Why Focus On Local Food?
The development of a holistic and diverse local food system fosters more direct connections between growers, businesses, organizations, and consumers while addressing larger challenges in health and nutrition, economic development, environmental sustainability, and community vitality.
Our local food system is largely shaped by the characteristics of:
Cleveland Skyline from Edgewater Park
Interest in Supporting Local Food Production
Given the prolonged population decline in Cleveland, an economic recession, rising rates of chronic disease and conditions including obesity, and the continued devastation of the foreclosure crisis, local leaders acknowledge a need for innovation and re-evaluation of community and economic development policies, particularly those policies related to abandoned properties and vacant land.
Cleveland's Cudell Neighborhood
One of the strengths of the area's local food system is a growing interest in urban agriculture and community gardening. Community gardens in Cuyahoga County produce $2.6-3.0 million worth of fresh produce per year and account for over 55 acres of production. In 2009, more than 35 new community gardens were developed in Cleveland by residents and neighborhood groups, providing thousands of pounds of fresh produce to urban communities. There are opportunities to expand these efforts with an abundance of vacant land. In Cleveland alone there are approximately 3,500 acres or 18,000 lots. This number is expected to rise over the next few years due to the foreclosure crisis, a dramatic increase in demolitions by the City of Cleveland, and the Cuyahoga County Land Bank using Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds.
Plotting a Community Garden
At the same time urban land is becoming more available, Cuyahoga County's farmland vanished at the 2nd highest rate in Ohio, with a decline of 29% from 2002-2007, to the current total of 1,176 acres. A seven-county region in Northeast Ohio including Cuyahoga County lost over 100,000 acres of farmland from 2002-2007. One of every five acres dedicated to farming was dedicated to another use, the highest losses in 15 years.
Despite the decrease in available farmland, there has been documented rising demand for local food in Greater Cleveland and Ohio in recent years. A 2004 survey by Ohio State University found that 89% of Ohioans indicated they occasionally or frequently purchase locally grown foods, and 50% indicated they would be willing to pay 10% more for local food. In Cleveland, 37% of residents say it is "important or very important" that their food be grown locally in Northeast Ohio. In addition, the number of farmers' markets has doubled in Northeast Ohio and jumped from one producers' market in Cleveland in 2005 to 11 in 2010.
Tremont Farmers Market, Summer 2010
The potential impact is significant when one considers that Northeast Ohioans spend an estimated $9.2 billion on food purchases and consumption. Presently few of these dollars support local farmers or local food businesses in the region - estimates range from 1% to 5%. Just a 10% shift in the 16-county region could result in a billion dollars a year in increased local spending, and numerous studies show that money spent in the local economy circulates through the area much more than dollars spent on the products offered by corporations based far away.
Because food connects all of us and because there will always be a demand for food in any region, there is an opportunity to transform the regional economy through the creation of a local and sustainable food system through policies and programs that support it. As local foundation and nonprofit resources for communities and individuals become increasingly scarce, it is essential to create strategies that are economically feasible and locally sustainable.
Food Insecurity in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County
At the same time that demand for local foods is rising, availability of fresh, healthy, and affordable food in urban neighborhoods is decreasing, thus creating a "food gap." According to a Cuyahoga County Planning Commission assessment in 2008, fast food is 4.5 times more accessible than larger-scale supermarkets throughout Cleveland and 3 times more accessible throughout the county.
Cleveland & Cuyahoga County Demographic Info
Furthermore, only 21% of Cleveland adults report adequate daily fruit and veggie consumption. At the same time fresh, healthy food has become less available, it has also become more expensive. The Journal of the American Medical Association reported that the inflation adjusted cost of highly processed foods made from high calorie commodities dropped 10% from 1982-2008. During the same period, the price of fruits and vegetables increased by 50%. Overall, the cost of food has risen the last few years due to several market and environmental factors. According to the Economic Research Service of the USDA in 2007 food prices rose 4%, in 2008 they went up 5.5% and in 2010 they were expected to rise 2-3%.
This is a major problem for many residents of Cleveland. By looking to the chart at the right, one can see the high rates of poverty and negative health indicators in the city and, to a lesser extent, in the surrounding county. It has become difficult for certain residents to afford the types of nutrients that would be most helpful in preventing or diminishing the effects of diet-related chronic diseases.
Increasing prices coupled with rising unemployment and an economic recession have made it even more challenging to secure healthy food. This is evidenced by a rise in the number of Food Assistance Program recipients. From 2009 to 2010, there was a 24% increase in the number of food stamp recipients in Cuyahoga County, and in Cleveland there was an 18% increase in the number of food stamp recipients. A 2009 American Heart Association Survey found that 29% of Americans are purchasing fewer fruits, vegetables, and other perishable food items due to financial concerns.
One of the results of these environmental and economic conditions is an alarming rate of preventable chronic diseases and conditions, including obesity and diabetes. A recent Robert Wood Johnson Report (called F is for Fat and released in July 2010) ranked Ohio #13 in the nation for adult obesity (29%) and documented a rising disparity between racial and ethnic groups, with 40% of African-Americans, 33% of Latinos, and 28% of whites classified as obese. Ohio's youth are 12th in the nation with respect to obesity, with 18.5% of Ohio's children identified as obese. In Cleveland, 10.8% of residents have been diagnosed with diabetes and 33.8% are obese.
What Does All This Analysis Ultimately Mean?
This data demonstrates three clear trends: (1) Cleveland and Cuyahoga County residents are struggling with issues related to food security and health and (2) there is significant and growing interest in local food systems as a means to better health, food security, and economic development and (3) there is an economic opportunity for Northeast Ohio in leveraging the food purchasing power of local residents. Policy and systems change (a) can impact the availability and affordability of fresh, healthy food, (b) can change land use patterns and preserve farmland, and (c) can create economic opportunity in urban markets for local producers. The role of the Coalition is to help coordinate and advance these efforts in a more efficient, effective, and collaborative manner.
"Gardens Under Glass" at Cleveland's Galleria
How the Coalition Addresses These Issues
The primary goal of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Food Policy Coalition is to cultivate a stronger and more sustainable local food system in order to bring the following benefits to residents of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and the broader Northeast Ohio region:
Food Access Many inner-city neighborhoods can be considered "food deserts," where residents lack access to foods needed to support a healthy diet. Locally-based food systems can foster increased connections between local growers and urban residents, adding to the availability of healthy foods.
Health & Nutrition A local food system can increase the quantity and availability of fresh fruits and vegetables and other less-processed products. Access to these healthier foods can balance the tendencies in our society to eat highly processed "fast foods" that cause heart disease, diabetes, and other diet-related illnesses. Moreover, a holistic local food system may be leveraged to improve institutional nutrition standards (e.g. schools, hospitals, employers, etc.)
Community Development Creating a mix of businesses, farmers markets, Fresh Stop food centers, community and market gardens, and other outlets for local food can improve health in neighborhoods while creating spaces for social mixing and commerce to enhance urban communities.
Economic Development With more than $3 billion spent annually on food in Cuyahoga County, there are many entrepreneurial opportunities in food production, distribution, processing, and restaurant or food service operations.
Urban Agriculture and Gardening The outmigration of populations from traditional urban cores creates new opportunities to utilize vacant land as green space to support community gardens, market gardens, or native plant preserves and increase the overall supply of healthy foods.
Environmental Sustainability Since most food consumed in Ohio is processed and distributed from outside of the state, increasing the use of local food can reduce reliance on fossil-based energy and related carbon emissions.
Urban-Rural Interface Local food systems foster deeper social and economic ties between urban and rural populations while building a stronger regional economy.
