Nutrition movement

The Local Food Movement in Ohio

The aspect of whatever local nutrition movement in Ohio means may be a multifaceted intrigue that draws multiple meaning within the state apparently. this is often so, majorly because the interest within the local food consumptions and therefore the escalating consumer demand has taken a replacement dimension beginning the last decade.

Increasing Number of Restaurants and Vendors

Indeed, the interested are often witnessed in phenomenal experiences just like the increasing number of restaurants for local food, the escalating number of vendors, the simultaneous multiplication of both the farmers` markets and therefore the groceries buying and selling local produce also because the agricultural entities that have since become commercial outlets for promoting and auctioning area people supported agriculture (Desrochers et al. 78).

Demand for Local Products

As such, the wholesale transactions and therefore the consumer sales have been evidenced in the concept of the local food movement in Ohio. All kinds of food including animal and crop production are core in the movement, as both diversity and the freshness to add up the value of the commodities is such a need. The demand for local products has been evolving, a phenomenon which has made growers realize many opportunities with buyers expanding their businesses following the availability of variety in food productions.

Urban Agriculture and Workshops

Indeed, some of the new efforts in the Ohio local food movement that define the process entail the element of urban agriculture. With urban agriculture, landowners explore diverse potential in different products to come up with new knowledge. Furthermore, the community gardens in the city are put up for honey bee hives among other efforts. Workshops have become a new phenomenon of the movement, whereby market programs are shared out to the farmers in different destinations, as it was in Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland in 2010 (Meter 153).

Building Relationships and Overcoming Challenges

With such workshops in place, the programs form a formidable platform for experts to deliver insight to the producers required for grocery stores, restaurants, and related institutions. Getting to the next level is an objective in the Ohio movement, as farmers are encouraged to build new relationships and overcome common challenges. Third party affiliates like the financing organizations too have joined the movement to ease food production in Ohio, for instance, the Department of Housing and Urban Development offered $0.8 million to bolster the process in 2009 (Meter 88). Therefore, the movement is not only about stabilizing local food movement but also aimed at building relationships among the producers, tradesmen, and consumers.

The Locavore Movement

Also referred to as local food movement, locavores are local food networks that connect consumers and producers within the same geographical region. The primary focus of locavores is to ensure a significant improvement in the environment, health, society, and community of a particular place by impacting the economy directly (Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission 16).

Sustainability and Relationships

While the term locavore used to refer to exclusively the producer and the consumer within a given locality as the core elements, the word has since evolved to include both the supply chain and social terms that characterize the whole phenomenon, notwithstanding the organic based and other suitable farming practices hitherto. In essence, the term locavore is a replacement of a worldwide food model that has been around for a while, one that maintains the need for transferring food across continents and overseas to reach expected destinations, at the consumers` bases (Desrochers et al. 198). Therefore, the word locavore was coined to mean and ensure that the social, ecological, and economic sustainability of any community is fostered, considering that relationship is bolstered among consumers, distributors, producers, and retailers within a given locality.

The Rise of Locavores

The term locavore has been known for long to date. Nevertheless, the word became more meaningful for the last fifteen years. The last one and a half decades stressed the objective of a locavore because people began to insist consistently on the need for consumer products that are natural, organic, and locally grown or produced. With a robust belief that such meals are environmentally friendly, fresh, local, healthier and easily accessible, the urge to benefiting as consumers while supporting local communities has always been the core argument of locavores. More precisely, one chef Jessica Prentice in the state of northern California brought home the critical meaning of the term locavore in 2005 (Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission 9). The whole movement began with an understanding that locally produced foods are healthier, sweeter, supportive to local economies, and reduces transportation fee to the consumer markets. As such, the word locavore gained foot in the American vocabulary and was inculcated into the 2007 American Oxford dictionary.

The Future of Locavores in Ohio

The future of the locavore movement in Ohio is assured and founded on substantial grounds, and it appears to be inextinguishable. The popularity, marketing, and the mission statement of locavore in Ohio are gaining root on a steadily escalating trajectory. While more effort from the federal government and the state administrations is getting channeled toward the program, schools have become critical partners by educating learners at tender ages on what is safe for consumption. Consequently, on average, two hundred schools from each state across the US including Ohio are key participants. Furthermore, the future of locavores in Ohio belongs to the regional and local institutions; entities which are active in ensuring that marketing, production, and distribution of food is made efficient (Meter 136). The marketing hubs, upcoming mobile farmers and markets, globalization and the twenty-first-century high tech technology associating of military bases with local farmers as well as hospitals partnering with regional farmers and the escalation of the market certificates have all made the future of locavores promising in Ohio.

Works Cited

Desrochers, Pirre and Hiroko Shimizu. The Locavore’s Dilemma. 2017. Book.

Meter, Ken. Ohio’s Food Systems- Farms At The Heart Of It All. Minneapolis: Crossroads Resource Center, 2011. PP. 1-178.

Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission. “Ce.ntral Ohio Local Food Assessment and Plan.” April 2010. PP. 1-20.