Over 60 individuals from across the state engaged in a compelling, high-energy session at the Regards to Rural Conference at Oregon State University in June to brainstorm ways to enhance the community food systems in their regions of the state.



So, what’s a community food system? What’s the attraction that brings people together like this at a conference about rural communities? The vision statement shared in the meeting sums it up:
“We envision that Oregon has a strong and sustainable food system where all Oregonians have access to and regularly consume fresh, healthy foods that are grown, raised, processed, distributed and marketed by local/regional producers and businesses.”

Advocates of community food systems support new ways to increase the percentage of the food consumed close to where it is grown or raised and processed. It applies the “buy local” concept to the food sector for a host of economic, environmental, social, and human health reasons that advocates say benefit rural communities. 

It’s called a ‘system’ because bringing food to a table involves a web of people, businesses, and organizations that have to work in tandem; one part of the system relies on other parts of the system to function. Over time, the evolution of the food system in the U.S. has drifted to more highly processed food, and to more globalization of food products. While these trends have offered many consumers more choices and other advantages, there has been a major trade-off in terms of public and community health, particularly in rural communities, according to community food systems advocates.

Sponsored by the Meyer Memorial Trust that recently commissioned an assessment of Oregon’s community food systems, the June 25 Regards to Rural gathering attracted a wide cross-section of rural leaders, agency representatives, funders, non-profits, and others to look at a vision for enhancing community foods systems in Oregon and within regions of the state. The session was joined by Tom Stearns, an inspiring Vermont-based community food leader featured in the book, “The Town that Food Saved” who provided the conference keynote address earlier in the day about how enhancing local food production brought economic and social vitality to his rural community.

“Meyer Memorial Trust was pleased to see the high level of interest in community food systems work from across Oregon,” said Kim Thomas, program officer for the Trust. “The facilitated session allowed for a variety of robust regional discussions and reinforced the organizing power of local/regional food to build community health and strength, particularly in rural communities.”

According to the Meyer report, food in the U.S. has become increasingly global, industrialized, and processed over the past 50 years. The number of family-owned farms has decreased and income from agriculture has become increasingly consolidated among fewer producers. The production chain that involves growing, processing, distributing and marketing of food requires large amounts of energy and food generally travels greater distances to consumers. The fact that Americans are consuming more processed foods than ever before has been said to contribute significantly to obesity in the U.S. Community food advocates cite these trends in their work to promote the search for better ways to link consumers and producers within a local geographic region.

The Meyer Memorial Trust study highlights three key aims of community food systems that many rural communities can relate to: increased food security (e.g. equitable access to regular sources of food), increased nutrition and health (e.g. access to food such as fruits and vegetables that help prevent diet-related disease), and increased economic opportunities (e.g. jobs and income from diversified small scale agriculture and local processing). Many rural communities know first-hand the challenges of having regular access to fresh, whole foods like fruits and vegetables, as well as the current economy that limits job and income opportunities.

Advocates of community food systems want to make fresh and other healthy foods more available to all people. They want to help reduce barriers to farmers who want to grow a diversity of products, and process and market them locally. They want to encourage young farmers who want to get a start in agriculture. They want to help educate consumers about the choices, and the trade offs of their choices. They want to find ways to make more linkages between all parts of what is called the “value chain” (from grower to marketing) so that a higher percentage of the food consumed comes from local or regional sources.

The upswing in Farmer’s Markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms (where community members subscribe to a seasonal share of a farm’s food products by paying a lump sum in advance and receiving a regular box of fresh products during the growing season), and small farms that produce a diversity of products are cited as exciting trends, but there is still much needed to increase access to local food. Participants of the June 25 session who brainstormed gaps and strategies for their local regions of the state cited the need for USDA-inspected meat processing facilities in rural communities, additional training and technical assistance for farmers, and increased networking between all parts of the food system, among many other needs.

To continue the conversation about building on a community food systems vision and post notes and relevant articles about the Oregon community food systems vision, visit the RIPPLE Food Systems group. Note: You'll need to sign up to be a RIPPLE member to visit the group and join the conversation. For more information on the Meyer Memorial Trust study, see their web site. For more information on Community Supported Agriculture, see USDA’s website.

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