Eating Together: A Food Systems Approach to Cultivating Health and Wealth in NM Presented by Farm to...

Eating Together:A Food Systems Approach to Cultivating Health and

Wealth in NM

Presented by Farm to Table,

NM Food and Agriculture Policy Council,

NM School Nutrition Association

September 15, 2008

In a food system that

works, a community is able to feed

itself.

Farming and Ranching

Packing

Processing Distribution

Storage Outlets:Grocery Store

Convenience StoreFarmers’ Market

InstitutionBuying ClubRestaurant

Eaters

What is a food system?

Eaters

In Our Current Food System….

• NM has the second highest level of food insecurity in the nation.1

• One in six NM children experience hunger on a regular basis.2

• 41% of families served by food banks are working families.3

• According to a PED/DOH survey, only 1 in 6 schoolchildren ate the recommend 5 servings of fruits/vegetables per day. 21% of children had not eaten any vegetables in the last week.4

• New Mexicans suffer from high rates of diet-related diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

• Many eaters want to eat local, healthy foods but do not know where to get them.

1 USDA, Food Security in the United States, 20072 New Mexico Association of Food Banks, Faces of Hunger in New Mexico, 20053 America’s Second Harvest, Hunger in America, 20064 NM Department of Health, Public Education Department, and the UNM Prevention Research Center. “NM Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey (YRRS): 2003 State Report of Results.”

Eaters

In a food system that works…

All New Mexicans have access to

healthy, affordable, and culturally

appropriate foods

Eaters understand where their food comes

from and have relationships

with the people who

grow it.

Outlets

$55$55$85$85Rural Food Store

In-Town Food Store


• The same basket of groceries that costs $55 in an urban area, costs $85 in a rural community.1

• Rural families drive as far as 70 miles one way to reach the nearest grocery store.2

• Since 1989, the price of fruits and vegetables increased 75% while the price of sweeteners decreased 33%.3

• School food service providers who want to purchase local fruits and vegetables can’t find enough supply.

• Many small-scale stores lack facilities necessary to sell fresh produce, meat, and dairy.

Outlets

1, 2 NM Food and Agriculture Policy Council. 2006. Closing NM’s Rural Food Gap.3 Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index


Food retailers have the skills

and infrastructure to provide healthy, fresh, affordable, and local foods.

Food outlets provide

employment opportunities and economic

development to local

communities.

Packing


Storage

• Only one full-service distributor has routes in rural NM.

• Most of our agricultural products go out of state for processing :– 91% of NM cattle—our second largest agricultural industry—is sent out of state for processing.1

• Produce, on average, travels 1,500 miles and 7 to 14 days to get to our grocery stores. 2 Wheat in a processed product travels over 5,000.


Packing

Distribution

Storage

Processing

1 NM Agricultural Statistics 20062 http://www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_711.cfm Choate, Mary “A Good Tomato in Winter, Where??”


Processing, packing, storing, and distribution are done locally and/or are tailored to meet local needs.

Food enterprises

provide business and employment

opportunities for New

Mexicans.

Farming And

Ranching

• Agriculture is New Mexico’s 3rd largest industry, contributing $2.5 billion to the state economy.1

• 97% of NM’s agricultural products leave the state, while the state imports more than $4 billion in food products.2

• On average, farmers receive only 20% of the final food dollar.3

• Northern NM farmers earned $45 million less from farm production in 2005 than they had earned in 1969 (in 2005 dollars).4

• 44% of NM farmers require off-farm income to support their families.5


Farming and

Ranching1 NM Agricultural Statistics, 2006.2 Governor’s Climate Change Advisory Group, 2006. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2006.3 USDA Economic Research Service.4 US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2005.5 USDA Agricultural Census, 2006.


Farming and ranching provide sufficient income

to support families and

communities.

New Mexican farmers and

ranchers feed New Mexican

people.

Building the community food system

generates wealthand health.

How do we build the community food

system?

• Healthy Kids, Healthy Economy

• Food System Infrastructure

• NM Collaboration to End Hunger

• Public Benefits Utilization

• Farmers’ Market Nutrition Programs

Healthy Kids, Healthy Economy

• Goal: Provide the more than 200,000 nutritionally at-risk school children with healthy local foods and create new markets for NM farmers.

• Mechanism: Invest $4 million in state funding for schools to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables, New Mexico grown when available. • Successes:

‐ NM invests$85,000 annually in fresh produce for ABQ’s valley cluster. ‐ NM schools purchased $500,000 from NM farmers over the ‘07-‘08 school year.

• Currently, in NM all funding for school lunches comes from federal re-imbursement.

• Currently, state funds allocated to other school programs can not be used to help pay for school lunches.


Challenges and Opportunities• Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization provides an

opportunity to leverage more federal funds

Federal reimbursement

$2.57 for each free lunch$2.17 for each reduced-price lunch

minus [labor costs]

minus [materials]

Leaves schools with…

$1.30 for all the food items needed to provide a lunch that meets federal nutrition requirements


Production

(growing food)

Packing





Eaters

Impact on NM food system:

Opportunity for new, locally owned enterprises.

