Rebuilding a Local Food System

It is hard to believe I’ve been Executive Director at Community Crops for six months now. And what a six months it has been! One thing I know for certain is that we are in a critical moment for local food and there is nowhere I would rather be as we navigate the challenges ahead.

Nebraska’s identity and economic livelihood are strongly tied to agriculture, but over 90% of the food Nebraskans consume is imported to our state. Daily consumption of fruits and veggies among Nebraskans is much lower than recommended for a healthy diet. These issues impact the economic and physical health of our community. 

Here at Community Crops, we believe rebuilding the local food system is key to reclaiming our health and economic power as a community. The COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t change that belief, but it requires us to be more flexible, more creative, and to act more urgently than ever. Lincoln deserves a food system that nourishes all members of our community, from our farmers to our resource-limited neighbors, and we will keep striving to get there.

Our community garden waiting list has over ninety families this year and we are redesigning everything from our plant and veggie sales to our education programming to make sure we are still reaching the community with resources they need to grow local food. 

Community Crops understands our work only begins in our programming spaces like the gardens, farm, and greenhouse. To truly move the needle on growing local food will require many partnerships and bold strategies to transform the landscape of Lincoln. We see every vacant lot, yard, patio, and windowsill as a potential growing space and every member of our community, whether they’ve been gardening all their life or are planting or visiting their local farmers market for the first time, as a vital participant in the local food revolution.

Your donation this Give to Lincoln Day helps us continue this vital work. A gift of any size gets us closer to reaching our goals. And regardless of your present circumstances, we appreciate your support in spreading the word about the importance of local food and how Community Crops is here to help!

Sincerely,

Megan McGuffey, MPA