Food

How can Miami Valley communities increase the share of our diets that comes from our “foodshed?”

Paradoxically, great agricultural abundance and high rates of food insecurity exist side-by-side in Ohio, including the Miami Valley. When measured by total commodity value by state, Ohio ranked 16th in the nation in agricultural production in 2018. At the same time, overall food insecurity rates (FIR) in the Miami Valley range from about 13 percent (Miami County) to 16 percent (Montgomery County). There is an emerging consensus that a stronger local food system can bridge this gap while also fostering a more resilient local economy and social fabric.

What Communities can do

There are numerous ways communities can support the Miami Valley’s local food economy. These efforts will keep money circulating in your community, build social cohesion and improve your residents’ health.

  • Highlight the many benefits of local food in community newsletters and events.
  • Encourage the development of farmers markets in your community. Allow schools to host farmers markets on weekends or after-school hours.
  • Partner with the extension service of either Ohio State University or Central State University to bring the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) to your community. The program utilizes interactive discussions and activities to guide low- and moderate-income participants through a series of community-based workshops. These workshops are aimed at improving diet quality, food safety, and physical activity. Adult participants also gain skills in food preparation and managing their food budgets.
  • Share Five Rivers MetroPark’s Earth to Table resources and programming with your residents.
  • Support campaigns that encourage community members and community institutions to purchase from local food producers, artisans, businesses, and farmers in your community and the Region.
  • Encourage your school district to prioritize local food for school breakfast and lunch programs. Additionally, schools can participate in the OSU Extension’s Farm to School program.
  • Wright State University and Five Rivers MetroParks have helped numerous school districts start school gardens.
  • Food waste and hunger exist side-by-side on our communities. Facilitate connections between institutions that produce food waste and agencies that distribute food to people experiencing food insecurity. The Dayton Foodbank can assist in this effort.
  • Educate citizens about how the growing practices of local farmers can impact water and air quality, as well as the nutritional content of food.

  • Organize staff memberships in a local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.
  • For city food services, set a procurement goal for obtaining healthy food that is grown locally within the Great Miami and/or Little Miami Watersheds. Cleveland Heights has a policy requiring the city to consider purchasing local and Fair Trade food.
  • Offer a bid discount to local food providers when bidding contracts.
  • Colleges and High Schools can work with the Food Recovery Network and K-12 Food Rescue, respectively, to ensure that leftover, prepared foods are donated to local agencies fighting hunger. The University of Dayton has a Food Recovery Network chapter.
  • Have community staff and leadership participate in the Annual Food Summit organized through the Montgomery County Food Equity Coalition.
  • Leverage economic development resources to provide technical assistance and financing to new and expanding food-based businesses in your community.
  • Make it easy for community gardens to access water from fire hydrants or other sources. The City of Dayton, Department of Water has a model program.
  • Help develop neighborhood centers and community kitchens at community gardens.

  • Plan for food uses — Encourage the creation of food businesses through land use and economic development plans. The “Resettle Youngstown” initiative, part of the Youngstown 2010 Plan, has led to a city policy allowing urban homesteads (houses with an adjacent one- to two-acre area) for intensive urban food production.
  • Permit urban farming uses — Allow urban gardening and small-scale agriculture on residential, commercial, and other properties. The National League of Cities has numerous example policies, codes, and ordinances.
  • Ohio EPA has a model zoning code to encourage organic waste composting and urban agriculture.
  • Protect urban gardens — Cleveland’s urban garden district zoning classification provides legal protection to significant community garden sites.
  • Permit animals - Local communities are revisiting restrictions on farm animals in residential areas in order to allow chickens, ducks, rabbits, bees, goats, and other livestock, under certain conditions. The City of Xenia has adopted an Accessory Use code for the Raising of Small Livestock (see chapter 1224.01)
  • Front-yard gardens — Some communities allow homeowners to use front and side yards for edible plant gardens, while defining acceptable maintenance standards. Cleveland Heights’ vegetable/edible gardens zoning amendment is a model — see section 1121.12(l).
  • Establish a Public Market to enhance food security/justice, connect consumers with local farmers/producers, and foster locally-based economic development.
  • Establish Healthy Food Zones in coordination with efforts to increase access to healthy, fresh foods.
  • Pesticide ban — See Trees, Native Species & Land Management chapter.

A major part of the sustainable food picture is the development of a regional food system that links cities and the surrounding countryside. Communities in the Miami Valley can all be thinking about how they fit into the bigger picture, and they can be engaged in a number of initiatives, such as:
  • Work with county Land Banks and local food advocates to streamline the process of transferring vacant parcels to urban agriculture uses.
  • Work with the OSU Extension to establish an urban agriculture model of practice with standards, site control guidelines for public access, and possible discounts on property tax and water use.
  • Support small (15-50 acres) organic farms, which have a valuable and sustainable role to play in our local food economy. Communities of all kinds can support efforts of the Organic Farmers Association and the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association to foster organic farming.
  • Work with Montgomery County’s Food Equity Coalition to help convene sustainable food advocates and figure out ways to plug the gaps in the regional food system.
  • Map “food deserts” with Public Health Dayton-Montgomery County and other partners. Then, develop programs to promote the sale of healthy foods in those areas.
  • Develop kitchen incubators to help launch food processing businesses.
  • Organize food-waste composting on a regional scale. Private sector composting companies operating at a community scale or regional scale exist in the Miami Valley.
  • Build on the competitive advantage of food and beverage business clusters in the Miami Valley. Support the replacement of imported products with local products and expand regional exports to national markets.
  • Work with local restaurants to reduce food waste. Encourage them to offer steep discounts during their final hour of operation for foods likely to be thrown out if not sold. These businesses can collaborate on a smartphone app that highlights such deals in real time. Food For All is an example from Boston, MA.