Are We Living in a Food Desert?

In the Midwest, we are surrounded by undulating fields of green spotted with red barns and stark white farmhouses. Growing up, we’d spend an hour in the car going to my grandparent’s farm winding through hills and vales and only slowing down to pass through small towns that you’d miss if you blinked.

My grandma raised chickens and we always had fresh eggs. Her orchard would overflow with jewel-toned cherries, fuzzy skinned peaches and apples just waiting to be made into pie. There were gooseberries so tart you thought your cheeks would never get unstuck from puckering. Grapes drooped from vines knowing their little skins would eventually squish open to yield jars of grape jam and glasses of dry, tart homemade juice.

Each fall, acres of homegrown popcorn would be harvested and cobs banged against each other to release piles of white and golden kernels that we couldn’t wait to pop and drizzle with butter. It was magical, and apparently rare.

It’s something I always took for granted. Heck, I barely plant a few tomato plants and herbs myself these days. I’m spoiled, I’ve always been surrounded by gardeners and farmers and I think it’s time I stepped up to the hoe and took control.

In 2007, Illinois, the state I’ve called home the longest, passed the Illinois Food, Farms, and Jobs Act of 2007 with the goal that “Illinois should be the Midwest leader in local and organic food and fiber production.”

In our Midwestern state alone . . .

• Our food travels 1,500 miles on average to reach our plates.



• More than 90 percent of the food in our state is imported.



• Illinois ranks fifth among other states for the annual loss of farmland.



• 95 percent of organic produce and foods sold in Illinois are grown and processed in other states; and Illinois residents purchase $500 billion of organic foods annually.



• Farm produce, sold directly to consumers, accounts for less than 0.2 percent of Illinois agriculture sales.



• Many small communities and neighborhoods throughout lack markets that offer fresh produce, and if they do the selection is limited.



• Yet, when surveyed, 50 percent of Illinois residents said they’d prefer to purchase locally grown produce, but don’t know how or where to find it.

To read more about how you can find local foods in Illinois and your neck of the woods, continue reading here . . .



GE, 5/29/08