By: Morgan Poff
Milligan hosted the first East Tennessee Local Food Summit this past weekend informing students and community members how to participate in the local food movement, an effort to promote the sustainability of food grown locally.
Assistant Professor of Writing, Rebecca Stephens was the driving force behind the event’s creation. As a graduate of East Tennessee State University and a local food advocate, Stephens compiled a diverse group of educators and proponents of healthy living to discuss the local food market.
“Act into the community you want to see instead of just talking about it,” said Stephens. She feels the consumption of local foods helps connect her to the community.
The Summit marked the end of food week on Milligan’s campus. It began with a panel featuring Stephens, student Jonathan Mehl, and Director of Writing Heather Hoover during Tuesday’s convocation. Each briefly described their involvement in local foods. Hoover illustrated it as going “back to [her] roots.”
Cinnamon Kennedy, director of The Farmer’s Film, a documentary on small farmers in western North Carolina, informed students in Thursday’s chapel about her upcoming television series.
The Summit included two days of 16 different panels discussing a variety of subjects from how to raise chickens in the city to spirituality and sustainability. Vendors from across the region such as Earth Fare, Green Interfaith Network, Inc., and Slow Food of Ashville were located in front of Derthick on Saturday.
“The discussion painted the role that food plays in our faith,” said Senior Megg Jones who attended Saturday’s panel on Food and Nutrition in Islam. “ God ultimately provides all of our food therefore we should be thankful.”
In “Deciphering Ingredients Found in Supermarket Foods,” Sustainability and Social Media Specialist Lisa Sykes encouraged students to avoid certain additives in the foods that they purchase. Among these were parobens, high fructose corn syrup, sodium nitrite/nitrate, and chemical sweeteners.
According to Sykes, consumers should shop from the outer aisles of grocery stores. She also advised taking multivitamins, B12, and antioxidants daily.
Another way students can participate in the local food movement include shopping at the weekly Johnson City Farmer’s Market on South Roan Street, open Wednesdays and Saturdays in May through October from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m..
Though given limited storage in dorm rooms, students can also invest in ceramic dishes to avoid plastics and promote reusing materials.
The budget of a college student may be tight, but it might be worth a few more dollars to buy locally at Earth Fare than Wal-Mart. Any money spent on local food goes directly to the famer’s pocket.
Through the consumption of local foods, students can promote sustainability, become stewards of the earth and recognize their bodies as living temples created to “give thanks for their daily bread” as Stephens would say.
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