The manager of the Flint Farmer's Market, Dick Ramsdell has been a key supporter and promoter of Community Supported Agriculture here in Genesee County. There is a great article on the front page of Monday's (Jan. 28) Flint Journal by Elizabeth Shaw entitled "Green Thumbs - Urban Agriculture in Full Bloom Here" (link) that discusses some of what is going on here in our area.
Want to learn about Community Supported Agriculture or how to join a CSA group with local farms? There's a free public meeting coming up:
When: 7 p.m. Feb. 5
Where: First Presbyterian Church, 746 S. Saginaw St., Flint.
Details: (810) 938-4246 or chsramsdell@hotmail.com
A few interesting local food factoids from the article
(Source: Food Bank Council of Michigan):
If every Michigan family bought just $10 per week of Michigan produce, it would keep $37 million a week or $1.9 billion a year from leaving the state.
Food now travels an average of 1,500 miles to get onto Michigan tables. (Think of the fuel burned!) 50 percent of trucks on interstate highways carry food.
A Michigan Land Use Institute study reports local buying could generate almost 2,000 new jobs and increase farm income as much as 16 percent.