New $4 million market for farmers.

Increased capacity to

provide fresh, healthy foods.

Children develop lifelong healthy eating

habits.

Food System Infrastructure• Goal: Invest in packing, processing, and

distribution infrastructure for local, fresh-food outlets.

• Mechanisms:– Invest in infrastructure for and provide technical

assistance to rural and underserved urban store owners.

– Improve fresh food distribution system to rural and underserved urban communities.

– Expand and modernize kitchen facilities in schools, senior centers, and other institutions.

– Develop alternative food outlets (e.g. buying clubs, school-based stores).

Food System InfrastructureCurrent work:

– Governor’s Food Gap Task Force • developing recommendations.

Report by Nov. 30th.

– NM Food and Ag Policy Council • Closing NM’s Food Gap reports.

– Successful models in other states: • Pennsylvania, New York,

California, Illinois, et al.

Food System InfrastructureImpact on NM food system:

Production

(growing food)

Packing





Eaters

Access to new local

and regional markets.

New physical infrastructure; 60%

more of the food dollar stays in NM.

Improved physical and

technical capacity; new profit potential.

Access to affordable, fresh

foods. Food system job

opportunities.

NM Collaboration to End Hunger

• Goal: To improve New Mexico’s national ranking in food insecurity from #1 to #5 by positively affecting 35,000 New Mexicans over the next 3 years.

• Areas of work include:1. Eliminating childhood hunger in New Mexico2. Providing adequate food for New Mexico seniors3. Improving access to food in rural and underserved

communities4. Encouraging full participation in public food assistance

programs5. Creating widespread awareness of hunger in New Mexico

• Representatives from over 40 of state agencies, educational institutions, and non-profit and philanthropic organizations have been working to develop and implement these strategies.

Public Food Programs

• Goal: Expand food budgets for low-income people.

• Mechanism: Work with public food programs to:– Simplify application and enrollment.– Improve coordination among state agencies that

administer public food programs. – Streamline processes by working

with non-profit and private contractors.– Increase outreach.– Raise minimum allocations. – Connect food programs to nutrition

education.

• Successes: Thanks to the State for the increasing minimum allocation for seniors.

Public Food ProgramsImpact on NM food system:

Production

(growing food)

Packing





Eaters

Increased demand for

fresh produce.

Coordination among agencies increases

efficiency in government-run storage and

distribution.

Federal dollars brought in increase

purchasing power.

Increased food budgets allow

healthier eating. Local spending creates jobs.

Farmers’ Market Nutrition Programs

• Goal: Make farm-fresh food accessible to limited income people.

• Mechanism: Use state and federal funding to provide market vouchers for WIC clients and seniors. Allow EBT purchases at markets.• Successes: – $162,000 annual state funding for

senior program.– $330,000 in annual federal funding

for senior program—NM was one of only 2 states to get new funds.

– Together this funding will provide more than 20,000 seniors with vouchers each year.

– 26,000 WIC clients receive over $300,000 in vouchers.

– 10 farmers’ markets currently accept EBT

– Together these programs contribute $792,000 to the state’s farming economy.

Farmers’ Market Nutrition Programs

Impact on NM food system:

Production

(growing food)

Packing





Eaters

Increased demand for fresh produce. Scale of farmers’

markets allow entry of very small producers into commercial sales.

Federal dollars brought in increase

purchasing power.

Increased food budgets allow

healthier eating. Local spending creates jobs.

If consumers bought If consumers bought 15% of their food 15% of their food directly from local directly from local

farmers, farm income farmers, farm income would increase over would increase over

$375 million.$375 million.For every dollar that goes to local farmers, at least $1.80 is re-spent in the community.

Thus, 15% in purchases from local farmers

would generate $670 million per year in new

community wealth.1

1 All figures based on analysis by Ken Meter, economist for the Crossroad Resource Center. Taken from Food and Farm Economy for N. NM, 2007

For more information, contact:Farm to Table and

The New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council3900 Paseo del SolSanta Fe, NM 87507

(505) 473-1004www.farmtotablenm.org

Thanks to our many partners involved in this work, including:

NM Department of AgricultureNM Department of Aging and Long-Term Services

NM Human Services DepartmentPublic Education Department

Public Education Department, Rural Revitalization ProgramNMSU Cooperative Extension ServiceNM Farmers’ Marketing AssociationRio Grande Agricultural Land TrustMid-Region Council of Governments

Rocky Mountain Farmers UnionLa Montañita Food CooperativeNM Association of Food Banks

UNM Sustainability Studies ProgramUNM Research Service Learning Program

City of Albuquerque, Environmental Health DepartmentMcCune Foundation

Eating Together: A Food Systems Approach to Cultivating Health and Wealth in NM Presented by Farm to...

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