MILLERSBURG, Ohio — A food-for-the-table inventory meeting was co-sponsored by OSU Extension and Ken Miller’s County Line Museum Jan. 17.
Ellen Mee from the Ohio Environmental Council answered questions during the listening and feedback session.
Participants included more than 20 local food producers and consumers from the area.
Topics of discussion
Topics of discussion included the local foods inventory, the Governor’s Food Policy Council and community supported agriculture organizations.
During the listening session, Amalie Lipstreu of the Governor’s Food Policy Council, explained Ohioans spend $35 billion annually on food, of which only 1 percent is produced by Ohioans.
According to Lipstreu, a shift of an additional 1 percent could mean a $350 million increase to the Ohio economy. A 10 percent increase would result in an additional $3.5 billion in Ohio’s economy.
Obstacles
Local producers raised questions concerning some of the obstacles they have met in regard to marketing and distributing their products.
Several points were recorded and taken back to the Governor’s Food Policy Council.
Local foods inventory
Rachel Stutzman, Holmes County Extension program assistant in Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Andy Miller, special projects coordinator, will be conducting a local foods inventory, asking area producers to identify themselves and the food products they produce or have an interest in producing.
The inventory can include vegetables, fruits, and berries, as well as eggs, meat, poultry, baked goods, and cut flowers.
Web site
The information will be posted on the OSU Extension Web site.
Ultimately, the site will provide a resource that will connect both growers and consumers of locally produced foods.
The survey is available at http://holmes.osu.edu.
Holmes County Extension will also be offering a series of educational workshops for local growers covering topics from soil health to marketing and distribution.
