Equity for urban farmers and the need to connect local growers to community consumers

By Dennis Archambault

Kate Krauss, CEO of the Fair Food Network, in a recent commentary applauds the new federal dietary guidelines to the extent that they promote “whole” food as an alternative to ultra processed food products.  However, she adds that the food distribution network – food grown to be consumed by people living in communities, not agriculture conglomerates that serve the processed food industry – is sorely in need of improvement. That includes urban agriculture.

Thanks to the legacy of Sen. Debbie Stabenow, the U.S. Farm Bill established an Office of Urban Agriculture to address not only basic farming business issues, but also issues of equity, specifically the needs of Black farmers and other urban growers. This function needs to be properly funded to ensure that it has an impact in communities like Detroit where urban farming is.

Krauss points out that there has been a revived interest in the farm-to-community connection through the “Farmers Feeding our Communities Act.” The legislation, if passed, would state, through USDA, to establish cooperative agreements connecting local farmers and producers with local food distribution organizations. Through these agreements, funds will be used to purchase local, fresh, and minimally processed foods like seafood, meat, milk, cheese, eggs, fruit, and poultry. The bill also sets aside a portion of these funds to purchase food specifically from small, mid-size, beginning, and veteran farmers.

Authority Health has been committed to supporting a connection between local growers and community consumers, particularly schools, and will continue to advocate based on the principle that “food is medicine,” and that if people had access to nutritious, affordable “whole” food, the health of our community will make a measurable improvement.

Dennis Archambault is vice president of Public Affairs of Authority Health.