A Farming and Food Movements History of the Cincinnati Tri-State Region

A Farming and Food Movements History of the Cincinnati Tri-State Region Authors: R. Alan Wight, Ph.D., with John Metz, Ph,D. Copy Editing: Alyssa, Ryan, MA Contributing Authors: Angie Carl, Deborah Jordan, MaryLu Lageman, Michaela Oldfield, Frank Russell, Karima Samadi, Kathleen Smythe, Jamie Stoneham, and Braden Trauth Thank you to the key stakeholders for their interviews, input, and insights: Ana Bird, Jack Brubrick, Kevin Fitzgerald, Larry Falkin, Robin Henderson, Steve Johns, Lauren Niemes Lancaster, Vicki Mansoor, Tom Redfern, Harv Rholing, and David Rosenberg.

Thank you to all the farmers, extension agents, and business owners who took the time to share their stories.

Special Thank You: Angie Carl and Michaela Oldfield for your input and copyediting.

Send additions, edits, & corrections: Robert.Wight@thechristcollege.edu.

Introduction This interactive-hyperlinked-timeline documents some of the major food, farming, and business-related histories of the Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana Tri-State region. The region is loosely defined as the three states, with a particular focus on Cincinnati, Ohio and Green Umbrella’s 10-county service area—approximately a 75-mile radius from the city.

There are some references to significant developments in Cleveland, Athens, Purdue, Louisville, and Lexington as well. This cataloguing builds on the previous work of other agrifood advocates, organizations, scholars, and initiatives in our region, such as the Ohio Ecological Food and Farming Association (OEFFA), the Niehoff Studio’s Food Congress and student projects, the Nutrition Council, the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati, Findlay Market, The City of Cincinnati’s Office of Environment and Sustainability, Edible Ohio Valley Magazine, the Central Ohio River Valley Food Guide, Green Umbrella’s Local Food Action Team and Greater Cincinnati Regional Food Policy Council, and the Ohio State University Extension Service.

The purpose of this record is four-fold. First, we know that looking back can help us understand the present, and properly plan for the future. Thus, as participants, co-creators, and members of this community, we have a vested interest in directing and developing our food-related policies, programs, and projects in more socially, economic, and ecologically

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

1

just ways. Second, as storytellers, these long weaves of facts and lore root us in place, in food, and in friendship. Third, as documentarians, chronologists, historians, and movement intellectuals, the act of recording and framing future conversations helps shape the next iteration of our work. Finally, as critical optimists, we need to celebrate our accomplishments, while taking stock of the obstacles to overcome.

Structure and Content The timeline is divided into historical periods around transportation and food technologies and the rise of environmental and food movements. Section 1: rivers and canals (1788-1869), 2. railroads (1870-1915), 3. automobiles, home refrigeration, and World War II (1916-1949), 4. post World War II suburban sprawl, highway development, and fast food (1950-1969), 5. the emergence of the environmental and food movements (1970-2009), 6. to the current forms and successive social waves of these endeavors (2010 – present). This history is oriented towards the alternative agrifood movement; the smallerscale farms and stores, farmers markets, cooperative businesses, permaculture and environmentally focus educational organizations, and community-based efforts that are engaged in forms of civic agriculture (Lyson, 2000) and the building of resilient food systems.

The majority of the entries trace the establishment of farms, farmers markets, and non-profit organizations. These records track the creation of our famous public market houses (such as Findlay Market), community supported agriculture programs, land trusts, governmental offices and polices, cooking education, and philanthropic funds awarded.

Other noteworthy themes follow the publications and intellectual histories of Food Mapping and the establishment of Local Food Directories. Not included here in detail are our school and community garden developments (see the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati), restaurants, chefs, or our full beer and wine history. In addition, this chronology also highlights Cincinnati’s rich history of Multi-National food and consumer product corporations that are based here (e.g. Kroger, Proctor & Gamble, the Castellini Group, Chiquita Brands International, etc.). The inclusion of these larger entities provides historical depth and context, enabling the reader to see the layers of power, politics, and businesses based in the region. th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

2

Methods This timeline was constructed by gathering primary and secondary sources. The hyperlinks take you to additional information about the organizations, innovations, and histories of these actors. Additional data was collected through 100 phone calls to farmers, business owners, and farm market mangers to ask about their founding dates, key partners, and brief stories. The Central Ohio River Valley Food Guide (2017) provided an initial list, but this quickly grew in a snowball fashion through Internet research, phone conversations, and feedback from contributing authors and key stakeholder interviews. Additional points of entry and data came from the State of the Local Food Report and Community Supported Agriculture as Public Education. An important limitation is that this work is focused on European-American society (since 1795), and does not explore the rich culture and civilizations of the first American people. We must remember and pay homage to the fact that the Shawnee, Miami, Mingo, Chickasaw, and other tribes originally lived in this area, tended the forests, and created their own agricultural systems.

