Volume 3: Re-Prioritizing Local Foods

Choosing what food to buy in the grocery store can be an arduous prospect. There are so many items competing for your attention the moment you walk through the door. Making healthy choices that fit into your food budget can be downright impossible. As a person who operates on a tight food budget, I find it extremely hard to make local foods a priority in my grocery shopping as they tend to be more expensive. Imported and processed foods are often cheaper, faster, and more convenient. It is no wonder so many of us choose the genetically-modified peach from Florida rather than a local squash or an apple from the farm around the corner when a pound of Florida peaches cost $2.99 and local squash or apples can be upwards of $5.00 per pound. 

Besides being cheaper, non-local foods tend to be more convenient. The produce in chain grocery stores is mostly, if not entirely, from somewhere far away. Finding local foods in your area takes more time and commitment than simply driving to Hannaford or Shaw’s. 

The onset of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) in produce, grains and processed foods has allowed for foods to be shipped throughout the globe and still have a reasonable shelf life. The tomato on the shelf at Hannaford was most likely shipped from Florida, Arizona, California or Mexico where the majority of tomatoes are grown. These tomatoes would not be able to stay “fresh” for so long if they were not picked slightly unripe for market and treated with chemicals to give the appearance of having been freshly harvested. This allows foods not in season to become commonly available across the country allowing us to purchase anything we want in the dead of winter.

At a quick glance, choosing non-local foods appears to be the more economical choice. They are cheaper, more convenient, and are available all the months of the year. But what are the long-term impacts of buying food products from far away? 

Local produce may be more expensive up front but farms’ diversified cropping and soil-building practices help mitigate the long-term impacts of climate change and deteriorating human health. Industrial-scale farms that produce most of the food in this country practice extreme forms of monoculture. Monocultural production specializes in planting a single cash crop in a large area year after year to maximize production and operating efficiencies. These operations use vast amounts of subsidized water and fossil fuels for tilling, fertilizers and pesticides. 

The purpose of soil (which we now know to be able to sequester vast amounts of carbon if properly managed) in industrial hydroponic agriculture is to hold the plant up to receive liquid nutrition and protection, Decades of heavy tillage with tractors, toxic pollution and exposed cropland have degraded our soils.  

In the US, nearly 175 million acres of subsidized corn and soybeans were planted in 2020 to supply the food processing industry and feedlots. This type of agricultural production accelerated erosion of topsoil, depletion of aquifers and contamination of our watersheds by water-soluble nutrients and toxic chemicals like glyphosate. Not surprisingly, the incidence of chronic diseases exploded in the early nineties. By 2005, 54% of Americans were diagnosed with one type of auto-immune disorder or another. Today, 46% of American children suffer from a chronic disease. 

Medical journals in the early 2000s began reporting that every chronic disease starts with inflammation of the gut and disruption of the gut microbiome. 70% of our immune system is located on the other side of that gut lining. Around the same time, soil scientists were beginning to explore the complexity of the soil microbiome and discovering its critical role in producing the key nutrients needed to sustain human health.  The good news is that agronomists and pioneering producers across the nation are beginning the shift to reducing tillage and chemical inputs, diversifying and rotating crops, and planting cover crops - all in the effort to start rebuilding soil health. 

Is the price we pay for cheap industrial food what it really costs? No. To start with, Federal subsidies for the petroleum industry, for irrigated water, for different commodity crops, for loans and insurances discount operating costs to maximize production and keep food prices low, push out inefficient producers and support increased spending on consumer goods. Then there are all the externalities – real but invisible costs that are not paid at the check-out counter but that have been pushed out into the future for society to pay. These externalities include the costs of poor nutrition, out-of- control healthcare spending, climate change, economically-gutted rural communities, contamination of our soil, water and air, and the loss of biodiversity and wildlife.

The consequences of extreme monocultures can be seen throughout history. In the 1930s, horrific dust storms eroded the prairie soils of Middle America. The Irish Potato famine in the middle of the 1800s was caused by a late-blight disease that destroyed consecutive potato harvests. This disease was able to spread quickly because the Irish farmers, at the urging of their British overlords, abandoned their subsistence crops and only grew a single species of potato throughout the Island. 

Small local diversified farms that use regenerative practices do not pose this risk as they cultivate many crops on small acreage. This type of agriculture is known as permaculture and is practiced by many indigenous peoples around the world. Like organic agriculture, permaculture increases soil health as the different plants exchange different nutrients with the earth in a small space. New Leaf Organics and Fire Fly Fields farms both also practice forms of oligulture. Oligulture allows crop beds to rest and regenerate after the growing season. More and more farmers are now planting cover crops to help regenerate the soil microbiome. Others allow farm animals to graze in the resting beds, allowing for the animals’ manure to revitalize the soil.

