Rasheed Hislop, an Oberlin College student, mulches summer squash as a part of a young farmer leadership program a the George Jones Farm and Nature Preserve.

The New Agraian Center: Weaving a Local Food Web in Northeast Ohio By Brad Masi

From rural Lorain County to inner-city Cleveland, we share one thing in common: we all eat. The food choices we make have a profound impact on the future shape of our region. Consider that almost $7 billion is spent annually on food in Cuyahoga and the surrounding six counties; yet most of these food dollars leave the region and even the state of Ohio because purchased food has been raised elsewhere. The New Agrarian Center (NAC) is a non-profit organization committed to building a stronger and more sustainable regional food system in Northeast Ohio – a food system that promotes health as it relates to land, communities, individuals and the economy. It represents a growing network between rural and urban areas that are finding more in common with each other as Northeast Ohio confronts significant land-use challenges and questions about its economic future.

Joe Logan, President of the Ohio Farmers Union, talks about his farm as a part of the Real Low Calorie Diet, a documen-tary film on the "growing" local food movement in Northeast Ohio.

The work of the New Agrarian Centeris based on the following core principles:
• Connect the needs of urban and rural    communities in Northeast Ohio.
•  Promote food security for our    communities through reliable access    to local foods.
•  Restore the critical ecosystem    services needed for a secure food    system and healthy watersheds.
• Use food and the production of food    as a gathering point for the    community and include connections    between youth and elders.
• Foster collaborative partnerships with    business, government and civic    organizations.
• Strengthen the agrarian economy through local provision of food, energy and materials.

Based at the George Jones Farm and Nature Preserve in Oberlin, which provides an ideal geographic hinge    point between traditional urban cores of Cleveland, Lorain and Elyria and rural areas to the west and south,    NAC's primary programs include:
• The City Fresh program, which improves local-food access for inner-city residents and businesses through    Fresh Stop neighborhood food centers, urban farming, youth empower-
   -ment and farm-to-business links.
• A cooperative farm incubator at the Jones Farm, which supports start-ups in small scale, sustainable, local food    production geared toward young or beginning farmers.
• The Agrarian Learning Network, which facilitates cross-learning and capacity building in local food systems    through forums, workshops and alternative media.

Learn more about how a new agrarian vision can contribute to Northeast Ohio's regional future by visiting NAC's website: www.GotTheNAC.org.

Brad Masi is the executive director of the New Agrarian Center, based in Oberlin, Ohio. Brad is a graduate of Oberlin College and has a master’s degree in urban studies from Cleveland State University. He works extensively on supporting local-food systems through writing, speaking, teaching and organizing.

Photos by Brad Masi.