Comments on: Local Matters Impacts Children Through Food

By: bikermichaela

bikermichaela — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:52:14 +0000

i have been volunteering at indianola food is elementary and it has brought my daughter and i so much closer. i am thrilled to see her excitement about trying and making new foods! she is very proud to be able to talk about what the different vitamins in food do to her body. she can identify ingredients and talk about how to prepare them. such am empowering experience at such a young age!!!
kudos to you local matters! you are educating so many young minds helping them become food conscious responsible adults!!

By: Parker

Parker — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:02:06 +0000

@TomOver: Relevant to the livestock production, Paul Durrenberger and Kendall Thu have a good book entitled “Pigs, Profits and Rural Communities” that explores the relationships among politics, agricultural subsidies and policies, and local farm and non farm residents in Iowa. Paul has other major work on Icelandic and Thai rural communities, as well as the Teamsters and SEIU.

By: Parker

Parker — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:57:03 +0000

Glad my comments sparked some interest. I work and do a good deal of agroecosystems and sustainability work and so am very familiar with these types of programs as well as food security issues. I remember when local matters was a farmer-chef network at Ohio State.

Thanks for responding, Michael. It is true that healthy food options are an issue in many schools. Those are national statistics within which there are pockets of greater need. My point wasn’t to debate whether Local Matters’ work is valid, appropriate, or otherwise. My comment was not meant as a jab but a valid critique (not criticism) of a good program. It’s good to hear there are plans to branch into lower-income neighborhoods. I know there are challenges to be had in doing so, not the least of which will be confronting fresh food access in urban food deserts.

By: AmyD

AmyD — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:42:39 +0000

Thanks for sharing that Michael. Your post really told me a lot about Local Matters. I don’t know much about “food ecology” and honestly just learned what that meant. I think a conversation about what you are doing is so helpful to those of us not on the inside and not familiar with the workings and lingo.
Having been friends with Trish Dehnbostel for so many years, I know about the work you have all been doing since before Local Matters and with Local Matters. These conversations online really illuminate the ideas and workings in a concrete way for me and I hear about you all the time. Imagine how valuable this is for people who have no idea what you guys do.

By: Walker

Walker — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 04:46:45 +0000

Thanks for the great response and information, Michael!

By: Michael Jones

Michael Jones — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:01:33 +0000

Hi Parker: Thanks for your thoughts regarding our Food is Elementary Curriculum and your desire to see it expand beyond elementary schools in Clintonville and Worthington. I'd like to respond by saying that the children in these schools do not eat better than children in other schools. Please note that 1 in 3 children are predicted to get diabetes in their lifetime (1 in 2 if you're African-American or Hispanic) and the current generation of children are the first generation EVER whose life expectancy is predicted to be less than that of their parents. As you can see, all children are vulnerable regardless of zip code. You will be interested to know that Local Matters just entered into a partnership with the Childhood Development Council of Franklin County Head Start to expand our program into all 25 of their facilities over the next 3 years. These facilities are located in Linden, the Near East Side, Franklinton, Weinland Park and the Northside and serve many of our children most in need. This expansion will allow us to reach an additional 3000 children per week. Local Matters is funded by grants, private donors and corporate sponsors and are currently working on a national, state and local level to make our 28 week, whole food curriculum available to all children. Our current cost per child per year is about $180.00...a real bargain when you consider that treating diabetes and all the chronic diseases associated with it and obesity average over $20,000.00 per person per year. What can you do? Please consider becoming one of the 1000 Friends of Local Matters. For just $10 per month ($120 annually), you can help us create a healthy community through the lens of food and make local, healthy food available to everyone on a equal basis. Be well.

By: dms

dms — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:30:48 +0000

Responding to the post from Parker (posted 3/18/10), much of Local Matters’ programming is directed to underserved communities, including its work with CDC Headstart and Learning Never Ends. Food justice is an integral part of Local Matters’ mission.

By: TomOver

TomOver — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:38:40 +0000

Parker, is there a book or two by Durrenberger you’d recommend ? I think Michael Jones with Local Matters would like to expand the school programs. But things like that take shape when people step forward and help to make it happen. But yes , there are parts of town where the need is greater. By the way, Four Seasons City Farms has garden sites on the East Side, and there are others working on the West Side. I think the guy that own Rain Brothers is working out there–Jonathan Meyer.

By: Parker

Parker — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:14:45 +0000

TomOver makes an interesting point about food. Thanks for that insight. It goes well with this one: anthropologist Paul Durrenberger once said to me that food is an important aspect of a society and should be studied because you really don’t know a lot about any group of people until you know how they acquire and distribute food and feed themselves.

By: Parker

Parker — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:07:40 +0000

I just wish they did programs in schools other than Clintonville and Worthington where the kids are already eating better than most. Maybe they could come to Franklinton or The Hilltop USA and do some programming. I think that would make more of an impact. My guess is that the $100+ per pupil fee that LM collects might make it difficult for those schools to participate.

By: TomOver

TomOver — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 03:53:55 +0000

The photos complement the text content, and remind me of how visuals can enhance the impact of a story like this. Can any of us render textually the expression of joy in the face of the child eating the lettuce and pasta ? PM me if you have an answer; I tend to lose track of these threads.

Everybody requires food, regardless of how we define ourselves politically, sociologically, or otherwise. As a reporter, food issues interest me because food connects with social and environmental issues quite readily.

It connects well with our enjoyment of life and is a constant reminder of the common ground I share with friend and foe alike.

By: kathyhoke

kathyhoke — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:07:41 +0000

In their own words, Local Matters “believes that food connects us to some of the most important issues of our time.” They’re making an impact in just a few short years. I really appreciate their support of community gardening in places like the Hilltop. I also like the educational programs they do, including this winter’s excellent film series at the Wexner. The documentary film, Our Daily Bread, is still running through my brain, influencing my food choices, daily.

By: TaraK

TaraK — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:54:18 +0000

Local Matters also do some other programs with adults and community outreach. They sometimes use one of our kitchens at work for a program and I’ve tasted a pasta recipe and a truffle recipe (both vegan!) that they taught once — A-MAZING. A big thumbs up to the work they do.