Here in Vermont crop and dairy farms are quickly joining the campaign to rebuild soils and combat climate change. With a combination of old and new regenerative practices, farms across the state are drawing down the carbon in the atmosphere and storing it in the ground, where it can provide crops with a broad spectrum of nutrients. Dairy farms, such as Blue Spruce Farm in Bridport, are taking further steps to mitigate their impact on the environment by capturing the methane from cow manure and turning it into a fuel source. These farms have committed to become carbon neutral by 2050. In fact, according to the 2017 US Census of Agriculture, between 2012 and 2017, Vermont farmers increased the acreage of no-till land by 173% and cover crops by 101% making the state a national leader in adopting soil conservation practices.

The evidence is rapidly building that locally-sourced foods are healthier than industrial hydroponic foods. Local organic farms do not use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides but rely on biodiversity and healthy soils to manage their farm ecosystems. Their food is tasty, nutrient-dense and super-fresh. Numerous studies show that the inclusion of local and whole foods in one's diet can prevent and even reverse chronic illness.

Reprioritizing locally-sourced foods grown in healthy soils is a huge step towards the path of healing our society and planet. Programs like ACORN’s Farmacy , Farm-to-School and Farm-to-Table restaurants are vital steps in re-connecting our community with local farms feeding us healthy life-giving foods. Get to know your farmers!

Volume 2: New Leaf Organic Farm

Tucked away in the rolling hills of Monkton, Vermont, New Leaf Organic Farm sits on 5 acres of uneven earth. The farm had once exclusively grown flowers, but when Jill Kopel fell in love with the land some 18 years ago, she expanded what is grown on the hilly land to include all manner of vegetables. The irregular grade of the land, as Jill emphasized, forced her to be increasingly economical in how she managed the farm, utilizing methods such as oligulture (rotating crop beds) and permaculture (multiple crop planting) to maintain healthy soil for the small amount of land that is arable.   

The sun had already disappeared by the time I arrived to talk with Jill. Walking down the steep grade, Jill first led me to her farm stand, a small indoor space packed with earthy smelling produce and flowers. Here I was lost in a maze of aromatic flowers and more butternut squash than I had seen in my life. After snapping a few photos of the room, Jill lead me back up the hill, past the house where a small fire crackled to a rustic looking barn. Pulling a great wooden sliding door aside, Jill lead the way inside. The interior was sparse, yet cozy. Stainless steel counters made up a small kitchen while wooden bins were filled to the brim with an assortment of tubers and other root vegetables.  Making our way off to the side, Jill sat at a rickety wooden table and proceeded to tell me her “farm story.”

Jill has always loved working outside and spent much of her undergrad years working on farms in Vermont. After she graduated, she continued to work on farms across Vermont until eventually moving to California to pursue a degree in International Farming Development from U.C. Davis. In 2000, Jill was visiting a friend in Vermont when she came across the Howard Farm which only grew flowers at the time. She fell in love with the land and ended up buying  Howard Farm which she re-named New Leaf Organic Farm. 

Small local farms are an essential part of Vermont culture, Jill explains, a culture of which she is proud to be a member. 

Jill and her squash.

“There is such a value in Vermont of growing your own food or eating local, supporting local… the exciting part is seeing all these new farms sprouting up, operations like ours  that are diverse and meeting the demand of people that are really excited about our food”

New Leafs is primarily a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm but also sells flowers and for the past 7 years has hosted weddings in its picturesque setting. Jill wants to expand this culture of eating good, whole, local foods to all.

In the past, Jill has partnered with other farms as well as organizations like ACORN to bring her food to a wider community through the Farmacy Program. She enjoys growing food in this caring, holistic way and loves being a part of a greater resilient food system. 

“This kind of farming is something I can be proud of. I feel like I am making a difference despite how much work it is… it’s a good tired”

The future for Jill, like so many of us, is filled with uncertainty with all disruptions the COVID-19  virus has brought. While New Leaf saw a drastic drop in their planned events, many more people signed up for their CSA. Jill believes this was because people had more time to explore local options and would like to support this local demand in the future.  

“I think small local farms are the future. Especially with COVID, knowing that you can depend on each other and that you can always find good nutritious food close by has felt more important than ever.”

This desire to bring good and wholesome foods to everyone is what I find to be truly special about Vermont. The work of small local farms like New Leaf to bring a culture of healthy eating to everyone gives me hope that we can make a true difference in people’s lives. This future that Jill strives for where local farms feed everyone to provide the majority of their produce is one I want to support. Jill can rightly be proud of this important work.

