Connecticut Organic Food Available for Low-Income Groups

[VeganMegan]

Connecticut Organic Food Available for Low-Income Groups
Hartford Courant (Connecticut)

August 18, 2003

LOCAL, ORGANIC FOOD FOR EVERY BUDGET

By: Mark Winne

Mark Winne is a Food and Society Policy Fellow and the executive director of the Hartford Food System. He can be contacted at 860-296-9325 and by e-mail at <winne@hartfordfood.org>


A recent University of Connecticut survey found that three-quarters of respondents think that locally grown food is healthier and fresher than food produced outside of the region. And at retail stores and stands across the country, organic food -- produced without the aide of synthetic pesticides or fertilizers -- is appearing faster than weeds in a summer garden, even though it often carries a premium price tag.

But the hot pursuit of local, organic produce stands in sharp contrast to the growth in food insecurity and hunger. Foodshare, the Hartford-area food bank, reports that requests for emergency food are up 72 percent this year. Every week, 31,000 state residents receive emergency food assistance. In the past 16 months, participation in Connecticut's food stamp program, now at 171,000 people, grew by 13 percent.

One way that low-income families cope with hard times is to buy less and cheaper food. There is little likelihood that Connecticut's needy will be flocking to Wild Oats in West Hartford, where an organic tomato went for $4.99 per pound in early August. The same may be said for locally produced food. The UConn survey found that 44 percent of respondents thought locally grown was more expensive than non-local, a percentage that increased the lower the income of the respondent.

Obviously, a growing number of people see the value in purchasing locally produced food. But do the poor shop in one place and the affluent in another? And if local and organic is so much better for us, shouldn't everybody, regardless of income, be able to buy it?

Fortunately, Connecticut farmers, with help from government programs and nonprofit organizations, have found several ways to address this paradox. At Hartford's downtown farmers' market you'll find Connecticut farmers selling homegrown fruits and vegetables to a steady stream of customers. Look closely and you'll see that many of the shoppers, especially young moms and senior citizens, are paying for their produce with special $3 vouchers that bear the logo of the Connecticut Department of Agriculture. Since 1987, funding from the federal and state governments under the Farmers Market Nutrition Program has made it possible for these vouchers to go to low-income households. This year, a record 47,000 participants in the Women, Infant and Children program and 15,000 lower-income seniors will be buying organic tomatoes (you can get a reasonably priced organic tomato if you buy it directly from the farmer), juicy peaches and sweet corn at 57 farmers' markets across the state

Groups like the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts and the Hartford Food System's Holcomb Farm project have combined charitable contributions with income from produce sales to give thousands of low-income families the opportunity to share in the Northeast's organic harvest. The Urban Oaks Organic Farm, located in the heart of New Britain's North/Oak Street neighborhood, is producing high-quality produce for white-tablecloth restaurants as well as low-income moms and the elderly from the neighborhood. A combination of subsidies -- WIC, Senior Farmers' Market vouchers and charitable support -- with a solid understanding of the ethnic food preferences of their community make Urban Oaks affordable and accessible to the city's low-income families.

Foodshare distributes hundreds of thousands of pounds of produce, donated by 15 Connecticut farms, to the area's neediest families. Items include strawberries from the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in Windsor, organic tomatoes from Old Maid Farm in Glastonbury and squash and peppers from Spencer Farm in East Hartford.

Even in cash-strapped local school districts, Connecticut-grown produce is finding its way to the cafeteria. With funding from the National School Lunch Program, creative school districts like West Haven's are buying tons of fruit every week directly from nearby orchards. Every one of the town's 8,000 students, including the 40 percent whose lower incomes qualify them for free and reduced-price lunch, can buy Connecticut apples and pears. A bill in Congress co-sponsored by Reps. Rob Simmons, R-2nd District, and Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, would give school districts additional incentives to purchase food from local farmers.

Connecticut is closing the food gap between high- and low-income shoppers.

[VeganMegan]

GM concern high among low income consumers


This peer reviewed study from the U.S., on the awareness and attitudes to GM foods of low-income consumers, radically challenges claims that Americans are confidently consuming GM foods or that consumer concerns are a luxury of the affluent.

"Over 80% of the participants indicat(ed) no prior knowledge or awareness of GM foods..."

"Their awareness of genetically modified foods was low, but ethical and safety concerns were fairly high; and they wanted genetically modified foods to be labeled."

The study is published in the University of California's journal 'California Agriculture' (July-September 2003 issue):
http://danr.ucop.edu/calag/about.html.

Abstract below. FULL TEXT:
http://danr.ucop.edu/calag/0303JAS/pdfs/GM_food.pdf

Interesting to view these findings alongside the recent multi-country study, undertaken by university researchers in the U.S., Norway, Japan and Taiwan, showing consumers, including American consumers, are willing to pay substantial premiums for non-GM foods. That study also found strong support among American consumers for mandatory labelling of GM foods. http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=1263
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ABSTRACT: http://danr.ucop.edu/calag/0303JAS/abstracts.html#3

Low-income consumers, though less aware of genetically modified foods, are concerned and want labels

Nicelma J. King (Cooperative Extension Specialist, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of California Davis)

Consumer attitudes about genetically modified foods have been reported in a number of studies in recent years, but little attention has been paid to the awareness and attitudes of low-income consumers. While land-grant universities and public health departments have targeted these consumers for nutrition education, it is not clear what their attitudes are, or how the subject should be addressed in education programs such as those offered by Cooperative Extension. We conducted focus groups with low-income consumers in California during spring and summer 2002. Their awareness of genetically modified foods was low, but ethical and safety concerns were fairly high; and they wanted genetically modified foods to be labeled. Consumer and nutrition education programs targeted at low-income consumers should address emerging food technologies.