Transcript Local and Regional Food Systems in Nebraska: Successes, Challenges and Sustainability L/O/G/O Local and Regional Food Systems in Nebraska: Successes, Challenges and Barriers Acknowledgements This project was made.

Local and Regional Food
Systems in Nebraska:
Successes, Challenges and
Sustainability
L/O/G/O
Local and Regional Food Systems in
Nebraska: Successes, Challenges and
Barriers
Acknowledgements
This project was made possible by the generous
support of:
• The North Central Regional Center for Rural
Development
• The Federal State Marketing Improvement
Program (FSMIP) of the Agricultural Marketing
Service of the United States Department of
Agriculture.
This is a joint project of the University of NebraskaLincoln and the Center for Rural Affairs
Introductory Welcome
Chuck Francis, PI, University of Nebraska – Lincoln
• Rural entrepreneurship and community
development are high on the agenda of UNL
outreach programs
• Research on local foods and adding value to
products on farm and in rural communities is
essential
• Urban and peri-urban food production and
marketing direct provide valuable sources of
income for farmers
• UNL is proud to partner with Center for Rural
Affairs in this project on local and regional food
systems
The Project
What are We Trying to
Learn?
•
This project is part of a long-term effort to develop
local and regional food systems in rural Nebraska
communities in a state that focuses agriculture on row
crops.
•
Nebraskans spend $4.4 billion on food each year, yet
only 10 % stays in the state (Crossroads Resource
Center, 2010).
•
The long-term questions are: How do we get more
locally grown food to Nebraskans; how do we keep
more of our food dollars in Nebraska and the local
economy; and how are food systems being funded
and sustained?
How do we Get There?
• In order to get answers to these questions we
developed and administered surveys, held focus
groups, held in-depth interviews, developed case
studies, and identified best practices. We needed
to learn:
– Are there any food system efforts in place and
how long have they been sustained?
– What are the barriers/opportunities/interest in
participating in local and regional food
systems?
– What do successful systems have in common –
or what are the best practices that lead to
funding and sustainability?
Local Food Systems in Nebraska:
Successes, Challenges and Barriers
Project Methodology
• Survey – 2,500 surveys sent out electronically; 375
surveys returned from consumers, producers,
institutions
• Followed up with phone calls where needed and
administered survey over the phone
• Focus Groups – 7 focus groups were held to learn
additional information from the surveys (two were
Spanish speaking groups), 80 participants total,
representing all parts and diversity of the state
• Interviews and case studies – 10 in-depth interviews
that resulted incase studies of those deeply involved in
local and regional food throughout Nebraska
Interviews/Case Studies of Successful
Components of Food Systems
•
•
•
•
•
Shannon Moncure, Nebraska Food Coop
Linda Truscott, Norris Public Schools
Dr. John Skretta, Norris Public Schools
Lanette Stec, Columbus
Erin Frank, Lincoln
Local Food Systems in Nebraska:
Successes, Challenges and Barriers
Interview/Case Study Subjects
• Dr. Ron Rosati, Nebraska College of
Technical Agriculture, Curtis
• Caleb Pollard, Scratchtown Brewery, Ord
• Natalie Kingston, Public Health Solutions
District Health Department, Crete
• Cindy Grauerholz, Hershey
• Harold Stone, Davenport
What We Learned
We found the overarching issues that have held
development of regional food systems back in
Nebraska:
• Lack of leadership
• Capacity/time/consistent supply (scale up now or
to meet demand?)
• Communication between
producers/consumers/institutions
• Infrastructure: equipment, transportation,
processing, distribution
• Funding/capital – start-up and expansion
How People/Organizations are Funding
their Work
Contributors to food systems include farmers. They:
• Participate in Farm to School Programs – several
case studies pointed out that while not a stand alone
source of income, diversifying their customer base was
important. Farm to School participation allowed them to
plan and have a secure, consistent, source of income.
• Tap urban markets due to growing community
support. Nebraska Food Cooperative has done a very
good job of this. The foundation they have built by
growing this increasing customer base has allowed
them to now reach out to rural towns.
• Expanded institutional sales and CSA’s
Best Practices
• We learned that there were several things
consistent among the interviewees in terms of
creating a piece of a regional food system and
sustaining it over time.
• Community involvement
• Marketing
• Involving other local growers or local food
How is the work being
funded?
• We found that there were three key funding
strategies:
• Out of their own pocket – individually, as a
cooperative, or with partners
• Grants – this primarily were schools who
received grants or government funding of
some sort to purchase local food
• Community supported - the work in Curtis,
Nebraska; purchase “shares”
Evaluation of
Funding/Sustainability
• Everyone we interviewed had been doing this work
for at least 2 years.
• Schools and the Nebraska Food Cooperative are
organizations who have been involved in this work
the longest. The schools are either getting federal
dollars from grants for DOD programs to fund their
local food purchases, or they have written it into
their budgets.
• Nebraska Food Cooperative derives most of their
funding from the business plan they developed.
Next Steps in Nebraska
• From what we learned we were able
to develop a Regional Food System
Working Group
• We were able to work with state
senators to get legislation introduced
in this session
• We were able to raise awareness and
prominence of the issue throughout
the state
Reports
Center for Rural Affairs has reports from this project
available:
Local and Regional Food System Report – Survey
and Focus Groups (CFRA/UNL project)
http://www.cfra.org/sites/www.cfra.org/files/publicatio
ns/ne-food-systems-report.pdf
http://files.cfra.org/pdf/fsmip-focus-group-report.pdf
Contacts/Project Partners
• Chuck Francis, Ph.D., University of
Nebraska, 402-437-5587,
[email protected]
• Jon Bailey, 402-687-2103,
[email protected]
• Kathie Starkweather, 402-617-7946
[email protected]
Questions
?