Volume 1: Firefly Fields

This past week I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Nathan Hammer. Nathan is a young farmer from California who owns Firefly Fields, a beautiful small 1-acre farm in Bristol Vermont. I arrived just as the sun began to set. Stepping out of my car, I was greeted by a tall, lanky man, wearing a knitted beige beanie. I assumed this was Nathan as he slowly stood up from the wooden rocking chair on the front porch of his two-story farmhouse. After a brief introduction, we meandered down a hill behind the farmhouse so I could have a look at the farm. 

Emerging from a line of trees at the bottom of the hill, we were met by rows of farming beds. As it was early November, Nathan had already harvested his crop and covered about half of the beds with cover crop in attempts to revitalize the loamy soil after the growing season. But the remnants of his ever-bearing strawberries, basil, and artichokes remained as withering stocks peeking out from the black plastic that kept the weeds at bay.  

Passing the farming beds, we crossed over to a long structure covered by a semi- transparent film. Pulling back a large sliding door, Nathan revealed the rows of string hanging down from the ceiling. The string, and soil beneath them, appeared barren, but Nathan explained that during the growing season the area was full of tomatillos that were held up by the string. 

Nathan talked about his life before Firefly Fields. Back in college in California, he did his undergraduate degree in advertising, a far cry from his current passion for working with the land. After spending three years volunteering at Hidden Villa, a farm just north of San Francisco, Nathan decided to start a farm of his own: “When I started farming at Hidden Villa, there was a community there unlike anything I had experienced.”

Nathan attributes this major life change to the strong community relationships he experienced around farming. He went on to explain that his role in advertising did not give him any sense of fulfillment. 

“I was sitting in front of a computer eight to ten hours a day playing with pixels… it was pretty disheartening… when I started farming, it felt like I was doing something for the community and for the environment.”

Nathan in front of his cold frame.

Nathan’s story is one I think we have all heard before. Humans seem to have lost connection with the land in our current consumption-driven society, creating a greater divide between people and where their food comes from. In my case, when making a grocery list, I don’t think about where the different fruits and vegetables I place in my shopping cart are grown. I experience the grocery store as the supplier of these foods and not the farmer or the land that produced them. What has been lost in this abstraction of relationships? 

Small local farms, I believe, are how we can rediscover this connection with the land. Small-town farms have the incredible opportunity to bring people together and reconnect them to the land and their food. Nathan is one of three growers who supply CSA shares to ACORN’s Farmacy: Food is Medicine program. Farmacy gives people in our community the ability to choose whole, locally-grown foods instead of the refined and processed “food stuffs” we see in the grocery store. 

Walking back through the farming beds and up the hill, we came to sit at a rickety wooden table on the porch of the farmhouse. Nathan placed his hands in the pockets of his coat as he talked about how he’s thinking next about exclusively growing nuts and berries at Firefly Fields. The sun disappeared behind the Green Mountains and a chill settled over the tall grass. 

Our food is such an integral part of who we are. During my time spent with Nathan, I came to understand the crucial role local food can play in building healthy communities. Through the work of small farmers like Nathan and caring community programs such as ACORN's Farmacy initiative, I hope local foods can increasingly make it onto everyone’s table in our community.

Sprouting Local: Introduction

Before I delve too deeply into the topics of these posts, I want to thank you. Your interest in this blog shows a clear commitment to this small community in Vermont and your desire to make the world a healthier and more caring place. 

I would first like to introduce myself and give you a little background. My name is Colin Clarcq. I graduated from university in the spring of 2020 and moved to Middlebury for an AmeriCorps position in waste management back in September. 

Growing up in a small rural farming town in Maine, I have experienced first-hand the power of a close-knit, caring community. Since moving to Vermont I have been astounded by the close community ties not only in our county, but in the State of Vermont as a whole. The amount of energy Vermonters put into caring for their fellow humans is truly inspiring. It is this commitment to place and to each other that inspires me to take on a greater role in our community. Through these blog posts, I hope to deepen that sense of belonging and maybe inspire others to do the same.

This blog will be about food. Food is, in my opinion, one of the deepest ways a community can come together. It allows people to put differences aside, lay down their arguments and share in something everyone loves and needs. A consistently healthy diet of locally-grown foods builds our immunity and the ability to resist chronic illness, surmount mental hurdles, and tastes great. 

In Addison County, there is no shortage of nutritious, locally-sourced foods, yet homes across the county still experience food insecurity. Kids and adults alike go to bed hungry and wake up to the cheap refined and processed foods that provide none of the benefits of locally-grown whole foods. 

The essential human right to be able to access good food and enjoy food security has been replaced by cheap, highly-processed, refined and reconstituted ingredients labeled as “food”. This blog will explore how this disconnect between foods and people has occurred in our country, how we can regain food sovereignty in our communities, as well as ways we can come together as a community to revitalize the land and end food insecurity for all.