“If I say the word ‘farmer,’ what do you see? Is it a white man in overalls on top of a tractor?” asked Johnson County Local Foods Coordinator Ilsa DeWald.
In reality, farms have many diverse people that work together, she said. But sometimes we leave those elements out of the story. These narratives shape our food systems and can influence how we relate to food, including what we might envision for the future, DeWald said.
At this year’s Local Foods Roundtable, the Johnson County Food Policy Council is inviting people to reflect on their personal perceptions of food, and which stories are helping shape the sustainable food system that works for everyone.
“What are those narratives and those commonplace story scenes that are out there in the community? Are those ones that are going to help us approach our vision of a community-based food system, a resilient equitable food system?” DeWald asked. “Can we offer other stories to help us transform that community narrative into the vision we want it to be?”
The roundtable will be this Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center Social Hall. The event is free and masks are required.
The event is aimed to facilitate discussion between local food organizations, like Field to Family and Iowa Valley Resource Conservation & Development, and food businesses, including farmers, caterers and restaurant owners. But Dewald said anyone interested in local food production is encouraged to attend.
“We’re all stakeholders in the food system as we all eat food,” she said. “It’s an opportunity to both get a snapshot of some of the organizations and community work that’s happening around food systems, as well as an opportunity to put names to faces.”
Participants will break into small groups to share their food stories and talk about food culture, before reassembling into a large group to discuss how we can use storytelling to integrate sustainable food production, processing, distribution, consumption and waste management with our environmental, economic and social health.
The Local Foods Roundtable began as a Field to Family advisory board event, and has grown into a larger networking opportunity. This year’s roundtable is the first hosted by the Johnson County Food Policy Council, as well as the council’s first in-person event since 2020. The focus on food narratives is also a first for the event.
“The storytelling element was just like one facet of what we could talk about as folks interested in the food system,” Dewald said. “That element could change or grow, or maybe there’s interest in diving into that more.”
Another popular narrative is diet culture and how quixotic beauty ideals can influence our relationship to food.
“Even if I myself don’t necessarily believe that like ‘weight equals health,’ like that’s still a larger narrative that I have to like talk myself out of believing sometimes,” DeWald said. “What are those things that like we might carry within ourselves?”
Those interested in attending can register online for the roundtable event, but registration isn’t required. Local snacks will served, including items from Oasis, tamales, fresh juice and Wake Up Iowa Coffee.
“It’s a chance for people in our food system to gather and just re-energize around the work of building our community-based system, and reflect on how we’re doing that work,” DeWald said, summing up the event.
