Consider for a moment how food is at the core of community well-being. It provides sustenance, fueling our performance at school, work, and play. It’s hard to dispute that everyone deserves access to food that is healthy, affordable, and culturally appropriate. For many of us, food is an easy thing to take for granted, but the systems that ensure we’re able to access and enjoy food are not always obvious. Local government plans, policies, and programs influence – for better or worse – how food is produced, processed, distributed, accessed, and disposed of. 

In the US, the most affordable and frequently consumed diet is high in calories, refined carbohydrates, unhealthy fats, and processed foods. The four leading causes of death in the country—and largest sources of health care expenditure – are directly linked to food: stroke, diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. According to the Center for Disease Control report on Kentucky’s 2017 Nutrition and Obesity Profile: 35.1% of adults and 15.4% of adolescents are overweight. 31.6% of adults and 18.0% of adolescents are obese. 46.2% of adults and 44.6% of adolescents reported consuming fruit less than one time daily. 24.9% of adults and 42.7% of adolescents reported consuming vegetables less than one time daily.

The mission of the Greater Cincinnati Regional Food Policy Council is to advance a healthy, equitable, and sustainable food system for everyone within a ten-county Kentucky/Indiana/Ohio region. The council advocates for food security through a regional food system development agenda at the city, county, and regional levels as well as social and economic opportunities for food producers, distributors, and consumers throughout the region. 

Buying locally grown food can help support the local economy by keeping money in the community, supplying other local businesses, creating jobs, and keeping taxes down because local farm operations can typically contribute more to the economy in tax revenue than they will ever use in services. According to a University of Kentucky Economic Policy Update, one dollar turns over on average 1.6 to 7 times before it leaves a community. When you spend $1 locally, it’s like spending $1.60 up to $7 in local businesses. 

The Area Nutrition Education Program Agent is the chair of the Healthy Food Access subcommittee of the ten county Regional Food Policy Council. Working with community partners on the Food Policy Council, two Eat Healthy Northern Kentucky events have been held focusing on local food access within school districts. These forums bring together stakeholders from all segments of the school food system to generate new relationships and share best practices to highlight certain kinds of “win-win-win” opportunities that: 1) Improve access to healthy, affordable food; 2) Support economic and workforce development; and 3) Strengthen local and sustainable food systems. 

The sessions were designed to better understand the procurement process for schools and to plan for school menu needs and the farmer’s planting season. As a result, one local school district food service ordered $2,500 in local produce during the 2017/2018 school year and is under contract with local farmers for a $17,000 commitment this summer. Another school district providing summer lunch is saving $1,000 this summer through the Kentucky VIP 30% rebate program. The Food Services Director learned about the program at the Food Policy Council sponsored event. She plans to continue use of the Kentucky VIP 30% rebate program for using locally grown foods this school year. A local Food Hub coordinator reported that she’s met with four other local school food services directors and all have expressed interest in utilizing more locally grown food. 

These kind of “win-win-win” initiatives support local and sustainable food production while working to eliminate health disparities and improve the lives of everyone in our communities from children to adults.