 Kate Collier, pictured here with her husband Eric Gartner, of Feast is trying to organize a local Community Food Center that would act as a hub for local farmers. |
The most exciting news to come out of yesterday’s UVA student-presentation on Charlottesville’s “glocal” (global + local) food system is that Kate Collier of Feast is trying to organize a local Community Food Center for the area. “It will hopefully be a two-to-three year project,” Collier explained on Tuesday afternoon, following a presentation by students on Feast’s ties to the local food system for the class “Healthy Communities, Healthy Food Systems (Part III): Global-Local Connections.” As she pointed out, demand is outpacing supply as places like the Charlottesville Chipotle and the Jefferson Area Board for Aging use more and more local product. The Community Food Center would make it easier for farmers and larger retailers, but what of the citizen who lacks sufficient funds? As student Thomas Roberts showed, the average cost of Tyson chicken is $.99 a pound whereas Whole Foods average is $7 more—too much for the subject of his study, the Folley family that lives in public housing. Two suggested solutions, one from Harold Folley, another from a student: incorporate food stamps at the farmer’s market and donate farmers’ surplus produce to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. “This is the type of discussion we were hoping for,” said professor Tanya Denckla Cobb.
Previous "This Just In" articles from this week:
Residents question Hope shelter [April 22]
Edwards: Haven’t talked about homelessness in “comprehensive” way