 "Some remarkable changes have taken place in the food and farming landscape since the book was published in 2006. Consider this handful of statistics, each in its own way an artifact of the 'where-does-my-food-come-from' question:
"There are now more than 8,000 farmers markets in America, an increase of 180 percent since 2006. More than 4,000 school districts now have farm-to-school programs, a 430 percent increase since 2006, and the percentage of elementary school with gardens has doubled, to 26 percent. During that period, sales of soda have plummeted, falling 14 percent between 2004 and 2014.The food industry is rushing to reformulate hundreds of products to remove high fructose corn syrup and other processed-food ingredients that consumers have made clear they will no longer tolerate. Sales of organic food have more than doubled since 2006, from $16.7 billion in 2006 to more than $40 billion today." Excerpted from Michael Pollan's “The Omnivore’s Dilemma 10th Anniversary Edition”. Read the full article here.
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 "Wisconsin leads the nation in number of organic dairy and beef farms. That's not per capita — that's total numbers of farms for the humble Dairyland.
"Wisconsin is also second in the nation for total number of organic farms — 1,228, behind California's 2,805. (New York is third at 917.) We're second only to California for total acreage in organic production, and we're home to more organic farmers than any other state. "Why is it our state has emerged as an organic leader? "'It's because of our heritage of dairy farms and small-scale farms, which is amenable to organic management,' said Steve Pincus, who along with his wife, Beth Kazmar, operates Tipi (pronounced teepee) Produce, a 76-acre certified-organic farm near Evansville." Written by Jennifer Rude Klett for the Journal Sentinel. Read the full article here.  "The Free Farm Stand, located in the Mission district of San Francisco, distributes free food through gifting organic fruits, vegetables, and locally made breads every weekend.
"The food is sourced from produce that goes unsold at farmer’s markets, and from neighborhood and community gardens, and also from public and private fruit trees. Additionally, they help grow food on donated land. The Free Farm Stand builds community and provides a meeting place for locals on tight budgets. "Most learn about the Free Farm Stand by word-of-mouth as there is little to no press and barely enough information online to even deduce the time and place of the weekly event. On distribution days people start arriving around noon and request a number which will be used to admit groups of ten at a time. Many folks picnic or sit in circles on the grass and talk while they wait their turn. There is no sense that this is any sort of hand-out or cattle call, but rather a way to connect to the community, get needed food, and foster a sense of belonging." Written by Chelsea Rustrum, and excerpted from the book It's a Shareable Life. Read the full article here. |
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The F.E.A.S.T. by the Bay website is currently maintained through the community outreach of the Farm to School Programs in the Ashland, Bayfield, and Washburn School Districts.
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