8 Resources to Help Your City Become More Food Resilient
Andy Diaz of Urban Acres. Image source. For more about Andy and his working growing a local food movement in Peoria, click here.
Here at Strong Towns, we’ve written (and podcasted) extensively over the past three months about how the coronavirus is revealing just how fragile the long and complicated global supply lines are. For example, nearly 95% of the U.S. supply of antibiotics are made abroad—and 80% are manufactured in China. It was always risky to rely so heavily on China (or any one country) to manufacture our medicines, masks, gowns, and other PPE—but for many that fragility became apparent only during a global pandemic. And it’s not just health care: disruptions to domestic and international supply chains have been felt in every sector of the economy...and in our daily lives.
One major area of concern is food. Americans are highly reliant on a fragile food production system for much of our meat, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, and more. This includes reliance on a few major manufacturers—like the three companies who account for two-thirds of the beef market—and a few key places: for example, California’s San Joaquin Valley, one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. According to National Geographic, only 8% of American farms supply food locally. The rest enters a complex global network supplying restaurants and grocery stores across the country and around the world. The coronavirus has shown us what happens when something breaks in this massive system:
61,000 chickens euthanized in Minnesota (even as egg sections of many grocery stores sat empty)
Tens of thousands of pigs killed as sick workers force the temporary closure of meat-packing plants
Milk dumped and crops plowed under by farmers who can’t sell their products
Mountains of potatoes dumped in Idaho, before being salvaged for food banks by a 25-person “potato rescue team”
The uncertainties—and even absurdities—of a fragile “global food manufacturing and distribution system” are reminding us afresh of the importance of local food and resilient local food economies. Interest in CSA (community supported agriculture) memberships is skyrocketing, with some farms delivering weekly supplies of fresh produce and meat right to your door. People everywhere are planting “coronavirus victory gardens.” Small grocery stores and corner stores are picking up the slack where large grocery chains have failed. Farmer’s markets are adjusting to new social distancing rules to get fresh food to those who need it.
Local food has always been a key part of the Strong Towns approach to building strong and financially resilient communities. (It’s right there in our Strength Test.) But it’s more important now than ever. Here are some articles and podcasts that I’ve been revisiting as I consider how my community can best withstand the volatility of food production in the COVID-19 era:
Articles
Urban gardens being installed in Milwaukee. Image source.
1. Could your community survive on local food?
“If you wanted to eat only locally-produced food for a month, could you?”
A Strong Town shouldn’t rely on resources that come from halfway around the world in order to survive, and food is one of the most basic resources we all need. This Strength Test question tells us how antifragile your food system is, and how well you’d be able to withstand volatile shifts in food and transportation prices. Read more.
2. 5 Ways to Access and Support Local Food
The Strong Towns Strength Test features this important question: If you wanted to eat only locally-produced food for a month, could you? In most towns, the answer is probably "no." Here are five ways to shift the dial in the direction of "yes." Read more.
3. The Other Pitchforks
Laws and rules often prohibit the very things that could make our neighborhoods more resilient. Like producing more of our own food—no small consideration during a time of social distancing and fragile supply chains. Read more.
4. Modern Small-Scale Farming - Could it Sustain us? Could we Sustain it?
Could any of our communities actually survive on local food alone? Could we ever get to a point where local food makes up most of our diets and where local farmers are successfully supplying that? Six small-scale farmers discuss the challenges and successes of their modern-day farm efforts. Read more.
Podcasts
1. This is How Local Food Systems Shine Amid Covid-19
As we witness the fragility of centralized food systems amid Covid-19, this LA-based nonprofit has demonstrated how local food systems integrated in their communities have responded to meet the needs of their neighbors. Read more.
2. This Is What Happens When Markets are Too Efficient
3. How Strong Towns Inspired a Local Food Movement
Andy Diaz—founder at Urban Acres in Peoria, Illinois—shares how you can use local food to build community in your own neighborhood, including how to find the right investment for your neighborhood, how to grow your efforts incrementally, and why cities like Peoria and beyond need more $1,000 heroes (not $1 million heroes). Read more.
4. How a Beloved Corner Store in South Los Angeles Addressed Food Deserts (and Much More).
Visit the Hyde Park neighborhood in South Los Angeles and you’ll find the usual culprits of a food desert, such as fast-food chains and gas stations. But enter Kelli Jackson’s corner store—Hank’s Mini Market—and you’ll discover how cities can address food deserts without forgoing future tax revenue. Read more.
What resources have you found helpful as your community improves its food resilience? Or what have you personally done that other towns and cities could benefit from? Post them in the comments below or, even better, start a conversation thread in the Strong Towns community site.
Cover image of a market in NYC’s Chinatown, via Unsplash.
Not only does supporting local farms help with your place’s local economy, but it also has the potential to create a flourishing and connected culture of people—as seen in these stories from Brattleboro, VT.