Local Food - Good for You?

We've been saying that fresh, locally grown food tastes better, contains more nutrients, and saves gasoline. In buying locally as much as possible, we believe that we are helping family farmers and the rural communities where they live. Through supporting family farms, such as the one on the left, from UNC News, we are moving toward sustainable agriculture.

Some people have committed to eating a "100-mile diet," choosing food that has traveled no more than 100 miles to reach their table. Among these are a few who admit making exceptions -- for coffee, for example. We don't grow coffee in the Carolinas, but we look for the small "Fair Trade" symbol on the package. It indicates that the grower supports the small farmers in the country where the coffee is grown.

Does it really help? Public officials and others sometimes question whether these efforts really make a difference in improving our health or affecting the ideals we promote. Now the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has received a two-year grant to study such questions in our state. A team of faculty and staff from UNC's of School of Public Health and other North Carolina universities will investigate agriculture and our system of food buying.

The loss of farmland and livelihood among farmers who previously grew tobacco is one concern, according to Dr. Alice Ammerman of the UNC School of Public Health. Rural communities are also affected by local manufacturing layoffs and plant closures, she said. Non-profit organizations such as the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association and the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Program will be helping on these issues.

The NC Department of Health and Human Services will be helping to gather statistics, along with county and regional partners. For further information, see the website of the UNC School of Public Health.

Feeding Families

The Fields to Families organization provides an impressive harvest for the hungry. Their volunteers have already worked to pick 10,700 pounds of food this year. In Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester Counties of South Carolina, the non-profit group coordinates these donations of fresh produce from local gardens and farms. Last year, they distributed more than 43,000 pounds of food to area agencies that help families in need.

Fields to Families volunteers collect crops remaining in fields after they have been commercially harvested. They are gleaning at Boone Hall Farms in Mount Pleasant through the end of May. Some teens are volunteering daily to pick for the hungry. More volunteers come as groups on weekends. They always need people to pick vegetables and fruit at farms, help in farmer’s market booths, or transport produce.

"We're not a business, we're a mission," says Director Jacki Baer. Agencies that provide food to the hungry can take as much as they need of the produce. The donations are given to food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, churches, and outreach programs who distribute it through their food programs to the hungry. South Carolina has 250,000 residents at high risk of going hungry. These children, families with single mothers, and seniors live in poverty and rely on food pantries. Baer says, "The only requirement for food donations... is that there is hunger."

Check out their Spring Newsletter and volunteer opportunities at their website or call them at (843) 881-6798. Baer encourages people to plant a little extra in their gardens to donate at their farmer’s market booth or to be picked up. Let's plant a few more seeds right away.