into our region cost approximately $58,000 per year – in 2008, however, this cost increased to $92,000 – a 60% spike.

Many of you are probably aware that the food you ate for breakfast this morning likely traveled anywhere from 1,500 to 2,000 miles before ever reaching your kitchen table.  Our national food system is intrinsically linked to the price and the availability of oil.

A focus on local foods not only employs green practices but also increases our self-reliance as a community.

Health

Alabama consistently reports high rates of diabetes, obesity and other diet related diseases. 

The chart below depicts results from a study commissioned by the City of Huntsville’s Community Development Department in 2007. Households in Huntsville earning less than $46,000 reported of alarmingly high rates of diabetes and other diet related diseases.

Zip Code	Diabetes Cases Reported	Diet-Related Diseases
35816	20% report a diagnosis of diabetes	42% report that they or a member of their household have a confirmed diagnosis of either diabetes, hypertension or high cholesterol
35805	29% report a diagnosis of diabetes	54% report that they or a member of their household have a confirmed diagnosis of either diabetes, hypertension or high cholesterol

Given the serious health concerns we are facing, it makes sense to partner with members of our own community, local farmers, who can supply us with healthy food choices at the peak of their nutritional value that have traveled - not 2,000 miles away from California but merely across county lines.

Food Security

Each month the Food Bank of North Alabama purchases food items needed by its over 200 partner agencies that operate soup kitchens, food pantries and other feeding programs. In 2008, the Food Bank purchased a truckload of peas at the best price available. When the peas arrived, we discovered they had been grown, processed and shipped from China. Just this year the New York Department of Education reported purchasing thousands of cans of applesauce from Shanghai through a food importer.

In June 2011 the New York Times reported that “nearly two-thirds of all fruits and vegetables and three-quarters of all seafood consumed in the United States now come from outside the country.” The FDA is responsible for inspecting these shipments; however, according the Times, Dr. Margaret Hamburg, the Food and Drug Administration commissioner, “repeatedly expressed alarm about waves of imported food and drugs overwhelming her organization’s ability to monitor them.” According to the article, the number of shipments the F.D.A. is responsible for increased from 6 million a decade ago to an estimated 24 million this year.

The potential for contaminated product not only arises from sourcing our food abroad but also from the food distributed within our national food system.  On a weekly basis, the Food Bank receives notices of new food recalls. Some have suggested this is due in part to the consolidation of food processing that has occurred over the past decades.  A limited number of national plants now process the majority of the nation's meats and pre-cut salads.

For example, today more than 80 percent of beef cattle in the US are slaughtered by only four companies, and one company controls almost 40 percent of the US milk supply.

A robust local food system would diversify our food portfolio, help protect our food supply if contamination such as e.coli occurred at national processing plants and increase our responsiveness by creating traceable local foods.

Economic Development & Resiliency

It is important not to undervalue the potential of local foods as an economic development tool and job creation vehicle.

In 2010 the Food Bank asked Dr. Ken Meter, Executive Director of Crossroads Resource Center and well known for his research in food economics, to provide us with initial projections for the economic potential of our local food system. In Dr. Meter’s estimation, Madison and Limestone counties combined spend over $911 million dollars per year on food – however, of this amount, $800 million leaves our local economy annually. 

This projection is not taking into account the multiplier effect which generates jobs, tax revenue and income depending upon the number of times and how fast a dollar recirculates within a defined geographic area before leaving a local economy. Many studies demonstrate that locally owned business generate 2 to 4 times the multiplier benefits of non locally owned business  – this of course, includes local farms, local restaurants and other food-based businesses.

Many jobs in the food sector have low-barriers to entry; however, sustainable farming practices offer workers diverse options beyond rote picking such as natural pest management, crop rotation, marketing and other skills needed for diversified farms. Additionally, local food production also reintroduces artisan skills such as cheese-making spawning new locally owned businesses.

North Alabamians will spend food dollars annually - whether on locally raised/grown products or foods sourced out of state or out of the country. At the same time, local farmers in Huntsville’s metro area sell on average $157 million dollars worth of commodities a year at a cost of $165 million – while there is the potential for almost 6 times that amount in retail real food dollars.

By capturing more of these food dollars, we develop a more resilient economy, generate sustainable wealth and create jobs accessible to a very broad spectrum of North Alabama residents both urban and rural.

Other Examples

Today other regions have recognized this economic potential of local food dollars and are taking assertive measures to capture those food dollars escaping their local economy.

Ohio State Food Policy Council, for example, found that only 1% of Ohio’s food dollars purchase Ohio produced foods. Increasing this amount to 10% would mean another 7 billion dollars to Ohio’s economy.  To that end, the Ohio Food Policy Council is making recommendations for strategic investments in processing and distribution centers for small to mid-size local farmers.

In 2007 Illinois passed the Food, Farm and Jobs Act, legislation that institutes a 10% premium for locally grown product above the lowest bid for state contracts and mandates that state agencies purchase 20% of food locally by 2020.  Illinois based its decision on research indicating that residents spend $48 billion dollars per year on food – little of which is produced in the state. The law is anticipated to create jobs as the production, processing and transport of local foods develops.