Table of Contents Chapter 1 Growing Roots 4 Chapter 2 Local Food Systems 14 Chapter 3 Benefits of Local Food 26 Chapter 4 Challenges to the Local Food Movement 36 Chapter 5 The Future of Local Food 48 Working as a Local Farmer 60 Glossary 61 Source Notes 61 Selected Bibliography 62 Further Information 63 Index 64
1 Growing Roots The football goalposts at Paul Quinn College in Dallas Texas rise above rows of fresh produce Sweet potatoes are ready for picking on the twenty-yard line and hens reside where the ticket booth used to be Instead of fans cheering where the bleachers once stood tilapia swim in large tanks The local football field is now a farm After Michael Sorrell became president of the struggling college in 2007 he realized funding needed to be cut in some areas He decided the football program should be one of them Sorrell also realized that the school and surrounding community had limited access to nutritious unprocessed foods a problem that faces many urban and rural communities across the United States due to a lack of grocery stores or farmers markets Instead people rely on convenience stores or fast food restaurants which typically sell processed foods that are high in fat and sugar In an attempt to bring healthier foods to the area Sorrell tried to attract restaurants and grocery store chains to build on the unused football field There weren’t any takers Then Sorrell proposed turning the football field into a farm despite the fact Schools around the world including this one in Zimbabwe are building and caring for gardens 4