An Invitation Before diving into this timeline, we encourage you to read Ecology, Energy, and Agriculture: A new Synthesis (Wight & Trauth, 2016), which, like this work is a web-based encyclopedia, with links to a wide variety of sources, including peer reviewed articles, PDF copies of text, YouTube videos, popular news stories, historical accounts, and business’s websites. Ecology, Energy, and Agriculture outlines the broader story of our farming developments and the food movement at the national and international levels, providing context to understand our local challenges and accomplishments. Other complimentary works include The State of Local Food Report (Gangwer, 2013) and Who is Training Farmers in the CORV Foodshed (Wight, 2016), both of which focus on this region. Finally, for those who yearn to see the deeper connections, see Community Supported Agriculture as Public Education: Networked Communities of Practice Building Alternative Agrifood Systems (Wight, 2015).

This is a living project. Readers are invited to send their edits, corrections, and additions to be incorporated into the timeline. The goal of this publication is to track and th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

3

expand our food and farming histories for the region. We apologize for any mistakes, misspelling, and/or misrepresentations.

Please limit your entries to 150 words and include references and web addresses (if possible). Send requests to: Robert.Wight@thechristcollege.edu.

Thank you, R. Alan Wight and John Metz

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

4

Section 1: Settlement and Growth – Water Transportation From 1788 to 1869, the region underwent major settlement and colonization by European Americans. Water transportation (The Ohio River) dominated the area with the completion of the Ohio-Erie Canal in 1833. Important developments include an explosion of public market houses1 (see Public Market Time Line and Map) and the establishment and proliferation of a national pork industry based on the disassembly line. The city relied on river and canals to export food. Industry developed in the city and specifically in the Mill Creek valley. Artisanal manufacturing of agricultural tools and machine implements for the meat and meat by-product industries dominated. Towards the end of this period, the Civil War brought changes to the modes of production. The urban population grew and the artisanal and cottage industry transitioned towards larger capitalist and organizational units of production.

1795 Turner Farm is founded.

1801 John James Dofour and other vintners plant grape vines in Vevay Indiana, on the Ohio River. This marks the beginning of our region’s European grape history.

John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed) comes to Ohio, first to Licking County, then eventually along the Ohio River, and later settled in Mansfield for a short period. Chapman kept ahead of the settlers and established many orchards in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana.

1803 The Cook’s Family Farm is founded in Waynesville, Ohio. More here.

1804 In 1804 the city built a market on the first terrace above the river, on Pearl Street between Main and Sycamore Streets. Know as the Pearl Street Market, the stalls inside the building went to butchers, egg dealers, and dairy retailers, while farmers and produce resellers set up curbside stands around the market house.

1 Several of the links in this document regarding the history of Cincinnati’s Public Market Houses connect the reader to original work by John Metz, Ph.D. th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

5

1805 The First Fifth St Market House is built. It is rebuilt 1829 and then later razed in a big political and economic struggle in 1870 so the Tyler Davidson statue could be placed there. This site is dedicated to having a market in its land deed.

1816 The Poland-China Pig Breed is created at the Austin-Magie Farm in Oxford Ohio.

Competing claims come from the Hankinson Farm in Blue Ball, Warren County Ohio.

The pig breed is derived from many different genetic lines, including, but not limed to, the Berkshire and Hampshire. It is the oldest American breed of swine.

1818 The Modern Meatpacking Commercial Industry comes into being in Cincinnati, Ohio.

1823 Nicholas Longworth begins planting grapes on Mt. Ida (now Mt. Adams), in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1825 he plants the Catawba Grape, which was introduced to the US by Major John Adlum. Read more on the history of growing grapes in the Tri-State Region.

Branstrator Farm is establsihed when Andrew Branstrator and his wife, Francis Wilkerson, purchase an estimated 400 acres from Stephen Mason near what is now the Clinton-Massie School. George Washington had allotted Mason 1,000 acres of land from the Virginia Military District for his dedicated service. The farm is now owned and operated by Jon Branstrator, a fifth-generation descendant of Andrew and Francis.

1825 An estimated 40,000 hogs are processed in Cincinnati, Ohio.

1826 John James Dofour publishes the American Vine Dresser’s Guide in Cincinnati. The book presents a detailed account of grape growing and wine making for this regions’ climate and soil.

