Looking Back & Looking Forward

You might be familiar with the saying “you can’t get there from here”.  Well, that is not really true.  Each time I've driven across America it becomes increasingly clear that you can get there from here and you can get yourself back to where you came from if you so desire.  What a wonderful opportunity it was to travel for research purposes and how fortunate we are that we are free to meander about the amazing geological, ecological and cultural landscape we call America.

Throughout the course of my recent travels I was graced with unyielding generosity.  The time individuals gave out of their day to share their work with me often exceeded my expectations.  I received not just their time and information, but meals and often gifts too.  People working to address issues of injustice, inequality and the accessibility of good wholesome food are dedicated, genuine and proud folks.  What an honor it was to meet these individuals.  At every stop, I was told of another organization or individual who I should talk to.  Resources nationwide are endless as are our resources here at home.

I can’t thank my friends and family enough - I was blessed with the loving embrace of so many throughout the country.  I would especially like to send appreciation out to a stranger I met in Bellingham WA who, upon hearing what I was doing and about Salvation Farms, showed me generosity beyond what anyone could have expected from any new acquaintance.  And to my newest friends, in Nashville and Chicago, who opened their homes and lives to me, I am forever thankful, as is Salvation Farms.

Trip Stats:

Projected Trip Budget: $7,114.00

Funds Obtained: $2,610.00 – thank you helpers!

Salvation Farms Paid:

Fuel: $865.49

Hotels: $623.42

Total Miles Traveled: 8,125 – oh what fun!

Cost per Mile: $0.11

Average Gallon of Gas: $3.41 – cheapest gallon was $2.99

Total Travel Days: 30

Total Nights in Hotels: 8 – thanks again family & friends!

Average Hotel per Night: $77.93

Sites Visited: 22

States Traveled Through: 23 - including Vermont & Canada

Below are my final research visits.  If you are visiting this blog for the first time, please visit the "Research Trip" page for background information regarding this trip.

Wednesday 14^th

Gleaners Community Food Bank, Detroit MI

I loved the look and style of this food bank.  It is not a new or particularly showy facility.  It certainly had the most character of any food bank I’ve seen to date and the staff was as pleasant as the atmosphere and displayed a very apparent genuineness.

Gleaners Community Food Bank (GCFB) is made up of five distribution facilities serving five counties and a network of more than 550 agencies. They are a member of the Food Bank Council of Michigan that works with the state Department of Agriculture’s Michigan’s Agricultural Surplus System. They are able to source regional surplus through these relationships in a way that directly benefits the farmers.  The GCFB has several mechanisms for sourcing and distributing fresh perishables similar to other food banks across the country.

I was pleased to see they operate programs that teach individuals, youth included, about cooking and nutrition.  Cooking Matters is a program that many food banks will incorporate into their programming and is an active program of this food bank.  GCFB is also very active in conversations about increasing the options of healthy lifestyles for folks who live in and around Detroit (see details below).  They partner with agencies beyond providing access to food items through urban gardening projects, one of which is located on their property but is the responsibility of a neighborhood agency to manage and maintain.  The food and honey raised on this piece of land is incorporated in the food access programs of the overseeing agency.  In addition to these great programs and partnerships, I was impressed to learn that GCFB hosts more than 30,000 annual volunteers who do all sorts of tasks including picking agency orders, packing up produce received in bulk bins and packing emergency food boxes.  That is so impressive!

I learned not just about the food bank during this visit, but I also learned a great deal about Detroit.  In the past 40 years the population of the city has decreased from 2 million to roughly 800,000 and more than 45% of the land in the city lays abandoned and vacant.  I learned that there are great discussions occurring around “greening” the city, creating green ways for recreation and pedestrian traffic as well as urban farming and gardening.  This is a city to watch and follow.  Detroit, it seems to me, is in a perfect position to lead the way on how to build more sustainable cities for a future with potentially limited resources.

Thursday 15^th

Agricultural Incubator Foundation, Bowling Green OH

The Agricultural Incubator Foundation (AIF) is an interesting organization.  It is the site of several different and exciting projects.  In addition to the food processing and incubation kitchen, they have an organic farm rental program where farmers specifically produce organic varieties of soybeans, corn and wheat.  AIF rents greenhouse and pole barn space to several independent ventures including Naturally Native Nursery, Ohio State University – aquaculture project, and a CSA farm.  I was pleased to be able to visit the aquaculture project once done with my tour and my visit to the food processing site.  It was very interesting and quite different from the aquaculture/aquaponics projects that are occurring nationally to produce food for human consumption.

In addition to all of the amazing things happening on the AIF property, I was very excited to learn about the fresh food processing that was being done for incorporation into the charitable food system of the greater Toledo region.  The organization itself has no staff but rather partners with the Center for Innovative Food Technologies to oversee the operations of the incubation center.  Income received through rental agreements for land use, building use and processing space covers the operating costs of this facility.  The use and availability of the processing facility/incubation kitchen is affordable for the areas small scale food manufactures.

I was impressed with the equipment housed in this facility and intrigued by the processes chosen to increase both labor and energy efficiency during processing perishables into lightly processed and frozen products.  I learned about how relationships with growers and the regions food bank are facilitated as well as who the organization's labor force was when processing for the charitable/emergency food system.  This was an extremely valuable visit and one that I feel will continue to be a resource and point of reference for Salvation Farms as we move forward with our program development.

Friday 16^th

Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry, Hagerstown MD

Another great and inspiring visit!  Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hunger (FHFH) is a modest organization with tremendous reach and impact.  Besides a small office and a very small staff, FHFH has chapters operating in 27 states across the country, in Canada and has recently been contacted by an interested group in Kenya.  All chapters are volunteer run and follow a set of basic guidelines established by the organization.  When the founder started this organization in 1997, he never anticipated the growth to be so far and wide.

The organization handles no meat, has no facility for storage and no fleet for distribution.  They achieve their success through partners in the industry and the generosity of farmers and hunters.  For example, it is anticipated that Maryland alone will see an amount close to 3,000 deer donated and processed through the mechanisms established by the FHFH organization this year.

Monday 19^th

DC Central Kitchen, Washington DC

I’ve wanted to visit the DC Central Kitchen (DCCK) since I was able to hear Robert Egger speak, the organization's founding director and author of Begging for Change. I highly suggest you read his book. He has been an inspiration to me as he set out to build programming that makes a difference in the lives of the people engaged with them.  I feel that he and I take a similar stance - belief that in order to address an issue or serve a cause you must provide an answer or action that is solution based and you can’t be afraid of ruffling a few feathers in the process.  Unfortunately I was unable to meet with Robert but was able to speak with two of his highly educated and dedicated staff members.

DCCK has multiple facilities as well as programs.  I visited the Nutrition Lab facility where graduates from the organization’s culinary training program make up the staff that prepare and deliver meals for a school food service contract, for area congregate meal sites serving those in need of a hot meal and for the organization’s catering operation.  While visiting I saw the staff chopping, blanching and freezing collard greens for future use and distribution.  These greens were sourced and donated from a regional producer.  It was great to see the staff working with this product as this is a crop we often see in excess here in Vermont but that we cannot possibly distribute all that is available in its fresh/raw form.