Study Guide for Building Community Food Webs

Study Guide

Building Community Food Webs

By Ken Meter Chapter 1: The Extractive US Farm Economy a) Compare net cash income of US farmers as a percentage of cash receipts for the years 1910 and 2018. b) How much do US residents pay each year for the medical costs of treating diabetes and related conditions, and how does this compare to cash receipts earned by US farmers? c) Name the four periods in the past century in which US farmers made substantial net cash income, and identify the major events that enabled this to occur. d) What is the overall economic impact of the global commodity system on rural communities? How have you experienced this in your own life? What do you think is its importance? e) How effectively do US farmers “feed the world”? f) What was the long-term economic impact of USDA pressuring US farmers to “plant fence row to fence row” in 1973? g) How do interest payments made by US farmers cycle through the broader economy? h) Name the 3 key elements of the farm policy framework adopted during the New Deal.

Which farmers benefitted the most from this, and which lost standing? i) Which political party (or parties) are most responsible for establishing economic structures that extract resources from rural communities in the US?

Building Community Food Webs — Ken Meter — Study Guide

j) Some experts argue that economic relationships in rural America relative to metropolitan areas resemble those of a Third World country. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

Chapter 2: Co-learning Is Contagious a) During which eras were the Farm and Ranch Improvement Clubs (FRICs) initiated in Montana? What led to their formation? b) How did the Alternate Energy Resources Organization (AERO) structure its mini-grant process to promote mutual learning among farmers in diverse parts of the state? c) How did Montana food leaders approach legislative efforts to write policies that would support community-based food systems? What were some of their notable successes? d) Who invented the term “community-based food system?” Why was this an innovation?

What, to you, is the importance of the term? e) Identify the point at which the concept of a food processing center for locally grown foods was first initiated in the Flathead region of Montana. What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of this strategy? f) Why was the birth of the FoodCorps important? g) Identify at least one collaboration across several food businesses that was described in this chapter. Explain why you feel this was a positive or negative development. h) What role did the Salish-Kootenai Tribal College play in the formation of the Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center? What is the significance of this role? i) Identify three professional roles that the Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center plays in constructing a community-based food system in its region. How do these roles complement and/or conflict with each other? j) Why was value-added food processing important to the community foods effort in western Montana at the specific time and place it was launched?

Chapter 3: Invoking Traditional Wisdom to Recover from Plantation Agriculture a) Describe how the Hawaiian food system functioned in traditional culture.

— —

2

Building Community Food Webs — Ken Meter — Study Guide

b) How many Hawaiian people did the traditional food system provide for prior to the US colonization of the islands? c) How effectively did the plantation system feed the Hawaiian population? d) Which source of income is currently more important to the Hawai‘i food system?

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits or net cash farm income? e) Name the activities that one health clinic tackled to address health concerns in one lowincome community of O‘ahu (either the Kalihi Valley or West O‘ahu). What makes each of these actions important to ensuring a strong and resilient food system? f) Name the different roles that The Food Basket (a food bank on the Island of Hawai‘i) has adopted. What makes each of these important? g) What is the core strategy that Hawai‘is food leaders pursue in coordinating community foods activity? What makes this most effective? What are its limitations? h) How have traditional cultural practices played a role in advancing community foods work in Hawai‘i? How have these been especially effective and important (or not)? i) Describe the ways in which the Hawai‘i food system is either strong or vulnerable. What future for the state’s food system do you envision? j)

What are the central educational strategies pursued by the University of Hawai‘i and its partners in West O‘ahu? What makes each of these effective or limited in impact?

Chapter 4: Building the Capacities and Voice of Low-Income Residents a) Describe the importance of Nogales, Arizona, as a port of entry for produce entering the US. b) What is the primary economic development strategy pursued by Nozales Community Development in Arizona? c) How has the national umbrella organization Feeding America typically measured the success of food relief efforts? How is this similar or different to the measures adopted by the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona? d) What policies did the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona establish to reduce the need for making food donations to people with low wealth in the future?

