There’s a real myth going around Oakland, Atlanta, and our nation, that America will face a food shortage because of sanctions on Russia and the Russian invasion attempt on Ukraine. The idea that was going to happen was stoked by our own President Biden and right-wing pundits, but then was countered (sorta) by the now out-going press secretary Jen Psaki. So, I started to think about the claim of the idea of food shortage, and came to some realizations that may help you think about it, too.
First off, I don’t recall getting my food, even indirectly, from Russia. The fruits and veggies I eat are locally-sourced. Then, I ran across this news report from WUSA9, which said:
Inflation costs and ongoing supply shortages have complicated how school districts serve meals to students. In Prince William County, school officials relying on local sourcing have received the attention from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Two USDA officials and Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D-10th District) recently visited an elementary school in the county to discuss how local producers can help with the school food supply chain. PWCS Food & Nutrition Services Director Adam Russo said the department has leaned into local sourcing since the pandemic because transportation of goods has been the biggest challenge. “The more local something is, the less it has to travel and the fresher it is,” Russo said. Many of the items served to students are local or within a 250-mile radius, including the nacho chips made from Abuelita Mexican Foods in Manassas Park. Supply chain issues are forcing the school district to find local partners and think creatively to utilize resources they already have. “On any given day we’re receiving thousands of items of deliveries and we’re missing thousands of items from those deliveries,” Russo said. “It’s actually more economically advantaged to make items from scratch. The more processed they are, the more humans touch them and the more they ultimately cost.”
Second, in complex systems theory, Occams Razor applies: the simple explanation to a problem often is the real reason behind it. So, why can’t government program policy shift its gears toward funding local food producing organizations in America? Send the local food producing assistance money through the Small Business Administration (SBA), and have the United States Department of Agriculture help identify local food producers. The program should work with local restaurants and schools to find the local food producers, and get block grants to them. They can then use that to hire people, and expand operations, including shipping.
Some cities don’t have to wait for the federal government: Oakland can use the unused power of tax increment financing to steer property tax revenue collected from a predetermined part of the city to help local food producers expand right in Oakland. Urban Farming is the answer, and non-profits like City Slicker Farms (https://www.cityslickerfarms.org/), or Ghost Town Farm (where I interviewed its founder Novella Carpenter https://www.novellacarpenter.net/ghost-town-farm , 11 years ago and before the City of Oakland treated her like crap for nothing but growing chard), have the solutions.
Here’s Novella Carpenter from 11 years ago.
And lets not forget efforts like Oakland Community Kitchens. Here’s Maria Alderete, who was co-owner of Luka’s Oakland at the time this was made:
As rich as America is, to think that we should allow food shortages to happen or say they’re real is a failure of policy, not of America. And shame on right wing pundits tossing around silly “the end is near” points of view for clicks to their websites. We can fix this problem: locally-sourced food is the way to go.
Stay tuned