Ken Meter - Building Community Food Webs

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2021 Ken Meter

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher: Island Press, 2000 M Street, NW, Suite 650, Washington, DC 20036

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020943013

All Island Press books are printed on environmentally responsible materials.

Manufactured in the United States of America

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Keywords: Agricultural policy, Civic agriculture, Civic movements, Commodity crops, Community food systems, Economic development, Environmental planning, Equity in agriculture, Farm labor, Farmland conservation, Food banks, Food insecurity, Food security, Food systems, Local food, Regenerative agriculture, Resource economics, Rural development, Sustainable agriculture, Sustainable development, Urban and regional planning

Ken Meters ORCID designation is 0000-0001-5221-6987.

To the next generation of visionaries who are devoted to crafting community food webs globally

Chapter 1
The Extractive US Farm Economy

Chapter 2
Co-learning Is Contagious

Chapter 3
Invoking Traditional Wisdom to Recover from Plantation Agriculture

Chapter 4
Building the Capacities and Voice of Low-Income Residents

Chapter 5
Placing Food Business Clusters at the Core of Economic Development

Chapter 6
The Cradle of Food Democracy: Athens (Ohio)

Chapter 7
Metro-Area Farmers Need Supportive Networks

Chapter 8
Municipal Officials Collaborate to Protect Metro Farmland

Chapter 9
Working Below the Radar to Create Networks of Green Space

Chapter 10
Building Market Power for Farmers

Chapter 11
Shifting from Local Food to Community-Based Food Systems

Chapter 12
Scale Is Both the Problem and the Solution

Conclusion
Building Community Food Webs: Action Networks, System Levers, and Business Clusters

This book literally represents a lifes work. It has been gestating for 40 years. I am indebted to a vast web of supporters for helping inspire, and contributing to, this effort, primarily by sharing their experiences honestly with me. The people named in this book, and countless others, have given me a profound education.

Members of the Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) were paramount. This umbrella organization brought diverse voices together to ensure that low-income consumers became engaged in shaping more responsive food systems. Its annual meetings regularly attracted about one thousand motivated food leaders who spurred extraordinary community activity and shared insights openly. Through CFSC I made strong connections with grassroots leaders across the US and Canada. Tragically, the organization closed its doors in 2010. I miss it dearly.

Long before this coalition formed, several insightful farmers played key roles in my education. With extreme patience they welcomed me to their farms and explained how the economy functions from their perspectives. The first courageous souls to take me on, when I was a neophyte learning about agriculture, were Bill and Dorothea Harjes, Roger and Holly Harjes, Gordy and Sherry Bates, Ken Narr, Art Berger, Jim Kreger, and Dennis Tuchtenhagen. Most of these farmers launched their operations at the same time, and they took exceptional care to collaborate. They shared equipment, guided accomplished children through 4-H, challenged each others thinking, and swapped rich stories. They literally overturned my notions of economics. Their insights profoundly shape my work.

One small step removed from farming, but playing a key role in my education, was the late Dean Harrington (19502019), president of what is now called Foresight Bank, in Plainview, Minnesota. Dean showed me how a banker in a town of 3,300 could serve as a community-builder dedicated to a steady-state economy and as a champion of literature and theater. Similarly, in Viroqua, Wisconsin, Sue Noble modeled how an economic developer can create community among entrepreneurs, bringing people together to frame a common vision that helped construct strong businesses that complement each other.

Educators added incisive insights. I am deeply indebted to Sara Berry for taking me under her wing as a graduate student, deconstructing some false approaches I had taken, and then guiding me to reassemble a blend of farmers pragmatic insights with scholarly research. Berry also introduced me to the diligent network-building of African villagers.

Two books especially inspired me in writing this work. One, another Island Press title, is Gary Paul Nabhans Food from the Radical Center. The second is Sue Futrells Good Apples. Both illuminate critical issues in deeply humane ways, through the voices of those who labor in farms, fields, and scholarship. A third, Michael Pollans Omnivores Dilemma, motivated me to publish the economic story that operates as a silent current beneath his explication of consumer food choices.

Linda Barret Osborne and Gary Nabhan played key roles in helping me to negotiate the intricate path of publishing a book. Adam Diamond graciously connected me to Island Press. Jesse Wilson offered astute commentary on rough early drafts, while Amanda Robinson suggested incisive ways to make the writing more precise. Carolyn Carr, who has supported this endeavor since its early days, homed in on important gaps in logic. David Conner offered critical suggestions from a professors point of view. Helen Schnoes and Sarah Laeng-Gilliatt provided professional insights from their community food practice. Deb Slee arranged my professional work elegantly on the Crossroads Resource Center website.