By Chris Brockel
NPC Director of Food Systems
A Food system is all the elements that combine to provide people with food. A complete food system includes growing and harvesting crops, processing that harvest into consumer products, warehousing and distributing farm products and processed goods, the purchase and eating of those products, and the disposal of waste created throughout the system. As a whole, the industrial food system in the United States has operated very efficiently, however, climate events, political events, an interest in environmental sustainability, public health, and local economic development have generated greater interest in the development of food systems that are more reliant on local actors to fill the roles that have been operated by national and international players.
A robust local food system can help buffer our region against events that affect the flow of food across our continent. It provides resilience against these events and ensures that we can feed ourselves or at least provide for our needs as much as possible. Local food systems reduce the number of miles our food has to travel, saving energy and ensuring freshness and flavor of our food. Local food systems support small farms in the region that are growing crops to be eaten (vs. made into nonfood products) and these small farmers tend to be better stewards of the land than large corporate farms. Lastly, local food systems boost the local economy by keeping food dollars in our community instead of flowing to other parts of the country or the world.
Madison and Dane County have been gradually building a foundation for a robust local food system. In many ways we are already graced with many positive aspects of local food access. From farmer’s markets, farm to table dining, proximity to small farms, robust community gardens, and local food marketing at area grocers, we possess many elements of a strong local food system. However, we are not there yet, and we need to be careful not to rest on our laurels.
The recent pandemic, climate events, and changes in government policy have all shown in the recent past that our access to food is not always a given. Supply chains have been interrupted, crops have been devastated or left in the field, and access to food through support programs has been reduced. It is in response to this reality that we need to continue to build all aspects of our local food system so that we have more sustainable and resilient access to the nourishment we need to thrive into the future.
