Sometimes opportunities arise that feel both daunting and invigorating at the same time. The Salmon-Challis Local Food Study project represented one such opportunity for me. And what resulted from many months of conversation and nearly a year of work went beyond what I could have hoped for when presented with the opportunity.
As part of a joint effort between Lemhi County Economic Development Association and Custer Economic Development Association, the question was asked “How can we as the community strengthen the local food system?” In collaboration with the local steering committee made up of members from both EDAs and community members representing Salmon Valley Stewardship, Lemhi Regional Land Trust, and The Wilderness Society, my colleague Becca Skinner and I embarked on a journey of listening, witnessing and engaging with the people of these two stunningly beautiful counties.
Logistically, the project was broken into phases, each meant to look more intentionally and in-depth at the overarching question through a different lens: 1)The producer - farmers, ranchers, value-added food product makers; 2) The infrastructure - various components of the supply and support chains; 3) The consumer, which we rephrased and affectionately called “the eater”. Though there were many interim deliverables, tools, and information offered, the project ultimately provided recommendations. These findings served as either answers to the question at hand, or further questions to ask to get closer to an eventual answer.
Together with the insightful individuals who served on the steering committee, we set the tone in this project in a way that I have not in past efforts. We gave each other permission. Permission to bring your whole self, not just your professional persona, but your whole self. Permission to work from a place of belonging and invitation focused on outcomes more than outputs. Permission to iterate, learn, change and re-evaluate, all of us, as we worked through the plan we had decided before we knew what we were getting into. And from the start through to the finish and now after the project, that one single choice, the choice to give permission, has yielded regenerative impacts. In each step, from meetings to visits to timelines to decisions to recommendations, we consciously created space, space for more questions, for taking the time it takes, for building relationships, for caring for ourselves so that we could show up fully and for encouraging others to do the same, for being full people in all the mess and beauty that comes with it. And I would like to think that the way we went about the project, the how of the what, strengthened the local food system in and of itself throughout the project in little ways that were felt and might even be measurable.
In meeting with grocers, school superintendents and cooks, farmers, educators, ranchers, meat processors, bakers, chefs, extension agents, community garden growers, non-profit leaders, senior center volunteers, community leaders, plant start growers, food entrepreneurs, cheese makers, backyard gardeners, and farmers market regulars, Becca and I were able to get to know the communities of Mackay, Leadore, North Fork, Salmon, Elk Bend, and Challis, to really know them. The shared fears and hopes that reverberate throughout so many rural western communities were made specific and singular in the hands and hearts, dreams and desires of the people who call Central Idaho home. And in doing the work, we had the wonderful privilege of (hopefully) making people feel heard, seen, and valued. They in turn gave me a sense of belonging that I just didn’t see coming, in all the best ways.
And for Lemhi and Custer Counties, this report (below) is yet another step in an ongoing community conversation about food security and sovereignty. I can’t wait to see where the conversation goes.