Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Samples and chef demos to be allowed at farmers markets

Are you ready to get a taste of spring in the Mid-South?  This year, vendors at farmers markets in Memphis and Shelby County will be allowed to offer free samples of their products.  While being able to taste a strawberry or cherry tomato may seem insignificant, this simple change has the potential to really benefit both farmers and consumers.

Why is this so important?  "Local farmers sell on taste, " says Melissa Petersen, editor of Edible Memphis Magazine.  "While grocery store varieties are selected for uniformity, mechanization, and ability to stand up to shipping, local farmers chose varieties based largely on flavor and how well they grow in our soil and climate." Consumers might not be familiar with the varieties that grow well here. Farmers’ market produce is picked at the peak of ripeness and arrives very fresh at the market.  Farmers’ market shoppers may not be willing to shell out their grocery money for a purple carrot, or one of the dozens of tomato varieties, or a candy-cane beet, or tat-soi greens without a taste.   Allowing shoppers to try before they buy will increase shopper confidence in their purchases, thereby increasing sales for farmers — a win-win situation for improving access to healthy food, sustaining our regional farm base, and, ultimately, ensuring our local and regional food security.  

Chef demonstrations will be exempt from permitting as well, meaning that markets will not be limited to how many demonstrations they can offer and they will not have to pay a permit fee.  The only caveat is that the food offered for sampling must be prepared ahead in a licensed kitchen and maintained at the appropriate temperature.  The ingredients actually used in the live demonstration must be discarded.  Chef demonstrations are a great way to teach people how to use local and unique ingredients, encourage home cooking, and expose people to healthy recipes.

For Petersen and other local food advocates who have been pushing for sampling at farmers markets for more than four years, this is a major victory.  So what changed?  In October of last year, the Tennessee Department of Health revised the relevant section of the General Environmental Health Manual to "provide guidance... on sampling operations involving foods from a licensed domestic kitchen as well as fruits and vegetables at farmer's markets..."  The revision states that sampling at farmers’ markets is exempt from permitting as long as the food samples are non-potentially hazardous and/or are prepared in a licensed domestic kitchen. Potentially hazardous foods are defined as high water, or low acid, or high protein and include cut melons, cut tomatoes, and raw sprouts.

Changes at the state level are not necessarily a green light for Shelby County.  Food ordinances in Shelby County are more stringent than elsewhere in the state.  Shelby County is the only county in Tennessee that requires that farmers markets be permitted by the health department.  However, in this instance, the Shelby County Health Department's interpretation of the local laws is consistent with state precedent and will allow sampling and chef demonstrations at farmers markets.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Food Advisory Council meeting notes, 3-9-11

Meeting of the Memphis Shelby Food Policy Council Working Group
Date of meeting: March 9, 2011
Location: Mid-South Peace and Justice Center

Welcome and Introductions
Attendantees
Laretha Randolph - “community busy-body”
Melissa Peterson - Edible Memphis
Nathan Cook - CCHS, obesity, environmental change
Sue Easley - CYCFM
Brandi Franklin - CHEER (research w/ Janice Pride Boone on impacts of  38126)
Josephine Williams - GrowMemphis
Christian Man - Knowledge Quest
Rosalie Bouck - Urban Farms Market

Brief review of formation of Fundraising Plan Committee
Brandi joined FP Committee

Review White Paper Draft
White Paper Draft:
Exec Summary:
remove references to “social justice” (LR)
Expand list of activities
Starting from zero (85% of people reading this don’t know anything about food system)
History of FPC’s - originated in references to other FPCs/structure of FPC
Economic impact of FPC (Brandi Franklin)
money statement
Most people won’t read past executive summary
List organizations in food system appendix (Laretha Randolph)
List organizations in WG in appendix
Audience - generally conservative (Christian Man)
Start exec summary with why its important

Introduction
Current context and why FPCs are good - get more of than in exec summary (Laretha Randolph)
Statistics cited are not powerful
MCS budged $1 per meal, $25 cents?? and school food data (Nathan Cook)
Data from food trust? (Laretha Randolph)
Presenting state of health disparities - tie that to access - economics (Laretha Randolph)
Memphis does not have a healthy food system - state explicitly (Melissa Peterson)
Ken Meter Crossroads Resource Center (Josephine Williams)
CDC data instead of Forbes data
data for high school students (Brandi Franklin)
Reference national trends in obesity (Nathan Cook)
Why is a local and regional food system important/superior to international/global food system? (Sue Easley)
Local = Food Security
Terrorism
Oil prices
Food safety

Mission, Vision, and Values
Take out “we” (Melissa Peterson)
MISSION:  To advance policy and practice in Memphis and Shelby County that strengthens food security and the local food economy
Do values belong in White paper? (Laretha Franklin)
Christian agrees)
VISION:  “A M&SC food system that is vibrant, sustainable and advances the health of residents and the local economy.”
Values sound “hippie dippy” (Melissa Peterson)
Values section eliminated

Stopped White Paper discussion there in the interest of time.
Additional comments/edits should be submitted to Josephine.
Updated version will be maintained in a Google Doc

 Food Ordinance Handbook community meetings
Thursday, March 17th 1:30-3pm and 6-7:30pm

Everyone will send out to their networks.  Christian will create Facebook event

Some stakeholders had a negative experience with Harvard Law student in January.  Suggested steps to mitigate this:
 FAC representative at any/all stakeholder meetings
Josephine will give brief presentation at the start of community meetings
students have been advised on their appearance and manners
Emily Broad has been notified of the negative feedback

 General Updates/Announcements

  • Connie has fowarded request for ruling on sampling and demos at farmers markets to Cynthia Nunnelly 
  • Wholesome Wave grant award for $6000.  Meeting to take place Tuesday at 2pm at MSPJC 
  • Josephine and Emily Broad have a meeting with Dan Springer (Luttrell) on Monday (note:  rescheduled to Wednesday)