1829 The Schmeltzer Brewery begins production.

The New Fifth Street Market is constructed on Fifth Street between Vine and Walnut.

The land is deeded to the City "solely for construction of a market house" by George Jones, Elizabeth Ramsan, David Cathcart, Jozabad Loudge, William S. Johnston, Edward Dodson, and Michael P. Cassilly. This becomes known as "Upper Market".

The Miami and Erie Canal Market is constructed on Court Street between Vine and Walnut streets. Court Street was widened to make room for the market house, which provided an outlet for produce and livestock shipped down the Miami and Erie Canal one block north. The Market was torn down in 1864. Read original history here.

Sixth Street Market is built on Sixth Street between Plum and Western Row, a site designated for a market in an 1829 City Master Plan. Also known as "Western Market," the Sixth Street Market was a large, unheated masonry structure with 64 indoor stalls that also housed offices for the City Superintendent of Markets, th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

6

Weights, and Measures. The first building was replaced with a new structure in the mid-1890s The Sixth Street Market was razed in 1960 to make room for the Sixth Street approach to the Mill Creek Freeway (now I-75).

1830’s The Cincinnati Meatpacking Industry develops the precursor to the modern assembly line, better known as the “disassembly line” for taking apart and packing meat for shipment. Henry Ford used these principles to create his famous automobile assembly line.

1832 The Vienna Brewing Company opens as the Pierre Jonte & Friedrich Billiods Brewery. It is reopened after Prohibition ended in 1833 and closes in 1840.

1833 The Ohio-Erie Canal system is completed, connecting the Ohio River to Lake Erie at Toledo, Ohio. The Miami–Erie Canal was completed in 1845.

More than 85,000 pigs were processed in Cincinnati.

1835 Gorman Heritage Farm is settled by the Brown Family and is one of the oldest, continually cultivated farms in the region.

A total of 26 different meat-processing plants are located in Cincinnati. The nickname “Porkopolis” is coined around this time given this concentration of the pork production industry.

1837 Proctor and Gamble is founded. Using the remnants from the pork and meat packing industries, the new business is initially centered on candle and soap making. Both products require lye, which is made from animal fats and wood ashes.

1838 Downing Fruit Farm is established, and today is the oldest business in Darke County, Ohio. Scott Downing is the seventh generation of his family to operate the farm that has always raised fruits such as apples, peaches, and plums. The family has developed several apple varieties, including Downing Land, a cross between Golden Delicious and Rome Beauty, and Pink Sugar.

1840 Cincinnati had 48 Meat Packing companies that employ an average of 25 workers per business.

1846 Records indicate Hamilton County had eighty-three vineyards covering 250 acres.

Cliffsyde Brewing Company opened under the ownership of George Klotter. Later it is called the Hamilton Brewery and is operated as the J.G/William G. Sohn Brewing Company from 1870-1907.

1847 The Ohio Pomological Society is formed. The following year, the American Pomological Society is created. See the history of awards given for fruit development in the US. th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

7

1848 The Wade Street Market was built at the corner of Wade and Bauer Avenue. Wade Street Market was constructed with wood salvaged from the first church erected in Cincinnati, First Presbyterian, which was built in 1792 at the corner of Fourth and Main streets from timber logged on the site. Wade Street Market was demolished in 1898 1850 Robert Buchanan published The Culture of the Grape and Wine Making (link to full text). Cincinnati is referred to as the “Rhine of America.”

There are over 900 acres of grape vines within a 20-mile radius of Cincinnati. It is estimated that 120,000 gallons of wine were pressed in 1850.

Cincinnati is home to 27% of the US’s meat packing industry in the west.

1851 The American Wine Growers Association is formed in Cincinnati. The Association focused on improving the taste of local wine through increased Catawba wine production and market accessibility. This goal was soon expanded to include all domestic wines as association membership grew. The second major aim was to improve the wine through better soil (agri) practices in viticulture in order to obtain superior drink, rather than adulteration of the wine after it was produced.

In Oxford, Ohio, Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth made a major bee-keeping advancement when he built a hive with frames that hung from the top ends. Building upon the previous work of Thomas Wildman (1768/1770) and others, Langstroth figured out that leaving a 3/8 inch space between all sides of the frames and the hive body allowed the bees proper space to work, and not fill the hive entiraly with wax (and honey). These 3/8 inch passageways are known as "bee-space." This enables the beekeeper to slide any frame out of the hive for inspection, without harming the bees or the comb, protecting the eggs, larvae and pupae contained within the cells. It also meant that combs containing honey could be gently removed and the honey extracted without destroying the comb. This is the advent of modern bee keeping.

