Food security meetings in LaCrosse, Endicott

Jana Mathia, Gazette Reporter | Apr 05, 20180

The Palouse Tables Project has community meetings planned for two Whitman County towns this month to discuss food security and build networks to improve locals' access to fresh food.

“It's just to engage more ideas,” said Michelle Blankas with the Community Action Center (CAC), which is heading the project.

The events are for “anyone and everyone who might be interested in food,” Blankas said. Since everyone eats, that means the invitation is for everyone. And, knowing those attending already are interested in food, dinner will be served at both events.

Palouse Tables Project is a collaborative effort between the CAC, Backyard Harvest and others. Community meeting and focus groups have been and are scheduled around Whitman and Latah counties with the goal of gaining a better understanding of what people would like to see in terms of food.

The first event for the project in rural Whitman County was held last month in Rosalia. That was only supposed to be a focus group, but there was “vibrant” visioning.

“There were a lot of fiery, passion voices” at the Rosalia gathering, Blankas said.

Ideas came up of hydroponics outside the school, edible landscapes like pear trees growing along main street and nutrition and cooking classes. Those in attendance were able to build on their own networks. One example was an area hog producer and a nutritionist connecting.

“They're about the visioning,” Blankas said of the community food meetings coming to LaCrosse and Endicott this month.

Blankas and others with the Palouse Tables Project have already reached out and visited with some people in each of the communities to get the lay of the land.

In LaCrosse, they came on a day the library was open and were able to talk to people there, including the food pantry manager and librarian who both suggested cooking classes.

Blankas was told the town had tried a community garden which did not work out.

So one possible subject at the food meeting could be what could be done differently to get a community garden to thrive.

Community gardens not only provide a place to grow food, but offer educational opportunities for people to learn gardening and plant husbandry.

She also hopes to engage more farmers and gauge their willingness to be involved, especially in the farm-to-food bank program which pays for fresh produce from area farmers.

Blankas acknowledged that the needs may be different in different towns. One common thread for the small towns is trying to create more reliance in the community. Palouse Tables has heard that distance can be a problem for people to get food, so they want to look at ways to have more food available at those rural locations.

Networking and helping people see connections they might not have before is one way the Palouse Tables Project works toward food security. Church groups, seniors, gardeners, volunteers, 4H groups, school and civic organizations can all participate in some way in feeding their communities.

Once all the community meetings and focus groups are done, the Palouse Tables Project will enter its third phase which is where the rubber meets the road. The CAC will assume the role of applying for grants to get the towns the funds they need to implement the food security ideas addressed, in whatever form they worked out to be.

The meeting in LaCrosse is April 10 at the Gathering Place, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. In Endicott, the meeting is April 17 at the Endicott Food Center, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Dinner will be provided at both stops.