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Food Systems – Community & Economic Development <br />Local & Regional Update <br /> <br />Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />November 11th, 2021 <br /> <br />Mike Ortosky <br />Community Development Agent <br />Orange County NC Cooperative Extension <br /> <br />with panelists: <br /> <br />Sue Ellsworth – WE Power / Piedmont Food Processing Center <br />Eric Hallman – Piedmont Food Processing Center <br />Ashley Heger – Orange County Food Council <br />James Watts – Weaver Street Market Coop <br />Mart Bumgarner – Orange County NC Cooperative Extension <br /> <br /> <br />This presentation is about community & economic development that is based in local food and <br />agriculture – it is about relationship. <br /> <br />Current environmental and social crises illuminate the most significant problem with our industrial <br />food system; a loss of relationship. Our early evolutionary history is characterized by an intimate <br />relationship with our food sources, resulting in close cultural relationships. The agricultural and <br />industrial revolutions have affected a disconnect. In spite of extraordinary gains in our standard <br />of living, there have been equivalent negative relational consequences. Reconciliation of that lost <br />relationship is critical to establishing a sustainable and resilient society. <br /> <br />There has been growing interest in recent years around local and regional food systems and the <br />extent to which a more proximate, deep, diverse, and equitable system is possible. North <br />Carolina, and Orange County in particular, have led many advances over the years in <br />sustainable food systems and agriculture. In the current environment, values and demand are <br />changing rapidly, creating the need for effective responses in policy, funding, education, and <br />advocacy. Informed collaborative regional efforts, based on trusted community relationships, <br />are critical in the development of more resilient food systems. <br /> <br />The economic impact potential of capturing more business components of the food system in <br />Orange County and the region is significant. While our state and region continue to have <br />enormous agricultural production potential, there is tremendous opportunity for growth in other <br />major sectors such as processing, distribution, market development, and waste streams. <br />Incubating, retaining, and attracting appropriate food system businesses results in greater <br />demand for local agricultural product while creating primary contributory businesses that <br />represent employment growth and an expanded and diversified tax base. <br /> <br />Equally important as economic growth, local agriculture and food systems have the effect of <br />connecting local communities around the basic commonality of producing and consuming food. <br />Reconciliation of the recent disconnect between ourselves and our food sources has the added <br />benefit of creating common ground among all citizens within that system. <br /> <br />3