An Organic Food Directory Planned for 1995
by Laura B. DeLind, MOFFA
Like the nation at large, more and more Michigan residents have come to recognize the benefits of food grown organically and locally. Such food minimizes transportation costs and our heavy reliance on non-renewable fossil fuels. It can be harvested ripe and in-season and is, when properly handled, fresher and more nutritious. Organic food is raised without the many synthetic and petrochemical inputs that we now know compromise human health, pollute our natural resources and end up in the food chain. In addition, buying and eating food raised locally keeps our money and the value created through our labors circulating within the local economy, where it can support family-scale farms and other food-based enterprises. In this way we begin to invest in ourselves and our natural environment on a long-term basis, and thus, enable greater food security.
And yet, despite these multiple advantages, people are often frustrated in their search for organically-raised food. This is true, in part, because few directories exist and alternative food networks are weak. The Michigan Organic Food and Farm Alliance (MOFFA) has undertaken a project designed to change this.
MOFFA's newest project is the publication of The Michigan Organic Food and Farm Directory, a comprehensive guide to organic food in Michigan. The Directory will include far more than organic growers. It will list farm suppliers, consultants, processors, butchers, millers, dairies, wholesalers, retailers, groceries, restaurants, bakers, chefs, buying groups, farmers markets, health care providers, writers, educators, food activists... in short, all the people, businesses and services necessary to promote organically-sound food systems in Michigan. This information will be compiled on a regional basis. It will be indexed alphabetically as well as by product and subject matter and updated annually.
The Directory will also include definitions of frequently used food and farm terms (e.g., certified organic, transitional, free-range, low-spray, natural) to help Michigan residents make responsible food choices. Mini-articles on subjects such as food storage, composting, soil quality, seed saving would be included as would a chart of "Michigan in Season" illustrating when crops are naturally available in Michigan to help us all to think and eat in season. A section for children, a section on recipies, a section on indigenous food and farming practices, on csa's, etc are all possibilities for the future.
The publication will be priced under $5.00 and available through MOFFA, organic grower organizations, community bookstores, private businesses and food coops. Like MOFFA, its ultimate purpose is to enable more people to understand and participate in locally-based, organic food systems.
The first edition of the Directory will be ready this Spring 1995. MOFFA is now in the process of compiling all relevant data and seeks the assistance of the Michigan organic community. All persons interested in being listed in the Directory are invited to contact Betty Edmunds, P.O. Box 530, Hartland, MI 48353-0530. The deadline for submission is January 15, 1995. For more information about MOFFA or the Directory Project, call Betty Edmunds (810-632-7952) or Laura B. DeLind (517-355-7490).