Our choices shape the future of food in Ohio

The cracks in how we get food to eat became ever clearer within the first few days of Ohio’s shelter-in-place order. As chair of the all-volunteer Ohio Food Policy Network and executive director of central Ohio nonprofit Local Matters, I have had an up-close view on both the responsive efforts to feed our community and the heightening issues within our food system.

One thing that gives me hope is how we have been able to connect with each other and form relationships while being safe. Maybe it’s a smile with your eyes while wearing a mask, a text to see how you can lend a hand, or a person you’ve gotten to know better due to these unusual circumstances.

Heading into another growing season, we as individuals and members of many different groups must continue to prioritize nutritious food, supporting our state’s small farmers and ensuring that good food is accessible to all.

I am a realist. Having grown up on food stamps and not really eating any vegetables until I learned to cook myself, I understand everyone lacks something — be it money, time, patience, skill or a combination of it all. What we lack can make it extremely difficult to put a meal on the table, let alone more than one meal a day.

We need to improve our systems to make what we all lack less of a barrier to good food. As individuals, we can shop directly from growers or businesses who represent our values. For those of us with limited resources, we can make SNAP dollars (formerly known as food stamps) go further at local outlets that accept Produce Perks.

We can choose to change our behavior along any stage of the food system: how we grow food, process and distribute it, purchase it, prepare it and divert it from the waste stream. The choices we make now, when our reliance on each other is so evident, can help reshape our food system of tomorrow.

Personally, I am invested in farmers who grow food for a living. In order for them to survive, I need to pay a fair price for food. Crops are left in the fields because of decreased markets through schools, restaurants and tourism. Increased consolidation in the food system has created deficiencies in our ability to gather, process and distribute food.

The government can step in. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is working to roll out its Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, designed to help farmers, ranchers and others in the food supply chain. However, with underfunded subsidy programs, farmers will receive only a small fraction of what those crops are worth at market.

This program works only for larger farms that can afford to sell well below market and still survive.

To support small- to mid-scale Ohio farmers, it is time we support their infrastructure needs and embrace purchasing directly from them. Farmers’ markets have shifted, making direct purchase easy and safe. Online ordering technology will allow many farmers’ markets to increase sales and interest, despite this challenging climate.

Many markets are finding ways for SNAP participants to use their benefits, working around barriers with processing SNAP through online ordering platforms. Plus, Produce Perks is granting an unlimited dollar-per-dollar match (usually a dollar-per-dollar match up to $20) on SNAP produce purchases during the pandemic.

On a broader level, Ohio growers, producers, consumers and policymakers can invest in long-term resiliency tactics. We can support and encourage farmers who grow crops we eat. Farmers can buffer against future disruptions in the supply chain by increasing crop diversity. We can rally behind first-generation farmers who are focused on direct sale of crops to consumers.

Our food system was caught flatfooted in this crisis. While we are hard at work catching up, the system has never met the needs of everyone in our community. It is time to make investments where they count.

We have a chance to simply support people, investing in our family farms and growing and distributing food in our communities.

Let us take that opportunity, ensuring everyone has their specific food needs met.

Michelle Moskowitz Brown is chair of Ohio Food Policy Network and executive director of nonprofit Local Matters.