Put Your State on Your Plate

I’ve been thinking about food lately. Well, I may think about it most of the time, but everyone else seems to join me during the Christmas season.

We’ve all been there: Thanksgiving dinner, Thanksgiving leftovers, endless Christmas parties, office gatherings, Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas lunch, Christmas leftovers, New Years Eve’s black-eyed peas and such. But, even the most introspective among us fail to think about where all that food and all those extra pounds come from.

I had the opportunity to grow up around farmers. My grandfather owned and operated a John Deere tractor dealership in Mobile for about 50 years. Other family members ran wholesale azalea nurseries. I’ve seen farmers “wheel and deal” to get the equipment they need, and I know how an unexpected frost that is merely inconvenient to most people can devastate a year’s worth of work and investment for a grower.

I was reminded of where our society gets its food a couple of times recently. Back in early November, I ventured over to the Jon Archer Agricultural Center for the annual Farm-City Week banquet. The event was hosted by the local chapter of the Alabama Farmers Federation, in conjunction with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Each year, the dinner strives to bring producers and consumers of agriculture commodities together, reminding all those present of the best source of their bounty, the Alabama farmer.

Over Thanksgiving, I traveled to Mentone, Ala., in the far northeastern corner of the state. Among the beautiful mountains and foliage, I saw small farms operating massive chicken coups for Tyson and other producers of “broilers,” as chickens are called in the industry. I was reminded that behind every chicken sandwich is a farmer, maybe in north Alabama, mortgaged to the hilt and trying to make a modest living. Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Ron Sparks is working to make life a little better for homegrown farmers (pardon the pun). One example of his efforts is the much-lauded Alabama Farm to School Program, which takes locally grown fruits and vegetables and puts them on the lunch plates of our schoolchildren. Through that initiative, kids all over Alabama enjoy satsumas, some of which are grown in and around the Mobile County city of the same name.

In a statement, Sparks said, “Giving our kids food that was grown here in Alabama means it is fresher than fruits and vegetables that are shipped in from other states.” The successful program is made possible through a partnership between the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Alabama Food Distribution Division of the Board of Education, and the Department of Defense.

I talked with Nick Zorn, who is the manager of the state farmers market. Zorn relies on three wholesalers and a $1 million federal grant to provide 500,000 pieces of fruit each day to Alabama’s public school kids. Satsumas from Mobile and Baldwin counties are the most popular choice due to their sweet taste and thin skin that even a first grader can peel.

Within the past couple of weeks, Zorn and his staff arranged for the delivery of four thousand cases of satsumas to hungry youngsters throughout the state. Satsumas, of which many are harvested over Thanksgiving, must be picked by hand, so this project seems to be a big undertaking. Want to try a satsuma yourself? They are all over. You can even buy them at Walmart, which has bought some of the satsumas leftover from the Farm to School Program. The impact of the project is clear.

According to Zorn, “you couldn’t give these things away” five years ago. Now, school kids have introduced this great farm product to the rest of us. Other participating commodities include watermelons, cantaloupes and sweet potatoes; all proudly Alabama grown.

Although local farmers sometimes struggle, you might be surprised at the statistics for Mobile County agriculture. According to figures provided by the Extension System, in 2008, Mobile County producers sold $4,942,000 worth of cotton, $5,020,000 in peanuts, $61,497,000 in nursery products, $1,253,000 of fruits and vegetables and $925,000 in dairy products. Total receipts for that year were $79,619,000. Like I said in the last issue, we still make dinner, a bunch of it.

It looks like area producers are doing their part to grow Alabama food, as is the state agriculture department. What can you do? Shop at local farmers markets, and pay attention to labels. Stay away from fruits and vegetables shipped all the way from China. Even at chains like Walmart, you can find Alabama grown food. When you find food grown in our own collective backyard, buy it, enjoy it, share it, and continue to put your state on your plate.