For the Love of Food - A Cinematic Portrayal of Oberlin???s Local Food System
The word ???polycultures??? describes farm systems that include a number of diverse crops growing together. A common example of a polyculture system is the ???three sisters???, a growing system that includes corn, beans, and squash growing together in the same spot. The corn plant grows quickly, providing support for vining bean plants. Squash plants have shallow roots and wide leaves that produce shade and limit competition from weeds. The roots of bean plants fix nitrogen in the soil, adding fertility and providing extra nitrogen that corn plants need so survive. All three of the plants provide a yield of food. They also provide complementary services to support each other.
Polycultures can also be used to describe the social movement that has formed around the support of local food systems, including the collaboration of diverse communities, both rural and urban, around the provision of local food.
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It may be the Southern boy in my heart, but the Collard Green festival in my hometown was always a highlight of my childhood. Everyone in the small, rural town would gather at the town hall and partake in a feast of all sorts of dishes, children would run around on the carnival rides, and it was a real town bonding experience. But the best part of it all was the fact that a majority of dishes brought were made with produce grown by local farms. This is probably why I was excited to hear that City Fresh, a local CSA (or community-supported agriculture) is continuing to push for local foods through a new partnership with Lorain County Community College (LCCC). Starting in June, weekly boxes of food from local farms is now available for subscribers to purchase at the new LCCC City Fresh stop.
City Fresh is a program of the New Agrarian Center, a non-profit organization that distributes locally grown seasonable vegetables and fruit to residents of Lorain, Cuyahoga, and Summit Counties. The majority of fruits and veggies are grown without the use of pesticides or genetic modifications, and even the vehicles that delivery produce use old vegetable oil. And you can guarantee that the supplies are fresh, as they are picked up within 24 hours of harvesting. Access to this incredible program has become even easier for residents of Lorain County with the establishment of the new pick-up location.
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