Groups Promote "Food Hubs"

Here a hub, there a hub, everywhere a food hub

In a recent article of the Springfield Business Journal (SBJ) one can read about the plans of the organizers of Farmers Market of the Ozarks to invest millions in building a "food hub." As more and more local schools and medical centers face the growing demand in the area for healthy, locally sourced fruits, vegetables and meat, small family farms must develop a plan to work together to meet that need.

Many people across our region and the country are clamoring for access to locally grown, non-GMO, (genetically modified organism) organic vegetables and fruits, and more humanely, locally grown meats which have not been produced through use of antibiotics, growth hormones and the feeding of GMO crops.

Farm Resettlement Congress, FRC, believes they have the answer to the lack of local food security and economic opportunity in our area. Their answer also involves locally-owned food hub creation. Specifically, FRC seeks to restore the soil, return the youth, and revive our heritage. Put another way, FRC wants to retain the land, resettle our youth and restore self-management, and while accomplishing these things, they also seek the creation of healthy community relationships.

On February 25, fifteen Farm Resettlement Congress activists, most of whom either are forming or will be forming their own watershed congresses, met outside and across the street from the Court Building in Jefferson City, MO. There, they met passers by and made and engaged in what they described as "a soft coming out," handing out literature to those who appeared to be interested. This event coincided with the public launching of their Web site, http://www.farmresettlementcongress.org, and the creation of a facebook group and a forum for comprehensive communication.

Through the use of FRC's "20-Year Plan for Food Security," they believe local communities within the Mississippi River, Missouri River, and White River Watershed boundaries can revive independently-owned, local food chains and return one million jobs to the region, preserving individual liberty by restoring food, energy security, and prosperity to the people.

Occasionally, someone will ask me, "What has become of the Well-Fed Neighbor Alliance?" Well, they are still around, you just need to know where to look. In the SBJ article, I noted the name of Well-Fed Neighbor Alliance founding member Aubree Sanders. Sanders, who now is a co-owner of Celestial Spring Herbs in Ava, supports the idea of a local food hub. As I visited with one of the co-founders of the Well-Fed Neighbor Alliance in my kitchen Monday morning, I was reminded of what a small planet we populate. If you are interested in more information about Farm Resettlement Congress or think you might be interested in joining give this number a ring: 417.712.3835 and Galen Chadwick will be glad to take your call.