Your Local Foods Group | News

Teresa Maurer, left, leads a group today that advocates local food in Fayetteville as Karen McSpadden of Winrock International listens.

By Christopher Spencer

Ozarks Unbound

FAYETTEVILLE – A group that wants Fayetteville to take a stronger role in promoting locally grown foods discussed strategies today.

Teresa Maurer led the group of 11 people from various governmental, commercial and nonprofit groups as they talked about ways to foster economic development by encouraging local food. She is an area farmer and also works for the National Center for Appropriate Technology.

The Local Foods group is one of about a dozen small groups formed after hundreds of residents participated in the Fayetteville Forward initiative in late March. That multi-day conference was held to establish residents’ goals for the incoming city administration under Mayor Lioneld Jordan.

A council of 15 residents, including Maurer, were charged with implementing those goals. She presented some raw notes culled from that March conference to the group today.

The Local Foods group should determine areas where promoting local foods can contribute to the community, she said. Once those areas are established, then the group can try to implement them in the coming weeks.

Karen McSpadden of Winrock International said one potential area to push locally grown foods would be in area schools.

University of Arkansas Horticulture Professor Curt Rom said he thinks the group should identify areas of potential advocacy. but keep in mind that the city and residents are most interested in areas that also lead to economic development.

There are many ‘quality of life’ factors that increase with access to locally grown food. Buying local foods also means keeping money in the area economy which strengthens a community, he said. Those economic factors need to made more apparent.

Rom said he’s noticed in his classroom there is growing interest among students in urban farming. It’s a new phenomenon and one that should be encouraged, he said. A big problem for those wanting to farm small-scale is the cost of land.

“I get phone calls from people all the time interested in farming,” he said. But when he tells them they need land in order to make a successful go of farming, then the call usually ends.

The land burden for getting involved in farming is too high, he said.

Lisa Netherland of Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Department said some segments of the city, such as low-income people, feel priced out of areas like the famers’ market. Greater efforts to include them should be made. She said a community garden was recently planted near Seven Hills Homeless Center and is already providing tomatoes and other fresh vegetables.

However, some of the people there are so accustomed to processed foods that they aren’t familiar with how to use raw produce, like fresh lettuce, and prepare it in a tasty fashion, Netherland said.

The group should make it a goal to reach out to people who don’t know how to work with raw, fresh produce to make tasty and healthy meals, she said.

Julie McQuade represents the city at these meetings and said that of the ten or so meetings that have been held, the local food group meeting has been the second-largest with 11 people in attendance. Twenty-five people attended the Land Use and Green Infrastructure group led by Fran Alexander.

Maurer said the group will further refine its focus and meet again at 3:30 p.m. on July 14.

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