Food & Farming / News & Views / Chomp into these Good Food Ideas!
Chomp into these Good Food Ideas!
Recent Comments
- Mark Coe: Having had the oppertunity to present at a local school with Meghan and Leanna, supporting the work Food Corps does is a wonderful thing. They provide a learning oppertunity to our children in agricu...
- Linda Hutchinson: Great! Having been raised on a farm, near Arcadia, I wish my dad who was a Farmer's Market regular in the 60's, 70's and 80's, was here to be involved in the "farm to table" and "local food" initiati...
- Dale Scheiern: It is easy to store and enjoy all winter long too!! Take 1 qt. freezer bags, fill to the point they will lay fairly flat ( not rounded) so they stack easily in the freezer. Local fruit all winter lo...
- Sharron May, The May Farm: You are correct if you are referring to industrial monocultures of animal or plant agriculture which are extractive, organic or not. Fortunately there are small farms pioneering more regenerative prac...
- LillyM: I've been fortunate enough to meet and work with Lianna and hope to meet Meghan. Every FoodCorps volunteer I have met over the years has been incredible. A phenomenal organization with dedicated and...
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| Building a local food economy can help grow Michigan’s economy, and put people in touch with the farmers who help feed them. |
This year Michigan will elect a new governor and dozens of new state lawmakers; term limits are putting the governor’s seat, 29 Senate seats (out of 38), and 34 House seats (out of 110) in the running.
Now is the time to put local food and farming priorities in front of these candidates. They need to understand how local farms, healthy food, and the regional economic strength they can build are essential for a prosperous Michigan in the future.
That was the purpose of last week’s Michigan Good Food Summit in Lansing. Organized by the C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Agriculture at Michigan State University, the Michigan Food Policy Council, and the Michigan Food Bank Council, the summit attracted nearly 400 people.
The big group worked on a set of policy priorities for local food and farming that would help build jobs, health, and hope, particularly in our rural and urban communities. People from around the state weighed in, helping to craft a “Good Food Agenda,” or charter, that Michiganders can put in front of all those new people running for office.
You can get involved, and we wish you would! The draft priorities are up on the Web and you can comment on them or make suggestions through March 18. Your participation now can help make the difference in November-and for the next, two-year session of our state Legislature.
You can go online and chew on the whole set of priorities, or just bite into the areas that interest you most. The recommendations are in five groups:
- Youth Engagement and Opportunity
- Healthy Food Access for Families and Communities
- Institutional Food Purchasing
- Farm Viability and Development
- Food System Infrastructure
We here at the Michigan Land Use Institute helped develop these priorities. We hope you can join us and other Good Food Charter organizers in making our healthy food and local farming voices heard this election year!
Patty Cantrell founded MLUI’s Entrepreneurial Agriculture Program and is a senior policy adviser for the organization. Reach her at pattyc@mlui.org.