1853 There are 800 acres of vineyards within a 20-mile radius of Cincinnati. The estimated aggregate yield pressed out to 320,000 gallons of wine this year, an average of 400 gallons an acre.

Christian Moerlein Brewing Company is founded.

1854 Michaela Farm, located in Oldenburg, Southeastern Indiana, is founded by The Sisters of St. Francis of Oldenburg to provide food for the convent. The Farm provided upwards of 90% of the Covent’s food until around 1964. In the 1990’s and early 2000’s the Sisters began to restore the farm as they built up a grass-fed “beefalo” herd (5/8 beef cow, 3/8 bison), brought back their fruit and vegetable

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

8

gardens, and created their own CSA program. The farm has served as an education and training hub over the years, later hosting permaculture courses.

1855 Findlay Market opened in Over the Rhine. Today Findlay Market is the only surviving municipal market house of the nine public markets operating in Cincinnati in the 19th and early 20th century. Read original history about Findlay Market here.

Carriage House Farm is founded when Joseph H. Hayes, son of Captain Joseph Hayes, purchases a 50-acre farm, located on the south side of the Great Miami River where the Whitewater River enters the Great Miami. While the farm has not continuously been worked over the past 160 years, the Stewart family has maintained ownership of the property since purchase.

The Jackson Brewery opened in Cincinnati. It closed in 1873, but another company registered as Jackson Brewery comes into existence the same year, then goes out of business (or changes incorporations again) in 1877 and then again in 1884 (see George Weber Brewing Company).

1856 The Bruckmann Brewing Company opened as the Frederick Bruckmann Cumminsville Brewery.

Wilberforce University, named in honor of the great abolitionist William Wilberforce is established at Tawawa Springs, Ohio. It is affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church and is one of the oldest Black-administered institutions of higher education in the nation. This is the precursor to Central State University, which becomes a Land Grant University in 2014.

1857 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is the first to call Cincinnati the Queen City in his poem Catawba Wine referring to the region as the Queen of the West along the Beautiful Ohio River.

1859 There are 2,000 acres of productive vineyards within a twenty-mile radius of Cincinnati, Yields do not exceed the records set in 1853.

1860’s The McGlasson family moved from Virginia and settled in the Ohio River Valley.

Henry McGlasson and the family build a small log cabin with timbers hewn from the woods of their property in Hebron, KY. The McGlasson Family Farm is currently in its sixth generation.

1861 The Civil War begins and takes a toll on many businesses, including the wine making industry in Cincinnati.

1863 Nicolas Longworth, considered the “Father of American Wine Industry” passes away.

Longworth is credited with the following discoveries and accomplishments: 1) the establishment of commercial viticulture, with its accompaniment of wine-making; 2) proof that many varieties of strawberries are infertile among themselves and must th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

9

have pollenizers; and 3) the introduction of the first variety of the black raspberry, rubus occidentalis.

The Red Top Brewing Company, opened as the John Hauck Brewing Company (becomes Red Top Malt in 1904 and is purchased in 1945 by the Clyffside Brewing Company (which closed in 1955)). The business also operated under the name of the Wunderbrau Brewing Company, 1954-55): Barbarossa Beer, Wunderbrau Beer, Red Top Beer/Ale. 1864 The Court Street Market is built on Court Street between Vine and Walnut as a replacement for the Canal Street Market. The Court Street Market, a wooden structure, was closed by order of the City Board of Health in 1912 for unsanitary conditions; it sat empty for two years and was torn down in 1914.

1865 The Kentucky Legislature votes to participate in the Morrill Act, paving the way for the creation of the University of Kentucky.

The University of Kentucky was established by the state of Kentucky as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of the Kentucky University. The Kentucky University had been established in Harrodsburg in 1858 and in 1865 merged with Transylvania University, which was established in Lexington in 1783. Substantial funding for the new University was provided by the Morrill Act (passed in 1862).

1866 Bavarian Brewing Company was established in Covington, Kentucky, by Julius Deglow, but became known as the Bavarian Brewery in the 1870s. The brewery was originally located on Pike Street and the business expanded to include the 12th Street property by 1877. The company also operated as the John Meyer Brewery and the Meyer-Riedlin Brewery before becoming incorporated at Bavarian Brewery Co. in 1889 by William Riedlin.

1868 Ohio adopts the provisions of the Morrill Act and the state receives 630,000 acres of land scripts, which it sold at an average of 54 cents per acre for a total of $340,894.70.

