Enterprise Story

Santa, Idaho is not a place most people, even from the Palouse, know much about.

“It’s just a post office and the area surrounding it,” Santa resident, Leah Sempel, said.

However, Santa is part of a greater trend of growing and buying local and organic food. Both Sempel and fellow Santa resident Elizabeth Taylor drive a little over an hour each week to bring their organically grown produce to the thriving Moscow Farmers’ Market.

“More and more people want to get back to knowing what they’re eating and who’s growing it,” Sempel said.

Washington and Idaho are ranked in the top 20 agriculture producing states, and both are in the top five for several specific crops, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Web site.

Now, this hub of produce is overwhelmingly jumping on the local and organic bandwagon, with almost 700 Washington organic farms and more than 70,000 organic acres, as of 2006, a 1,000 percent increase from 1988, according to the Washington State Department of Agriculture Web site.

The trend is easy to see in the Palouse. The Moscow-Pullman area alone has 137 organic farms within a 100 mile radius, according to Local Harvest’s Web site.

“People want to buy fresher food and support their community,” Sempel said.

In addition to Moscow’s farmers’ market, now in its fourth decade, Pullman started a weekly market this summer. It was mostly organized by the Washington State University Organic Farm, another new addition to the local organic food movement, said Deborah Pehrson, WSU Tukey Orchard farm manager.

“It seems like more people are looking for, and are willing to pay for, organic and local food,” Pehrson said. “People that find local fruit really prefer it,” she said, because it is fresher, it tastes better and it is more environmentally and health friendly.

One of the most common hesitations about local or organic food is price. Comparing price to larger chains is something most local farmers are unwilling to do because they say the products just do not compare.

“It’s not the same food,” Taylor said.

Growers try to stay reasonable and fair so that their product is accessible to people, Sempel said. Some of the produce ends up less expensive than grocery stores, some more.

However, as petroleum price increase, local food will be the less expensive option, said Kelly Kingsland of Affinity Farm in Moscow.

“As barrels of oil get more and more expensive, local food will get more and more feasible,” she said.

Many people seem to be catching on to this idea. While she worried economic trouble would keep people away, Sempel said she has done better in the last few years than before the economy bust.

Another issue for some, is that local doesn’t always mean certified organic, but an organic label doesn’t always mean better, Taylor said. A large producer can get a USDA certified organic label but still cut corners, she said. And while local farmers may not have the certification, it matters less because customers can talk to the person who grew the food and even visit the farm.

“People are tired of fast and far away,” Taylor said. “As society and civilization progress, I think it’s very important to people to connect with where their food is grown.”

Outline:
Intro- Santa and the farmers at the market
Overview quote about organic/local
What the trend is in Washington/Idaho
-USDA and WSDA data
Localize to Palouse
-orchard, organic farm and farmers’ markets
Why eat local/organic
Issues with local/organic
Summary end quote


Sources:
*Deb Pehrson WSU Tukey Orchard Farm Manager (509)335-6700
*Kelly Kingsland Affinity Farm (208)892-9000
*Elizabeth Taylor – independent farm (208)245-3343
*Leah Sempel – independent farm (208)245-4381
usda.gov
agr.wa.gov
localharvest.org
*in-person interview