Hearty, robust, vigorous, strong, sound, well. What do all these words have in common? They describe health, a general physical condition of wholesomeness, freedom from ailment, in other words, soundness. Health can be used to describe an individual, the economy, the environment and even a community. And interestingly enough, food is the common denominator for all these not-so-separate systems. Food connects us all.
Healthy individuals are nourished by wholesome foods, foods that are minimally processed, fresh, and perhaps even locally grown. We have heard "you are what you eat" for good reason. Consumption of foods with ample nutrients and fiber are what our bodies need not only for sustenance, but to provide energy, to help with immunity and for growth and development in our early years. Empty calories of highly processed foods may give us temporary energy, but contribute significantly to our growing obesity. As our waist-lines expand, so too does the list of weight related illnesses: heart disease, diabetes, and stroke just to name a few. If we want to be healthy, we have to eat healthy. We don't necessarily have to rely on medications for treatment to some of these weight-related illnesses. We can be proactive. Good foundations not only contribute to solid structures, they also build healthy bodies. A healthy diet is the very beginning.
We can choose to build that foundation with highly processed foods or we can choose fresh fruits and vegetables. And better yet is choosing locally grown fruits and vegetables. In this way we are not only nourishing ourselves, but with our purchasing dollars we are contributing to our local businesses, helping to maintain healthy communities. Agriculture has long been the foundation to small, rural towns and villages. Farmers buy supplies and equipment, they require local services, and they participate and volunteer in civic positions. The money that a local farmer spends travels throughout a community in what is known as the "multiplier effect". When you spend your dollar buying a Washington State apple, the money gets divided up among all those participating in this long national food system: the retailer, the distributor, the packer and finally back to the farmer in Washington. But when you buy a New York apple directly from a New York farmer your money goes directly to the farmer who in turn purchases, invests and contributes to his or her local community. Being careful about what you purchase is as important as where you purchase.
Healthy food connects healthy people, healthy farms and healthy communities. The best source for healthy food is local food. Due to the natural aging process, fresh fruits and vegetables that travel thousands of miles, loose nutrients along the way. Not only is local food more nutritious but it tastes better. That's because commercial varieties were developed for their transportation qualities, not for taste. For example, the most flavorful strawberry is only available from a local farm, because these berries don't ship well. You also don't have to pay for the packaging materials and the shipping charges when the farm you buy from is just down the road. You reduce the amount of environmental pollutants and contribute to a healthier environment. When you get to know your local farmer you get to know who grows your food, and how it's grown. Developing a good working relationship with a local farmer is like developing your own food security plan. Healthy people, healthy farms and healthy environments are possible when the choice is made to buy local.
Making a healthy local food choice is not always easy. It might mean an extra stop on the way home from work. It might require giving up a weekend morning to go picking. Buying local may require you to learn some new skills, like cooking from scratch or learning how to freeze, can or dry certain foods. Eating well may require you to give up you favorite fast-food restaurant and to look more carefully at your home town diner's menu. You may have to make specific requests of your local farmer, your local grocery store, or even your local school. Honest rewards, like good health, come to those who are willing to make such an effort.
You will not be alone however. Across this country, around the globe, people are looking to reclaim their health, their communities and their economy and food- nutritious, local, wholesome fresh food- is at the foundation of their fight. You are invited to learn more about food as the basis for personal, environmental, economic and community health at two upcoming events:
On October 18th the Rural Health Network of South Central New York will host Growing Health: A Forum on Local Food and the Opportunity to Nourish Self, Families & Communities at the Binghamton Regency, from 5:00 Pm. - 7:30 pm. Growing Health will feature an expert and diverse speaker panel of leaders in the local food movement. including Jennifer Wilkins, Ph.D., Food and Society Policy Fellow in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University, Billie Best, Executive Director, Regional Farm & Food Project in Chatham, N.Y., and Raymond Denniston, Food Service Director, Johnson City School District & Co-Chair of the New York State Farm to Schools Steering Committee. Registration information is available at http://www.ruralhealthnetwork.org/ If you would prefer to receive registration information by mail please call the Rural Health Network at (607) 692-7669, or e-mail your request to jmurray@ruralhealthnetwork.org.
From January 18-20, 2007 join the NYS Farmers Direct Marketing Conference for The Food Less Traveled: How Good Local Food Contributes to Healthy People and Healthy Communities to be held at the Owego Treadway Inn. This year's conference will feature workshops and sessions that will provide knowledge, resources and tools to help positively impact the health of local farms , and the health of their consumers' and their community. Tracks include: Personal health; Economic health; Environmental health; Healthy farm families; Healthy neighbor relations; Health and hospitality on the farm; Healthy farm collaboratives; and Healthy children/Healthy communities. This promises to be two filled days with experts from various farm, food and nutrition industries. For more information or to help sponsor this event contact Dianne Eggert at the NYSFDMA office at 315-475-1101 or email diane99@dreamscape.com.
Health is a choice and your purchasing dollar is powerful to building local health. The decision to buy fresh, wholesome and local positively benefits yourself, your local farm, your local economy, your local community and your local environment. The choice to buy local may not be easy, but it will be effective and the results long lasting. We hope you choose to buy fresh and local and we hope that you will join us to learn more.
For more information contact Jack Salo at Rural Health Network of South Central New York (607) 692-7669 Dianne Eggert at 315-475-1101 or Martha Goodsell at NY Farms! (607) 659-3710
