Healthy Eating—for Everyone

Yet there is a considerable barrier to bringing sustainably grown food into the mainstream, because many economies, particularly those of lower-income families, have become based on cheaper-than-ever fare, both from supermarkets and from fast-food chains. Healthy food can be more expensive—which means that lower-income families continue to rely on empty calories and consumables that may well lead their children to early onset diabetes and other disorders.

The city of Austin, Texas, however, is home to a program that could be a model for all communities to follow in giving everyone access to healthy food. A multi-faceted program that targets lower-income consumers, the Austin SFC (Sustainable Food Center) has truly been making a difference in raising the average food standard.

“SFC’s mission is to cultivate a healthy community by strengthening the local food system and improving access to nutritious and affordable food,” Ronda Rutledge, executive director of Austin SFC, told Organic Connections. “Each of our programs envisions a food-secure community where all children and adults can grow, share and prepare healthy, local food.”

Access

The first point of access to healthy food created by the SFC was (and is) a series of farmers’ markets in low-income communities. There are also seasonable farm stands specifically set up to accept WIC (USDA Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children) vouchers, and all farmers accept SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly food stamps) benefits.

It was discovered early on in these programs that there was another interesting barrier to providing healthy food. “People weren’t picking certain vegetables because they didn’t know how to cook them for their families,” said Rutledge. “So that’s when we developed the Happy Kitchen Program.”

The Happy Kitchen is a six-week series of classes that focus on one aspect of a food guide, featuring seasonal, local food. It is offered free of charge to low-income communities, and it has been a considerable success. “You would think it would be really hard to get people to stay for all six classes, but there’s not a lot of drop-off in that program,” said Rutledge. “It’s very interactive and attendees are all participating in some way. At the end of the class, they go home with a free bag of groceries to prepare the meal they’ve just learned how to cook. If they attend five out of six classes, they get a free cookbook. The cookbook we have produced is bilingual, and the recipes are set up according to the seasons.”

Schools Going Local

Children do not just eat at home, however, as pointed out by food activists such as Alice Waters; it is vitally important that children have healthy lunches and snacks at school. Hence, the SFC has started a farm-to-school program. “About two and a half years ago, we got some initial funding through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to embark on a farm-to-school program in Central Texas, which had not occurred previous to that,” Rutledge related. “We started out slow and are currently in six middle schools. Five of them have populations such that 90 percent of the kids qualify for free or reduced lunch, so these are very low income populations that we’re serving.”

When the program first started, the farm bill contained language that prohibited schools from specifying that they had a preference for locally grown produce; but last year that provision was changed, allowing local farmers to step up and bid for neighborhood school contracts. Now at least some of their produce is making it into cafeterias. “We’re not totally replacing the food that’s already being supplied at the schools with local produce, but something is going in weekly that’s very locally identified,” said Rutledge. “We use all kinds of shelf tags and point-of-sale messages so that kids know what is coming from a local farm. We also have the farmers coming into the cafeteria and doing taste testing with the children. In addition, we are able to take the kids that come to the after-school program out to a farm so that they can see firsthand how their food is being grown.”

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The SFC has developed in-class lessons as well, in math, science and other subjects that are tied to the Texas Education and Knowledge Assessment requirements. The lessons are food-system based and use food-system principles in their instruction.

Self-sufficiency

One of the most compelling programs offered by the SFC is the Community Gardens program, through which participants learn to plant and grow their own gardens. “The basic organic gardening classes are a three-part series, offered at the beginning of each growing season,” said Rutledge. “We’re really blessed here in Central Texas to have two amazing growing seasons—spring and fall—even though we have our water challenges. The program allows folks to grow their own food organically in the context of the community garden, a school garden or a church garden—pretty much anywhere people want to engage in urban agriculture.”

Changing Policy

Another barrier that the SFC is overcoming—the same type of barrier that exists for many cities—is one of local government policy. “In the last couple of years we’ve developed a policy task force that consists of some board members, a couple of staff members and various community members,” said Rutledge. “We’ve been able to make some pretty big strides in what’s happening locally. While that was going, the city of Austin and Travis County formed a sustainable food policy board, so we finally have our equivalent of local food policy counsel happening right here in Austin. I’m one of 13 members on that board, and we’re seeing the city very receptive to various resolutions that we’ve put forth, such as looking at vacant lots in the city and making those more available for community gardens.”

The SFC certainly has some heavy-hitting guidance from their advisory council, which contains such luminaries as Alice Waters, Eric Schlosser, a US Congressman, a bishop, and writer-director Richard Linklater. Many of these came on board when the SFC helped host a local screening of the documentary Fast Food Nation, based on the book of the same name. Schlosser, of course, wrote the book, and Linklater, a local filmmaker, made the movie. They have since provided assistance to the SFC in terms of advice and publicity.

A Lesson for All

Our future as a society depends, in large part, on the health of its participants. Programs such as the Austin SFC lead the way in ensuring that, as a nation, we have a fighting chance to eat and live healthily.

To learn more about the Austin Sustainable Food Center, visit their website at www.sustainablefoodcenter.org.