Keeping it Local

The Bank Street Farmers Market bustles with activity on Saturday mornings. Local farmers, bakers, butchers and artisans gather to unload their goods on the public. Seasoned patrons know which stalls sell locally grown and organic produce, while the novice may not realize that some distributors offer the same produce as a super-sized grocery store, grown on industrial farms across the globe. This produce travels on average more than 1000 miles before reaching your plate, somehow remaining astonishingly fresh-looking after the trip. The novice might also miss the presence of cancer-causing fertilizers and pesticides used to grow their future dinner, as laws do not require appropriate labeling.

Many scientists conclude that the chemicals used in massive assembly-line farming remain in the product eaten by the end consumer, thereby contributing to the all-time high cancer rates of the American population. The book Fatal Harvest presents the results of many agricultural studies in combination with an array of photos comparing traditional farms with single-crop monstrosities. The corporate agriculture industry fights any political effort to inform the American people of problems associated with destructive farming practices with intense lobbying. Several classes on campus deal with these issues, from Dan Lipson’s Environmental Policy and Politics to biology professor Binney Girdler’s Environmental Science course. Amelia Katanski’s first-year seminar on commitments in fall 2005 ended with the creation of Farms to K, a partnership of Kalamazoo College and the local farm community.

A cheerleader for Farms to K, the People’s Food Co-Op downtown Kalamazoo supports local farmers with zestful passion. A colorful sign boasting groceries and fresh produce invites pedestrians of the Kalamazoo Mall inside, where they will find no average grocery store. Petite yellow signs cry out, Local! Organic! Whole! Natural! Tomato coconut curry love soup wafts from the deli corner to meet with the scents of hemp and incense. Unkempt beards and wild dreadlocks scurry about gathering their cherished fares, politely excusing themselves as they squeeze past one another in the tight aisles.

The not-for-profit Co-op seeks to provide local, organic and natural products at a reasonable cost. This task tends to be quite difficult in the United States, where corn, wheat and soy based processed foods are heavily subsidized. In comparison, farming legislation gives almost no incentive to farmers who grow a variety of fresh produce in a way that is not harmful to the land. Going against the grain, the People’s Food Co-Op tries to tackle this issue and offer an alternative.

Professor Dan Lipson not only shops at the Co-op, but accepted his job in Kalamazoo partly because of its existence. He researched People’s before making the decision and now proudly supports the community surrounding it.

Many customers with memberships do the vast majority of their grocery shopping at the Co-op. Though a wide range of ages and income levels belong to this group, customers share a few similarities. The regulars generally live or work downtown and tend to be environmentally conscious. They often arrive with cloth grocery bags and empty containers, leaving with them full of bulk grains, pasta and dried beans and a smile on their face. People’s is a community within a community, where customer service rules. Member requests dictate the inventory carried and may include personal orders for items not already available. Employees quickly approach the obvious first-timers to offer needed guidance.

Members of the core group include the young, trendy staff members. Heather Finch, 22, works as the assistant manager at People’s and like most employees, spends much of her free time hanging out and shopping there as well. Even with her modest income she only shops elsewhere when she needs a bottle of wine.

“I eat nasty food sometimes too,” Finch admits, “but when I’m eating well I feel better.” Does she feel like she is giving up a lot to eat this way? “Yes. The potential for thousands of dollars of medical bills.”

Boxed macaroni and cheese costs two dollars at People’s, while the standard version holds strong at $0.49. “Look at the ingredients! You have to know what you’re paying for,” Finch counters. The conventional type has several ingredients no one but a chemist could identify or pronounce.

This goes for produce as well. Local eaters have to pay extra for farmers not to process their crops into packaged foods laden with salt and corn syrup. They pay them to farm the old fashioned way, without a deadly fog of cancer-causing pesticides and genetically weakened seeds. They pay so farmers can earn a decent living without hefty subsidies from the government. They demand that farmers treat their land and animals with care.

Kalamazoo College student K’tanaw Schiff, 20, agrees. She proudly declares that her whole suite enjoys using the co-op. “I’m okay with paying more because their stuff tastes better. Its local and animal friendly and I support that.”

Competition with other health stores in town doesn’t seem to phase the Co-op staff, who don’t aim to compete with the massive grocery conglomerates on the outskirts of town. Sometimes they send customers to Natural Health Center on West Main if they can’t find a certain item, especially for natural medicines or beauty products. One competitor with a drastically different approach to the business of health is Sawall Health Foods on Oakland Drive. Much like a cleaner version of Walgreen’s, the store blasts customers with air conditioning and fluorescent lighting. Packaged products stand in perfect military formation on cold metal shelving in a dozen double-wide aisles. The same 32 ounce organic yogurt costs 60 cents more than at the Co-op. No chefs bustle in the back making fresh sandwiches and soups but bakery breads from as far as Florida fill the freezers.

Back at the People’s Food Co-op, customers proudly buy bread, dairy, eggs, produce, music and even supplies like dish cloths made in Michigan and northern Indiana. As patrons multiply, the store aspires to move to a larger location by 2009 within the downtown area, remaining the glue that holds this eclectic community together.