02/23/2007

Discussion Series Focuses on Local Foods

Writer:

Martha Filipic
filipic.3@cfaes.osu.edu
(614) 292-9833

Source:

Jeff Sharp, Human and Community Resource Development
sharp.123@osu.edu
(614) 292-9410

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Sometimes food travels 1,000-plus miles before landing on your dinner plate. But interest in locally grown food is increasing, and a series of free public discussions on local and alternative food systems at Ohio State University over the next few months is designed to bring people together to imagine and become involved in creating stronger local food systems.

The first discussion, "The Potential of Urban Agriculture," will start at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 27, in 103 Kottman Hall, 2021 Coffey Road, on the Columbus campus. It will be led by Joe Kovach, coordinator of Ohio State's Integrated Pest Management Program. Kovach is also an Ohio State University Extension specialist based at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster.

Kovach's presentation will focus on the design and management of an urban fruit and vegetable polyculture system that is economically viable and environmentally sound. Kovach also will discuss his recent trip to Cuba, where organic urban agriculture is practiced out of necessity.

"People are beginning to ask a lot of questions about the food system," said Jeff Sharp, associate professor of human and community resource development who helped organize the series. "This should be an enlightening and inspiring evening of discussion about food system development that would work right here in Ohio."

The next scheduled talk in the series features Phil Howard of Michigan State University, who will speak on "Be Careful What You Wish For: The Mainstreaming of Organic Foods." It is scheduled for Tuesday, March 27 at 7 p.m.

Talks in April and May will focus on "Community Food Assessments," a process that can be utilized to inventory local food resources available in central Ohio, and "From Field to Table," a discussion of ways to develop getting local food on local plates, Sharp said. These latter talks are intended to identify specific ways of developing structures and capacity to improve the local food system, he said.

The talks are free and sponsored by the college's Social Responsibility Initiative (http://sri.osu.edu) and the Greater Columbus Foodshed Project of Simply Living. For more information, contact Sharp at sharp. 123@osu.edu or (614) 292-9410, or Michael Paull at paull.15@osu.edu.

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