Local outfit's bottom line is food security in the community

This is the second article in a series focused on local food resources in the Athens County area. This article focuses on the issue of food security. Further articles in this series will explore the farmers that grow food locally, the markets that sell it and the restaurants that serve it.

The Athens-based Community Food Initiatives is all about food security and making sure low-income residents don't go hungry. When it comes to that mission, the top priority is self-reliance, so teaching people to grow their own local food and use local food resources comes first.
Founded in 1992, CFI states its mission as supporting a local food movement that promotes low-income families' improved access to fresh and nutritious food, community-controlled local food production, entrepreneurship training and environmental stewardship.

"CFI's programming is centered on assisting low-income families to grow their own food, shop at farmers markets, develop self-sufficiency skills and become 'nutritionally literate' on issues of hunger, health and sustainability," the organization's website states.

CFI Executive Director Ronda Clark said Saturday that one of the organization's biggest programs when it comes to taking advantage of the local food markets is its donation station.

She said CFI moves over 55,000 pounds of food through its donation station each year.

"We either buy the produce from local farmers, or we get it donated, or they donate it to us," she said. "And then we give it to the pantries and social service agencies in need of food. So that's a big connection to the local poor, who can't afford to buy it."

CFI also runs a youth entrepreneur program at Hope Apartments, where some farmers are created, Clark said. It's called YEAH!, or the Youth Entrepreneurs At Hope, she said.

"We have a program there where we teach the children to grow the food and then they bring it to the farmers market and sell it," she said. "A lot of it is to expose these kids to healthy food because they don't have access to food and they don't have access to healthy food. At the same time, they're getting business skills and customer services skills."

Another goal is to get the kids eating healthier, which is accomplished through a summer feeding site as well, she said. Local farmers can donate food for the program at Federal Hocking Middle School, she said.

"We connect them to the farmers' food and all the local food through educational programs at the summer feeding site," she explained, adding that about 50 youths are participating in the program this year, which starts up today (Monday). She said that about eight to 10 kids participate in the YEAH! Program.

The summer feeding program this year, according to Clark, has a gardening program where participants will learn to grow and process food.

"We have three reasons we do everything we do," she said. "Hunger, we want to fight hunger. If people can be growing their own gardens growing their own food, then they won't have to choose between food and medical bills or whatever."

The second reason, she said, is to enhance health, seeing as the poorest people often have the worst health. The third reason is sustainability and to create a local food system that is self-sustaining.

"We're trying to push people to grow their own food; buy it from a local farmer; get whole foods out there," she said. "All those three things go toward food security, where even the poorest person can have enough food."

CFI hands out plants, seeds and educational materials to promote this effort, she said.

"We're always trying to get people out there to grow it and share it and preserve it, because our food pantries run out of food, especially in January, February, March and April," she said. "We want people to preserve it. Get yourself a bushel of tomatoes and can it into 20 quarts of tomatoes and have that in your pantry That's a lot of spaghetti sauce."

SHE PROMOTED THE IDEA of residents preserving their own food by learning how to can, either from a relative who knows how or even looking it up online.

CFI puts on three to four workshops per month for community members to learn skills such as these, Clark said. But food security isn't just about having access to any food, she reiterated; it's about having access to healthy food.

"We're trying to raise the standard of the food that's available at food pantries," she said, pointing to high-sugar foods that amount to empty calories and health risks later in life. "We've got this huge health crisis on our hands. These young kids are showing up with heart disease problems, and they are 10 or 12 years old. These problems shouldn't be happening until you're 60."

She said CFI will go out of its way to make sure food is healthy.

"A lot of people have the philosophy that anything is better than nothing," she said. "And I'm like, 'ehh, a lifetime of chronic disease, is that better than nothing?' I'd rather teach them how to harvest wild foods, or grow a garden."

Clark acknowledged that people need food no matter what but said a discussion is badly needed about the healthiest way to help feed low-income people as well.

"I'm big into health because I see these young kids, and they're not in control of their food supply," she said. "It's up to the adults in their lives to provide to them healthy food."