A column by the Director of Food Systems in the Fall issue of the Northside News? Certainly, it must be about thanking mother earth for the past growing season and the enjoyment of the wonderful harvest! Sounds good, but I have other things on my mind.
As I sit at my desk the price of diesel fuel has hit an all-time high and we are left wondering where the ceiling is for energy prices. The price of diesel has a direct effect on the price we pay for groceries, as tractors that harvest our food and trucks that haul it all run on diesel. Perishable foods that require refrigeration – produce, meat, and dairy – are the products that are most sensitive to increased fuel costs. Families are already being hit by increased grocery prices in 2026 – my own weekly grocery bill is easily $20-$30 higher this summer than I am used to paying. That starts to add up. This increase, along with governmental policy changes that have had the effect of limiting the supply of, and access to, food means that families will struggle with choices of how to spend their budgets, and families that have traditionally struggled with food access will have even more difficulty putting healthy meals on their tables.
I hate to be a negative clank, but in the short term, there isn’t much we can do about the evolving food crisis except to take care of each other as a community. For the future, however, it is imperative that we continue to build a vibrant local food system in order that we can better take care of our food needs here at home and be less dependent on a national/global system that is becoming less trustworthy.
I am not certain that any of us truly ever had full trust in our national/global food system, but we whistled past that graveyard because it supplied cheap and convenient food sources. That has changed, and is continuing to change, rapidly. Now is the time to support local foods: farmer’s markets, farm stands, gardens, local food entrepreneurs, products made locally at the grocery store, and locally owned restaurants. If you have the luxury of having resources to donate show support for entities that are encouraging and supporting local food production, there are some good ones in this community. Finally, familiarize yourself with the newly released Dane County Food Plan, featured in the Northside News this past summer, and take a little action where you can.