— —

3

Building Community Food Webs — Ken Meter — Study Guide

e) Name 3 actions that people with limited wealth have taken to build more powerful roles for themselves. f) What were the dilemmas posed for LaTauna Tortillas as a business when it expanded to reach broader markets? If these were resolved, what steps were most effective? g) What unforeseen consequences did working with children in a school garden foster? h) Which steps did the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona take in response to needs articulated by their low-income constituents? i) How do low-income constituents play a role in establishing operational policies for the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona?

Chapter 5: Placing Food Business Clusters at the Core of Economic Development a) What were the results of the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership’s initial efforts to form a regional food network in their 11-county region? b) Which events led economic developers to adopt different approaches in reaching out to lower-income neighborhoods, immigrants, and farmers? How do you assess their decisions to shift strategy in response to these events? c) What were the strengths and limitations of farmers’ efforts to reach out to consumers in Northeast Indiana? d) What were the strengths and weaknesses of the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership’s efforts to reach out to farmers in their region? e) Describe the role that food manufacturers played in forming a more effective regional food network in Northeast Indiana. f) Describe how the mapping process played an important role in shaping the economic development discussion in Northeast Indiana. What do you think are the key strengths and weaknesses of this approach? g) How did the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership reconfigure its vision for economic development as it planned for attracting new residents to the region? What do you think are the key strengths and limitations of this approach?

— —

4

Building Community Food Webs — Ken Meter — Study Guide

Chapter 6: The Cradle of Food Democracy: Athens (Ohio) a) What conditions and decisions led to the birth of Applachian Community Enterprises (ACEnet)? b) What was the central strategy pursued by ACEnet leaders in its early phases? c) To what extent was this successful? d) How ACEnet leaders modify their approach over time? How do you assess the strengths and weaknesses of these changes? e) What was the importance of launching a food business incubator in Athens, Ohio? f) How did ACEnet ensure that local economic development would maintain a focus on food over the long term? g) What factors inspired the broader community in Athens to carry forward community foods work over the long term? h) What key facilities does the second ACEnet center in Nelsonville include? Why was this important to the communities of Nelsonville and Athens? i) What is your assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the ACEnet approach to network building?

Chapter 7: Metro-Area Farmers Need Supportive Networks a) Describe the civic vision for the future of agriculture in Maricopa County, Arizona, as articulated by different stakeholders in the region. How do you assess each vision? b) How large is the consumer market for food in Maricopa County? What do you think is the potential for the region to produce its own food? c) What are the advantages and disadvantages of farming organically in metropolitan Phoenix? d) What factors contribute to developers’ willingness (or lack of willingness) to support farming in Maricopa County?

— —

5

Building Community Food Webs — Ken Meter — Study Guide

e) Identify the key strengths and weaknesses of the social and commercial networks that have been formed among community foods efforts in Maricopa County. f) Which events were most significant in leading civic officials to take tangible steps toward strengthening community foods efforts in metropolitan Phoenix? How do you assess the strengths and weaknesses of their approach? g) Describe the key strengths and weaknesses of Stern Produce’s efforts to expand its Arizona food offerings. If you were hired to launch such a process anew, what would you do differently? h) If you were hired to help form stronger networks among farmers in Maricopa County, what actions would you prioritize?

Chapter 8: Municipal Officials Collaborate to Protect Metro Farmland a) Describe the tensions that exist between farming and commercial/industrial/ housing development in Brighton, Colorado. b) Who initiated the effort to protect farmland in Brighton and its surrounding county that is described in this book? c) Who opposed this effort? Why? d) What was the core dilemma that caught those who opposed efforts to protect farmland in Brighton and Adams County? e) How did the City and County try to resolve this dilemma? f) What actions do you believe played the most significant role in breaking the impasse? g) How many acres of farmland does Brighton hope to protect? h) What priorities did the City place for designating farmland parcels that require protection? i) How do you assess the gains and losses that resulted from this planning process? j) What additional steps would need to be taken to solidify the outcomes of this community planning process?

