Lincoln Adopts a Local Food System Plan
by Marilyn McNabb
Most of the food we eat in Lincoln is flown in daily—about 90 percent of it. Grocery stores stock only three days’ worth of inventory. That’s a fragile system. As we move into even more unpredictable weather because of climate change, risks to producers and supply chains will increase.
A remarkably broad group of Lincoln citizens put together the city’s new Local Food System Plan, adopted by Mayor Gaylor Baird in July and approved by the Planning Commission and the City Council. Leadership and credit for developing broad support for the 73-page report should go to Tim Rinne, formerly NFP’s Coordinator, and Dr. Megan McGuffey, who heads Community Crops and holds a Ph.D. in food policy. The project has had strong support from Councilmember Tammy Ward.
The Food Plan follows the 2020 Climate Action Plan Draft (Oct. 2020) and the 2021-2027 Climate Action Plan adopted by the City Council in March 2021. Both named a “resilient” local food system as a goal. You can find both of these and the Local Food System Plan online. Mayor Gaylor Baird’s strong support was, of course, essential from the start.
The food plan calls for access to healthy food for all, increasing local food production, promoting good production practices that protect soil, water, and air, and reducing food waste.
The plan envisions much more of our food grown right here, in backyard gardens, balconies and decks, community gardens, schoolyards, church grounds, and the like, and on farmland near Lincoln. The definition of “local” in “local food” varies from Lancaster County to a 250-mile radius of Lincoln to anywhere in the state. Any of those definitions would bring down greenhouse gas emissions and increase resiliency.
Local farmland hasn’t always been dedicated to livestock feed and fuel for motor vehicles. That change happened after War II. The Plan notes that of the farms in Lancaster County, 95% are family-owned, and half are less than 50 acres. Most grow corn and soybeans. Only about 8 percent of Lancaster County farms sell food to local consumers. How might that change if some of the recommendations in the Food Plan become reality? What if we had local food processing opportunities? Year-round farmers’ markets? And many other possibilities.
The Plan has good practical ideas and visionary goals (pp. 40—42). For an interesting comparison, you may want to look at the current results of a plan the Winnebago tribe crafted in 2012, one that has some of the same goals as Lincoln’s new plan. Google “Winnebago Tribe Turns to Organic Farming, Looks to Build a Future of Food Sovereignty,” Omaha World-Herald 5/23/23.
You might expect the part of the Food Plan about reducing food waste to be predictable, even dull. But it’s shocking. It quotes the Environmental Protection Agency: about 35 percent of the U.S. food supply is wasted annually. Approximately half of that is wasted during consumption by households and food services. Fruits, vegetables, dairy, and eggs are the most frequently wasted foods. The EPA found that nationally, this wasted food creates the equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions of more than 42 coal-fired plants and uses an area of agricultural land equal to New York and California.
We’ve changed before. We can again.
Most of the food we eat in Lincoln is flown in daily—about 90 percent of it. Grocery stores stock only three days’ worth of inventory. That’s a fragile system. As we move into even more unpredictable weather because of climate change, risks to producers and supply chains will increase.
A remarkably broad group of Lincoln citizens put together the city’s new Local Food System Plan, adopted by Mayor Gaylor Baird in July and approved by the Planning Commission and the City Council. Leadership and credit for developing broad support for the 73-page report should go to Tim Rinne, formerly NFP’s Coordinator, and Dr. Megan McGuffey, who heads Community Crops and holds a Ph.D. in food policy. The project has had strong support from Councilmember Tammy Ward.
The Food Plan follows the 2020 Climate Action Plan Draft (Oct. 2020) and the 2021-2027 Climate Action Plan adopted by the City Council in March 2021. Both named a “resilient” local food system as a goal. You can find both of these and the Local Food System Plan online. Mayor Gaylor Baird’s strong support was, of course, essential from the start.
The food plan calls for access to healthy food for all, increasing local food production, promoting good production practices that protect soil, water, and air, and reducing food waste.
The plan envisions much more of our food grown right here, in backyard gardens, balconies and decks, community gardens, schoolyards, church grounds, and the like, and on farmland near Lincoln. The definition of “local” in “local food” varies from Lancaster County to a 250-mile radius of Lincoln to anywhere in the state. Any of those definitions would bring down greenhouse gas emissions and increase resiliency.
Local farmland hasn’t always been dedicated to livestock feed and fuel for motor vehicles. That change happened after War II. The Plan notes that of the farms in Lancaster County, 95% are family-owned, and half are less than 50 acres. Most grow corn and soybeans. Only about 8 percent of Lancaster County farms sell food to local consumers. How might that change if some of the recommendations in the Food Plan become reality? What if we had local food processing opportunities? Year-round farmers’ markets? And many other possibilities.
The Plan has good practical ideas and visionary goals (pp. 40—42). For an interesting comparison, you may want to look at the current results of a plan the Winnebago tribe crafted in 2012, one that has some of the same goals as Lincoln’s new plan. Google “Winnebago Tribe Turns to Organic Farming, Looks to Build a Future of Food Sovereignty,” Omaha World-Herald 5/23/23.
You might expect the part of the Food Plan about reducing food waste to be predictable, even dull. But it’s shocking. It quotes the Environmental Protection Agency: about 35 percent of the U.S. food supply is wasted annually. Approximately half of that is wasted during consumption by households and food services. Fruits, vegetables, dairy, and eggs are the most frequently wasted foods. The EPA found that nationally, this wasted food creates the equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions of more than 42 coal-fired plants and uses an area of agricultural land equal to New York and California.
We’ve changed before. We can again.
