GIRARD, Kan. — At a town hall meeting to discuss state and local food and farm issues, Crawford County citizens learned that only 21% of the county’s eligible voters turned out for the August primary election. This means that only 1 in 5 people eligible to vote took the time to do so and are making decisions to critical to everyone’s well-being.
The meeting was part of a series of four the Kansas Rural Center (KRC) held across the state in late August and September to encourage greater engagement in public policy making by facilitating discussion of local and regional economic and social issues, and urging people to get out to the general election in November.
About thirty area citizens attended the event in Girard where they listened to speakers discuss state economic and budget issues, food access initiatives that benefit both consumers and farmers, and held a lively round table discussion on local food system issues. The Dinner and Dialogue town hall meeting was held on August 28th in Concordia. Citizens enjoyed a locally sourced meal prepared by Schenker Family Farms/ McCune Farm to Market. Local/Regional Organizations who presented included: Allen County GROW, Bourbon County Food Alliance, Crawford County Eat Well Task Force, Kansas Appleseed, Kansas League of Women Voters and Kansas Rural Center.
Paul Johnson, a policy analyst for KRC, opened the dialogue with state statistics covering produce access in Kansas. Kansas imports 95% of its fruit and vegetables. Kansas has the potential to meet its fruit and vegetable consumption by switching 8,000 acres to vegetable production and 7,500 acres to orchard production.
The speakers and organizations fielded questions from attendees covering Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit recipient requirements, growing growers programs, and building and sustaining local farm/food economies in rural communities. These topics surfaced through an open dialogue session highlighting local and regional needs and concerns.
Local projects addressing the need for specialty crops were highlighted by the Crawford County Eat Well Task Force including a high tunnel program at the Career and Technical Education Center of Crawford County (CTEC), and a train the trainer program at the McCune alternative high school also including the use of a high tunnel. Martha Murphy of Crawford County Eat Well Task Force noted, “We do not grow a lot of fruit and vegetables in Kansas, and (we) have to train people.” Regional healthy food access including producer education and business development continued to be a topic of focus and discussion throughout the event. “The low hanging fruit of the Bourbon County Food Alliance has been to work on the entire food system.” stated Rhonda Dunn, “we just want to feed hungry people,” she added.
This event was part of a series of evening “town halls” KRC is hosting around the state to provide information and analysis on federal and state level food and farm policy and programs. Within the broader context of state budget and revenue issues and the need for greater citizen engagement, the town halls focus on local and regional level efforts to strengthen community access to food, resources for farmers, healthcare, and education. A round table dialogue at each meeting reaches deeper into the issues and highlights how to get involved or take action.
These forums are part of KRC’s “Community Food Solutions for a Healthier Kansas” initiative and Integrated Voter Engagement project, working toward better incorporating Kansas farms and communities into the state’s healthy food supply chain. Individuals and organizations attending are encouraged to continue to share information, and reach out to their neighbors and other citizens to work on local and regional issues and encourage grassroots engagement.
The mission of KRC, founded in 1979, is to promote the long-term health of the land and its people through community-based research, education, and advocacy that advances an economically viable, ecologically sound, and socially just food and farming system in Kansas. For more information, visit kansasruralcenter.org.
— Kansas Rural Center
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