— —

6

Building Community Food Webs — Ken Meter — Study Guide

k) What is the significance of the branding created for the agricultural district in Brighton?

Are there any limitations or concerns you see to this branding?

Chapter 9: Working Below the Radar to Create Networks of Green Space a) What vision impelled Dakota County efforts to protect green space? b) Which strategic approaches were most important in soldifying this protection effort? c) How do you assess the strengths and weaknesses of each of these strategic choices? d) Which parties had to be enlisted as champions for protection efforts? e) What role did different levels of government play in this process? Please consider township, county, regional, state, and federal governments. f) What specific opportunities or events created the immediate possibility for formalizing a new approach to protecting green space? g) How have housing and commercial developers responded to Dakota County efforts to protect green corridors over time? h) Describe the foundation that green corridors have established that allows further agricultural development to proceed? i) How would you resolve some of the complexities that County officials face in the future as they try to protect additional green space and foster food production?

Chapter 10: Building Market Power for Farmers a) What is the central element required to build and maintain market power for farmers? b) What aspects of farming and the broader economy make farms especially vulnerable in a highly rationalized society? c) How did organic growers in northwest Iowa build greater loyalty among their consumers? d) How did the brothers who run Seven Sons Farm build their capacity to set appropriate prices for the products they sell?

— —

7

Building Community Food Webs — Ken Meter — Study Guide

e) How did organic vegetable growers near Viroqua, Wisconsin strengthen their ability to set appropriate prices for the products they sell? f) What roles does public policy play in establishing market power for farmers? g) How could a community foods network ensure equity as it builds market power for farmers?

Chapter 11: Shifting from “Local Food” to “Community-Based Food Systems” a) What are the key strengths and limitations of mobilizing to build “local food” trade? b) What are the key strengths and limitations of mobilizing to build “community-based food systems?” c) How does the global commodity system impact community food systems? d) How would you assess the importance (if any) of the four key purposes of communitybased food systems, as defined in this chapter? e) How does equity play an important role in striving for each of these four purposes?

Chapter 12: Scale Is Both the Problem and the Solution a) What does the term “go to scale” mean? b) What are the differences that distinguish the terms “economies of scale,” “economies of size,” and “economies of scope?” (This may require research in other sources). c) What efficiencies can be gained as a firm goes to scale? d) What drawbacks might increased scale create? e) How did the Horrall family address issues of scale in their farm business? f) How did the food brokerage firm Red Tomato address the needs of independent growers as they formed collaborative marketing structures? g) What is the key element that Red Tomato identified as central to maintaining their commercial presence in New England produce markets?

— —

8

Building Community Food Webs — Ken Meter — Study Guide

h) How could remaining small, or increasing scale, work to help build (or diminish) trust among a cluster of family farms?

Conclusion: Building Community Food Webs: Active Networks, System Levers, and Business Clusters a) What does the term “system lever” mean? b) Give three examples of how systems levers have been maneuvered by community foods initiatives covered in this book. c) What are some possible results of pushing a system lever? You may wish to refer to stories told in specific chapters as you answer. d) How might equity be used as a system lever to promote broader systemic change? e) What is the importance of constructing conscious business clusters in a given region? f) What are some of the strengths or limitations of forming business clusters? g) Identify the four balance points that appear to be in play in each of the three examples you cited under question c) listed for this chapter. h) Which of these balances seems most resonant or meaningful to you? i) Describe how one of the community food webs described in this book addressed issues of equity. Please critique their efforts with both positive and negative comments. j)

Identify one disagreement you have with the author of this book, and how you would suggest this issue be addressed.

k) What steps do you see yourself taking toward building community food webs where you live?

— —

9