Southern SOIL
Table Talk E 14
ACH ISSUE OF SOUTHERN SOIL FEATURES A CONVERSATION ADDRESSING THE SAME FIVE QUESTIONS WITH AN INDIVIDUAL REPRESENTING A PERSPECTIVE ALONG THE FOOD SUPPLY LINE. FOR THIS ISSUE, I’LL BE ADDRESSING THESE QUESTIONS MYSELF. THIS IS A CONDENSED VERSION OF A SERIES OF BLOG POSTS I HAVE WRITTEN ON THE WEBSITE. YOU CAN READ THOSE HERE.
My role in the food system is as a consumer. Like many here in the area, I live in a rural town with one grocery store and no local food options in my county. My grocery options are not only limited, but so is my grocery budget. I feel like in many ways, I can speak for the average consumer here in Southeast Georgia who would like to support local food and make healthier food choices, but there are significant roadblocks to overcome.
What does the current food system look like here in Southeast Georgia? In my opinion, our current food system here in Southeast Georgia epitomizes what has gone wrong with industrial agriculture and the globalization of our food supply. We depend on “cheap” foods.
We depend on them because this is a largely economically depressed region where consumers are constrained by finances. We depend on “cheap” food because rural Georgia has become as much of a food desert as urban areas, perhaps more so LeeAnna Tatum because the distance to travel to good food sources is even greater than those in metropolitan areas. And we depend on “cheap” food because logistically speaking, quality local food is not readily available even for those who have the means to purchase it. Because much of our population here is rural and economically depressed, we have unique barriers to sustainability. We can’t expect the majority of the local population to embrace the local, sustainable food movement because most of us simply don’t have access. In some cases, that access is limited by finances and in other cases that access is limited logistically - either the local supply is not there, or it’s not convenient, or it’s not known to the consumer. Just using myself as an example. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone more committed to the idea of eating local sustainable foods. But I still depend on “cheap” food options way more than I would like. For one (without calling names), I live in a town, and a county for that matter, that does not have one sustainable producer or purveyor. At a minimum, I have to drive 30 minutes to have access to any of the wonderful “local” products that I enjoy. Sometimes, that’s just not possible. Sometimes, I don’t have the grocery budget for it. Sometimes, I simply don’t have the time to spend an hour on the road to go get some groceries. That’s life. From a consumer perspective, the financial barrier is not insignificant. But neither is the logistical one. Farmers Markets are great and are doing a (con tinued on page 19)
