Local Food Policy

2012 Farm Bill

As Congress gears up to debate 2012 Farm Bill , getting a handle on the big picture food policy can be daunting, but every journey starts with a single step.

If you don't know, the Federal Farm Bill is a $90 billion per year bill for food, feed fiber and fuel which is passed every five years and determines the rules and playing field for what we eat, how much it costs, where it is grown and how it is grown.

The Local Farms, Food & Jobs Act bill is currently entering Congress to implement more local and regional food policies into the 2012 Farm Bill. If passed, this will improve federal farm bill programs that support local and regional farm and food systems. Specifically, it will help farmers and ranchers engaged in local and regional agriculture by addressing production, processing, marketing, and distribution needs and will also assist consumers by improving access to healthy food and direct and retail markets.

And of utmost importance, this legislation will provide more secure funding for critically important programs that support family farms, expand new farming opportunities, and invest in the local agriculture economy.

Urgent: Contact your Congressional representatives today and ask them to co-sponsor the Local Farms-Food-Jobs Bill currently entering Congress.

Building a thriving local food system

By choosing more local foods in your diet, you're supporting a local food system that feeds your community, protects the environment, and strengthens the local economy. But deeper systemic change needs to happen on local, state, and federal levels in order to tackle problems created by a highly-industrialized food system.

Below are some of the most pressing issues impacting our local food economy, as well as the policies needed to address them and action we can take as individuals to implement them.

Creating equal access to healthy food

Despite our regional abundance, many Western Washington citizens do not have enough to eat. For starters, 39% of people served in Food Lifeline's Western Washington food banks are children, and many adults served are among the "working poor." In Washington state, more students eat free and reduced-price lunches than those who pay full lunch prices. To begin addressing these issues and improving healthy food access in our communities, we must implement:

• Procurement policies in schools and other large institutions to increase the purchase of local food for school meals.
• Transportation policies that link low income residents with grocery stores.
• Land use planning that sets standards for equitable distribution of community gardens.
• Creating better access for low income communities to redeem food assistance benefits at farmers markets.

Minimizing food system impacts on climate change

A plate of food travels an average of 1,500 miles from farm to fork. When combined with the carbon footprint associated with pesticide use, water use, and packaging, the agriculture sector contributes approximately 20% of total greenhouse gas.

A recent study by the University of Washington reports that the greenhouse gas emissions associated with an apple grown in New Zealand and shipped to Seattle are double that of a Washington apple. To help support more Washington-grown produce and subsequently reduce the climate change impact of the food system, we must endorse:

• Economic incentives and programs to help small and mid-size growers use the most efficient means of transportation and production.
• Growing methods protecting biodiversity and organic integrity, i.e. requiring labeling GMO foods.
• Programs creating and promoting more livable communities where there are food retailers and local food-buying opportunities within walking distance of consumers across all income-levels.

Keeping Food Dollars in the Local Economy

Research conducted by Sustainable Seattle indicates that locally directed spending within the Puget Sound region contributes as much as two to three times more to community income than spending done at non-local businesses.

On average, for every dollar spent at an "average" restaurant, 31 cents is re-spent locally. By comparison, at a locally-based restaurant, 79 cents of every dollar spent is re-spent on the local level.

Additionally, many believe that one of the best ways to keep farmland from being developed for commercial use is to expand demand for locally grown produce, thereby creating a higher value for those lands as active farmland. Some policy measures that would help expand demand and, in turn, help secure the success and sustainability of the local food economy include:

• Procurement policies that encourage state and local government agencies to source food directly from local farmers.
• Land use policies that create permanent locations for area farmers markets.

Take Action

Reading this page on local food policy is a good start — if you would like to get involved further, here are a few things you can do to help the cause.

• Ask family, friends, neighbors, co-workers and groups you are associated with to "Eat Local for Thanksgiving;"
• Use Puget Sound Fresh to keep you informed. This one of a kind resource is the region's most comprehensive resource on where and how to source what's fresh, local and in-season. You'll also find recipes, links, events, and more.
• Talk with department managers at your local grocery store and ask them to carry more local produce, meats, dairy products, and other locally produced goods;
• Get involved with Cascade Harvest Coalition, or other organizations like the Washington Sustainable Food and Farming Network to strengthen local food systems regionally and statewide.