Last semester Dr. Russo
instructed GEOG 360: Food Systems, which is new to FSU’s curriculum. The class worked
on a collaborative research project that Dr. Russo hoped could have the
potential to be useful for a regional food assessment of Western Maryland and
to inform local decision making.
The students conducted
research following some of the guidelines advised by the Community Food Security Coalition. According to the coalition, “a Community Food Assessment is a
participatory and collaborative process that examines a broad range of
food-related issues and assets in order to improve the community’s food system.”
The presentation highlighted the results of the data collection and mapping that GEOG 360 students worked on throughout the semester.
The first thing the class was tasked with was figuring out the geographical area they would study. Since western Maryland is a relatively thin strip of land between PA and WV, the class decided to include some out of state counties in the assessment.
The counties studied were Somerset, Bedford, Fulton, and Franklin in PA; Garrett, Allegany, and Washington in MD; and Mineral, Morgan, Hampshire, and Berkley in WV.
The class’s research revealed a great deal about the local food system. The overall number of farms in the area and the average age of farmers both increased from 2002 to 2007. Pennsylvania counties contain the most farms in the area, but the median age range of farmers is lower than the rest of the area studied, most likely due to the Amish and Mennonite populations in PA counties.
Raising cattle is one of the biggest money makers in agriculture in the area. The class found that 10 million pounds of beef per year is produced from cattle raised in the region. The local population consumes about 14 million pounds of beef per year. The region is around 4 billion pounds of beef short sustain the area’s total beef consumption. In order to sustain the populations beef consumption, 11,257 more cattle would need to be raised in the area.
“This kind of research lets people know where we are now, and where we need to go to become more self-sufficient,” said Dr. Russo.
The class also studied how food is distributed in the area and found that buying locally isn’t easy here. Most food in our grocery stores, institutions, and restaurants come from national distributers like Sysco.
Options for alternative food sources, such as food co-ops, CSAs, and farmer’s markets, are relatively scarce in the area. The closest co-op to FSU is in Morgantown, WV and the second closest is in Frederick, Maryland. There are, however, some farmer’s markets closer to FSU. One is in Cumberland and the other is in Garrett County.
“Finding local farms is one of the hardest things to do,” commented audience member, Susan Snow, an upper-class ethnobotany major from Germantown, MD.
Snow and her classmates recently researched local commercial farms. Out of the 40 total farms in the area which they studied, they were only able to find 8 on the internet.
As it is now, the best way to find a local farm to purchase goods from is through word of mouth or driving around, looking for signs along the sides of rural roads. The creation of a food co-op could help with difficulty of buying goods that are produced locally.
The class concluded that Western Maryland is a work in progress when it comes to the food system. The situation is complicated since counties from three different states are involved, but the area has the potential to produce and distribute more locally.
“Buying locally is not about only eating what we can grow—but about eating more of what is producible here,” Dr. Russo stated.
GEOG 360 will be offered every other fall. GEOG 104/114 is the only prerequisite for the course.
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