COVID HAS SPIKED THE INTEREST IN LOCAL AND REGIONALLY PRODUCED FOODS
Most of us are aware of the challenges that exist when supplies of needed products are not available at the local or regional grocery stores. It was not always that way, and when COVID impacted the flow of goods, a new reality set in. It clearly has brought to the forefront all that has changed relative to food production, processing and food availability since the last major virus endemic in the state in 1918.
Vermont was classified as an agricultural state in 1918 with nearly 30,000 farms and with 79% of the land in agriculture. While many of these farms shipped milk to one of the over 200 hundred local creameries that then existed, they were also very diversified and sustained themselves with what they raised. Markets were local then as the large grocery chains did not exist, neither did refrigeration for preserving or moving products great distances without ice. People were encouraged to grow food, not only for the war effort but also for their own consumption. Nationally more than 5.2 million new garden plots were cultivated in 1918.
So, what happened that resulted in the situation relative to food availability and food distribution? When shopping at any major grocery chain store today, it is evident that consumers have available a global food pallet, unavailable to earlier generations. It requires an efficient and timely transportation system. Consumers can choose from seafood from Asia, cheese and wine from Europe, fresh fruit from South America, and a range of products from other countries and other regions of the United States. Data exists today that illustrates the fragile nature of the current approach during a worldwide epidemic, and thus the need for a more resilient local and regional food system.
Unlike the 1918 period, the impact of Covid on local food needs was almost immediate. Major news outlets carried stories of farmers dumping milk, breaking eggs, and getting rid of farm products. This was due to the disruption of the food supply chain as a result of closure of restaurants, schools and other institutional outlets for food as well as the impact on some processing facilities due to Covid. During this same period local food needs increased dramatically. It was also reported that since the pandemic onset, nearly thirty percent of Vermonters experienced food insecurity, almost triple the 2018 levels. There were vivid pictures too in the press of cars lined up to get food at Food Banks within the state and at other locations in the U.S.
According to officials at the Vermont State Agency of Agriculture, the increase in the demand for local food increased dramatically as a result of the supply chain disruptions. Community Supported Agriculture facilities, regional food hubs, farmers’ markets, all saw a brisk increase in demand. With the closure and restrictions at many local restaurants, there was an increase in cooking at home, some with prepared meals and others in learning new skills. Some have even suggested that cooking more at home might become the new normal post pandemic.
The question today that exists for Vermont’s farm sector as well as policy establishment is can a more resilient local food system be maintained and strengthened so that future disruptions do not occur? Actions and plans by the Farm to Plate and the State Agency of Agriculture in creating Vermont Agriculture and Food System Plan: 2020, and of the Vermont Dairy Task Force deliberations are encouraging, but it will not be easy. Industry consolidation is difficult to unravel today under existing anti-trust regulations and enforcement that propel consolidation at all levels in the food chain. Even a recent study by the Kansas City Federal Reserve of Concentration and Consolidation in the U.S. Food Supply Chain: The Latest Evidence and Implication for Consumers, Farmers, and Policymakers concludes that “small farmers have a difficult role in modern agricultural supply chains.” It further elaborates by stating “that while small farms contribute to populating and preserving the vitality of rural America…that better polices for rural America, instead of trying to curtail efficiency-enhancing marketing arrangements would be to support these farmers directly without disrupting market forces that enhance efficiency.” While times are different, even the Agriculture Focus Group Report to Governor’s Commission on The Economic Future of Vermont in 1989 seemed to recognize this reality when it said, “Vermont state policy should consistently and aggressively expand the base and profitability of its agriculture…an application of significant state resources over an extended period of time will be necessary to deal with this chronic situation.”
Efforts continue in developing a more resilient regional food approach with Food hubs, Food Sheds, Farm to Plate and State Agricultural plans, Real Organic advocacy, Regenerative agriculture initiatives, and with dairy task force discussions on ways to overcome an outdated commodity pricing system. It is therefore encouraging to also hear of a recent initiative behind a New England Feeding New England, a project of New England State Food System Planners Partnership. It is a 14-member research team that is starting a year-long, multi-level research project to better understand the new food supply chain, consumer and retail behavior, and make projections for what it will take to get 30% consumption of regionally produced food by 2030. It will not be easy of course as existing supply chains are said to RUTHLESSLY seek out the most efficient operators.
In the Vermont Papers published in 1989, the two authors, John McClaughry and Frank Bryan, state “that if agriculture were to wither away to a memory, Vermont would in time cease to be anything unique. It would become just a distant suburb of Boston, its character defined by tourist restaurants and shopping malls. Not only does a living agriculture contribute so much to the character of Vermont but is absolutely indispensable to preserving the landscape which in our time has become so vital a component of the state’s economic attractions.” Similar statements over time have been made by others. David Donath in the publication The Vermont Difference, Perspectives from the Green Mountain State, in 2014, stated that “Defined by its iconic rural countryside of farms, forests, villages, and small cities, Vermont’s working landscape has emerged as key to the brand and quality of life of the state—and to its future.”
Even an agriculture focus group report to the Governor’s Commission on The Economic Future of Vermont carried a similar sentiment in 1989 when it too elaborated on the value of the working landscape to the States culture and history. It stated then “that if it wants to retain its rural character and working farms, it must come to grips with how socially and politically the state will grow into the future.” These statements of the past are as valid today as when they were made. While it is not 1918, there is a need for a resilient local and regional food system now as well as into the future.
-30-
Roger Allbee is a resident of Townshend, Vermont. He is a former Vt Secretary of Agriculture, and a former CEO of Grace Cottage Hospital and Healthcare
