This is part three in a series of columns about agriculture in Chautauqua County. This week, I spoke to Linnea Carlson, who is the Market Director at Jamestown Public Market. We had a great conversation about the food supply and food security, discussing options and local resources in the event of a continuing food shortage, as well as chit chat about community gardening.
Margot: Several world leaders, including President Biden, made public addresses about looming food shortages last week. How worried should we be?
Linnea: I think that it’s a real problem. Something that Covid showed us is that our system is a well-oiled machine in the sense that it works exactly how it was designed. If one little cog is knocked out, it can crumble. Our food systems are not designed for major catastrophes. This idea of being “food sovereign” where a community can feed itself is something a lot more communities are investing in. But I don’t think we’re going to face a huge shortage here in America in the sense that people are going to be out on the streets starving. But you’re not going to be able to go to the store and get everything that you want. And that’s going to be a challenge for people.
Margot: What can we do now to help ourselves as well as some of our local food producers?
Linnea: what I suggest to people is check out the farmer’s markets. If you drive by a farm stand, stop in and see what they have. Be willing to go outside your comfort zone and try something new. Be mindful when you do your weekly grocery shopping, ask yourself if you can buy some of those things locally. You really can find almost everything locally produced. Everything from fruits and vegetables to meats, baked goods, milk, yogurt, cheese, pasta, pasta sauces, condiments, and fresh herbs. You really can shop local and find most of what you’re looking for.
Margot: Where do we look?
Linnea: There’s a great website called Fresh Local WNY. It lists all the farmers markets in the tri-county region. There’s a market open everyday of the week in our region. In Jamestown, specifically, there’s the Biodome Project, which is a great place. They’re my grocery store, really. They work with different farms and food producers across the state to bring in local products. They work with a lot of farms in Chautauqua County as well. They have breads, pastas…anything you can think of. They’re open year round and their retail space is on Pine Street. A lot of these local food producers deliver. If you go to the Biodome Project Facebook page or website, you can place an order and they’ll deliver it right to your house. So will Good Grass Farms and Green Heron Growers.
Margot: This is a great time to talk about community gardening, where people can rent out a small plot at a local garden bed and grow their own food.
Linnea: Community gardening is a great way for a local community to become food sovereign or independent in their food system. At the Jamestown Public Market, we operate three community gardens. People can rent a 12 x 4 garden plot for $25 for the season. You can have access to the garden plot starting at the end of April until the end of October. You can grow any type of fruit, vegetable or herb that you can think of. It’s a great opportunity for newbies. We’ll work with you to kind of give you an idea of what you can start with and what’s easy to grow. The beauty of a community garden is that you’re not alone. Everyone there is excited about growing.
Margot: There’s something great about getting back to nature for people. They often enjoy it more than they think they will.
Linnea: There’s power in the dirt. I didn’t realize it until I started gardening how connected you feel to the earth and to your existence and it’s something you don’t really get from a grocery store. You get to see something start from nothing from a little seed and become something that can sustain you. It’s really powerful that you helped that come to life. I think gardening is something people become intimidated by. Gardening takes work. You’ve got to be out there weeding, prepping your beds, and harvesting. That takes time and it takes commitment. But it’s so worth it. And food tastes better too. A carrot fresh from the ground is unlike anything you will get from a grocery store.
To learn more about community gardening and how to rent public garden space, please visit https://ift.tt/gsmLWCu
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April 10, 2022 at 01:32PM
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Should We Worry About Food Shortages? A Conversation With Linnea Carlson - Jamestown Post Journal
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