Episode 118: Regional Food Systems and Their Role in Ending Nutrient Insecurity
About the Podcast
In this podcast, we bust the myth that sustainability, food systems, and food security sectors do not coexist. We hear from food studies expert and dietitian, Mim Seidel, about her experience and various nutrient security programs that foster food networks that are environmentally conscious, economically viable, socially equitable, inclusive, and empowering.
About Mim Seidel
Mim Seidel, a registered dietitian with a master’s degree in Nutrition, focuses on the intersection of public health and regional food systems. She has expertise in public health nutrition, food access and food security, translational research, and program planning and development. Mim serves as co-chair of the Pittsburgh Food Policy Council’s Board of Directors which seeks to create a just, equitable and sustainable food system. Currently, Mim is faculty in Chatham University’s Food Studies Program where she teaches courses on Food Access, Nutrition, and Sustainable Consumption. Her research includes studying the impact of COVID-19 on Pennsylvania farmers; increasing utilization of WIC farmers’ market checks; and implementing the Diabetes Prevention Program in urban and rural areas. Prior to her university position, Mim managed the Chronic Disease Prevention Program of the Allegheny County Health Department, was a WIC nutritionist and WIC Coordinator, and served on the Board of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank where she was instrumental in moving the Food Bank to look at food quality as well as food quantity.
Discussion Takeaways
- Dr. Kate Clancy introduced the concept of sustainable food systems to Mim and inspired her to choose the career path of food studies.
- Mim started in community nutrition and public health. She worked with the Diabetes Prevention Research Program which is based on translational research. It’s ties together tightly regulated and costly clinical trials to community-based research that showed people who eat right, lose weight, and exercise regularly are at lower risk for diabetes. Translational research creates this type of finding that directly applies to the real life with fewer constraints and costs than clinical research. Now, Mim works at Chatham University as a professor in their Food Studies Program. Most of her work deals with food security, but she puts in in the sustainability spin on it.
- Mim believes in the broader definition of sustainability. It features environmentally sound practices where we care for the land, sea, and our natural resources; socially just policies to protect consumers and workers; and economically viability to support communities and people. When we put all of that together, the link to food access and food justice just makes total sense!
- Previously, there was a divide between the anti-hunger professionals, environmental activists, and farmers. The anti-hunger folks wanted to get food to people and provide poverty relief. The food system was not in their picture. Environmentally focused professionals looked at improving food systems and economic viability of the workers and stood for their rights. Lastly, farmers strove to reduce government involvement challenging sound farming practices and to increase the productivity of their supply chains. Now, each sector coexists a bit better, but there is still work to do.
- Farmers markets supporting local food systems now accept the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The Farmers Market Incentive program provides extra money to SNAP recipients to double their allowances at the farmers market. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) enacted a farmers market program in the 90s. The value of the coupons received by WIC recipients increased for the first time during the pandemic. The Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program ensures that the elderly get similar benefits to the programs mentioned above. Money has been used to support urban gardens in low-income communities through the Urban Agricultural Office at the US Department of Agriculture. Vegetable prescription programs are available through the federal government and health care systems.
- Preserving or processing (fermenting, canning or freezing) harvests might actually increase revenue for regional farmers while not reducing environmental impact, transport costs, or reducing nutritional value.
- The Good Food Purchasing Program encourages institutions to purchase more regionally by assisting with funding and policy making at a national, state, city, and institutional level. The program is a model that was developed by a multi-stakeholder working group with expertise in labor, nutrition, environmental sustainability, animal welfare, agriculture, processing, distribution and institutional food procurement. Nearly 100 national, state, and local food system experts provided recommendations and feedback on the policy, which was developed as a framework for institutions of all types and sizes and across locations.
- Mim and her colleague just led a research study with Pennsylvania farmers to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on their farming endeavors. Most of the farms interviewed were small- or medium-sized, often growing vegetables but some focused hay and soy for their dairy cattle. Over 300 farmers responded. They found that those who had an online marketplace or marketing, that could quickly adapt to a regional food distribution, and mostly worked on their direct-to-consumer sales didn’t lose any money over the pandemic and some actually made money throughout that time.
- For institutional sales, we find farmers must aggregate their product, so someone needs to be in charge of collecting all the apples in the region. Direct-to-consumer sales can easily be done by one farm if they plan right.
#1 tip to improve access to healthy food
- To Mim, Food Dignity® means that everyone has access to fresh, affordable, appropriate foods from “normal” or innovative channels (not necessarily a food pantry or soup kitchen) that do not stigmatize anyone.
Each week on the Food Dignity® Podcast, the Food Dignity® Movement's Clancy Harrison hosts a wide variety of hunger experts and other people making changes on the frontlines. Join us as we dive deep into conversations that will change the way you think about food insecurity.
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