Iowa Farmer Today
09-31-07
Sustainable Table lauds Iowa local food
By Hannah Fletcher, Iowa Farmer Today
RIVERSIDE -- Sustainable ag leaders gathered around scattered picnic tables on
an Eastern Iowa farm to celebrate Iowa’s local foods efforts with guests.
Representatives from Sustainable Table stopped in Eastern Iowa on Monday as
part of their Eat Well Guided Tour of America. The New York-based group
highlights sustainable food efforts and educates consumers.
The 40-day tour began in Northern California on Aug. 2 and will take Sustainable
Table coordinators to New York on Sept. 9 for the Food Aid Concert.
Along their journey, they will stop at 25 locations they selected for their honorable
sustainable food efforts, said Diane Hatz, Sustainable Table founder and
director.
In Iowa, that included a visit to the Willis Ranch in Thornton on Aug. 24 and the
Sass Family Farm in Riverside on Aug. 27.
“We are here today to say ‘thank you’ for what you guys are doing,” Hatz told a
group of producers, chefs and local food leaders who gathered at the Sass family
farm.
“Sustainable foods are not a trend anymore. It’s a way of life, and it is here to
stay.”
The Sass Family Farm is run by Maurice and Sherry Sass. They hold agritourism events in the fall, inviting children in particular to their petting zoo and
playground.
They also grow fruits, vegetables and herbs for 50 Community Supported
Agriculture (CSA) memberships. The CSA, on-farm produce stand and tourism
activities helped pay the farm’s expenses, Maurice Sass said.
“I am a farmer, my father was a farmer, and my grandfather was a farmer. It goes
all the way back to my great-grandfather in Germany,” he said. “I wanted kids to
see what a family farm is like.”
Here, about 45 leaders gathered for a common good — to promote, celebrate
and indulge in Iowa’s local foods.
The invitation-only event was a chance to network, said Laura Dowd, founder of
Local Foods Connection, a non-profit group that links needy families to local
food.
“We wanted to show off what we do to Sustainable Table but also it is an
opportunity for us to connect,” Dowd said.
David Wieseneck, owner and chef for The Motley Cow Café and board member
for the Johnson County Local Food Alliance, said he was flattered when
Sustainable Table notified him Eastern Iowa would be a featured stop on its tour.
Wieseneck said Iowa City and Johnson County’s local food efforts are reflective
of what many areas of the country are moving towards.
“I would like to see us continue to stick out (as local foods leaders),” he said.
Wieseneck fielded many compliments for the meal he prepared for the guests
and community leaders. More than 90 percent of the menu at his Iowa City
restaurant features local, seasonal food.
As interest in local foods grows, Wieseneck said more produce will need to be
grown.
“The biggest thing will be keeping up with demand. That is what is going to
determine what happens in our county and our country,” he said.
Fred Kirschenmann, distinguished fellow for the Leopold Center for
Sustainable Agriculture, only had to speak louder than the locusts as he had a
captive audience when he addressed upcoming issues of supply and demand for
local foods.
He has researched the market and seen a “dramatic increase in demand” for
locally grown food.
Kirschenmann said consumers are looking for:
=Health and nutrition;
=a good “food story” — where the farm is and how it is raised, and;
=a trusting relationship.
“When you talk to (consumers) about ‘saving the family farm,’ it doesn’t connect.
But, talk to them about who they want producing their food, and then you’ve got
them on the hook,” he said.
A recent poll indicated 62 percent of consumers want to buy food that is
consistent with their values, Kirschenmann said.
“That’s the good news — the market is ready. But, I don’t think we are ready for
the market,” he said.
Kirschenmann said small niche farms and large farms are thriving while mid-size
farms are disappearing each year.
“Since the market is there, it can be an economically viable option (for mid-size
farms),” he said.
Laura Krouse, an organic farmer from Mount Vernon and one of the many
farmers at the event, said the event was symbolic of what is yet to come for the
local food movement in Iowa.
“We are just in our infancy of making this work. There is still a long way to go in
our transformation to get our food locally,” she said.
“I think our goal needs to be getting mid-size producers to realize that this is a
viable option for them.
“And, the state government should take some leadership with policy and dollars
so that mid-size producers would see this as an option that would work.”