Derek Emerson commented in an earlier feed about the need for more local restaurants to actually buy local produce. I am thankful for him so correctly pointing out the problem. It has started a great conversation! However the problem, like so many things Mississippi is much more complex and paradoxical than meets the eye. We are an agricultural state that imports $9 billion in food stuffs, but we grow only $120 million in fruits and vegetables. And half of that is sweet potatoes! (Good news for Jill Conner Browne!) We are the state that leads in obesity, diseases of morbidity like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease; a significant populace within 66 of our 82 counties live in a state of perpetual poverty; we have 1.2 million acres of cropland that is not planted; we are #2 in unemployment; and yet, we do not grow any volume of local produce. Why is this? What is missing? Why, as Derek so aptly points out, why are there so few restaurants that buy locally grown produce? Last November, I had the honor of introducing the keynote speaker (Richard McCarthy, the CEO of SLOW FOOD USA) at the annual Mississippi Sustainable Agriculture Network (MSAN) conference. During my introductory remarks I confessed in front of a packed house of specially crop farmers (specialty crops means fruits and vegetables) that we (Bravo/Broad Street/Sal & Mookies) are among the culprits who do not buy locally in any volume to speak of. This admission was not ground-breaking.. .we have never positioned our restaurants as local-produce focused... so many of our talented brothers and sisters in our industry focus on that and do a remarkable job. But we need to buy more... and over the last 21 years of operations, we have been stumped with how to effectively manage dozens of one-on-one relationships with highly specialized producers scattered about the state. Could we do better? Could we simply do that and call it a day? Yes, but we think we should do MORE... not just better. We believe there is the opportunity to change the game and DRAMATICALLY increase the production of, and availability of, locally grown fruits and vegetables... but it will take work. We need a link between farmer and the retailer and the end customer... a link that will allow all farmers to maximize their assets and grow more. This is why I have dedicated the next two decades of my life to creating a strong, verdant and robust local food system: a holistic plan to create value at every level and provide farmers with real opportunity for statewide growth (pardon the pun!). I have been blessed to be able to partner with a group of visionaries and advocates, producers, retailers and educators. Together, we are working to create a new system where retailers can have more access to products, because farmers are able to grow product in volume with certainty. We are visioning a system that is not corporate-run, but distributed and democratic in ownership – where jobs and equity ownership opportunities will spring forth like seeds from the soil. We call the movement the Mississippi LIFT an acronym for Locally Invested Food Trade. Soon, we look forward to our first business announcement - a collaborative effort between many, many excellent players. First steps lead to next steps. Next steps will lead to real progress. Progress will bring results… results to heal Mississippi physically and financially. Attached, please see an article I wrote in June 2014 as a foreshadowing of the work. I wrote this on the plane returning from a US Dept. of Agriculture conference in Washington DC our team was asked to participate in. I think it captures the sprit of open collaboration and partnership that we seek. So, if a farmer’s table is a good visual for the table of opportunity, then lets pull the table apart and add some leaves … a LOT of them.. let’s make a big long table where there will be room for ALL at. My Farmers Table… the first part of the Mississippi LIFT… coming soon.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 23:47:19 +0000
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