The Kremer Farms, owned and operated by Bernard Kremer and then later Carl Kremer, builds two, two-story brick farmhouses. This farm becomes E.A.T. Food For Life Farm in 1998 when Dan (son of Carl) and Nancy Kremer take over the operations.

1869 Purdue University is established when the Indiana General Assembly chooses the Lafayette area for the new institution and accepts a $150,000 gift from John Purdue, as well as $50,000 from Tippecanoe County and 100 acres from local residents.

Section II – Railroads and Refrigeration

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

10

From 1870 to 1915, railroads take over as the primary method for transporting goods. As William Cronon (1992) lays out in Nature’s Metropolis, Chicago becomes the agricultural and resource hub of the Midwestern United States. The development of rail car refrigeration during this time transformed how far agricultural products such as beef and peaches could be shipped. In Cincinnati, incline rail and streetcar transportation allowed people and industry to break out of the Mill Creek and Ohio River basins. In 1890 and into the early 20th century, the Wholesale Produce Market emerges along river, setting the stage for specific food-industry and corporate developments, such as the creation of the Kroger (1883) and Castellini Companies (1896).

1870 The Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College was established on the "Neil Farm" north of Columbus, Ohio. In 1878 the name is changed to the Ohio State University.

The Society of Friends, also known as the Quakers, established Wilmington College in Wilmington, Ohio.

1871 Charles Watler established a blacksmith shop on farmland that would eventually become the StoneBrook Winery in Camp Springs KY. 1875 Hamilton Historic Farmers Market is started. It closed shortly after World War II ended, but opened again in the late 1950s. In 1996 under the leadership of Hamilton resident Fritz Baker, the market went through a period of rejuvenation. When Mr. Baker dies, the market languished, but prospered when Bob Sherwin, a trustee of the Historic Hamilton, becomes the new market manager. Under his leadership, the market increased advertisements, the number of vendors, and the number of shoppers. The market is still in operation today. Read and watch the full history here and learn more here.

1880s George Wiedemann purchased the Constans Brewery on Monmouth Street, paving the way for a combined operation that would be incorporated as the George Wiedemann Brewing Co. in 1890. By that time, it was the largest brewery in the state, with a capacity of more than 100,000 barrels a year.

Wooden Shoe Garden Farm is established in Wooden Shoe Hollow.

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

11

1882 The Ohio State University established an agricultural experiment station. The new Ohio Agriculture Experiment Station (OAES) is incorporated with the university farm and the two agriculture professors, W. R. Lazenby and Norton S. Townshend, divide their time between classroom duties and directing research at the station.

The budget is $3000 per year.

1883 Barney Kroger invested his life savings of $372 and opened a grocery store at 66 Pearl Street in downtown Cincinnati. In 1901, Kroger became the first grocer in the country to establish its own bakeries and is also the first to sell meats and groceries under one roof. In the 1930’s, Kroger was the first to implement product quality and the scientific testing of foods. In 1972, the Kroger Company was the first to use electronic scanners, and in the mid 2000’s they set up a process of food rescue and donation to local food banks. Since the early 80’s The Kroger Company has gone through a series of acquisitions (1983 - Dillon Companies Inc.; 1999 – Fred Meyer Inc.; and 2014 – Harris Teeter). Today, the company has nearly 2,800 stores in 35 states under two dozen banners, with an annual sales of more than $115.3 billion, Kroger is one of the world’s largest retailers.

1885 Hudepohl Brewing Company is established in Cincinnati, Ohio by founder Ludwig Hudepohl II. 1887 The Hatch Act is passed by Congress, and provides funds for states to establish an agricultural experiment station with separate federal funding. Hatch activities are broad and include research on all aspects of agriculture, including soil and water conservation and use; plant and animal production, protection, and health; processing, distribution, safety, marketing, and utilization of food and agricultural products; forestry, including range management and range products; multiple use of forest rangelands, and urban forestry; aquaculture; home economics and family life; human nutrition; rural and community development; sustainable agriculture; molecular biology; and biotechnology. Research is conducted on problems of local, state, regional, or national concern.

1890 The Wholesale Produce Market, Cincinnati's largest outdoor farm commodity trading market opens on Court Street. The market grew so large that it blocked the street during business hours. In 1926 the market was forced to move to 12th and Central Parkway by order of the Fire Department. It operated there, on a site previously occupied by the City's general hospital, from 7:00 am to midnight Monday through Saturday and involved 1,000 licensed farmers. When the City needed the site for a parking lot in 1951, the Farmers Wholesale Market moved to the riverbank at Second and Main. The market was displaced yet again in 1967, to Kellogg Avenue near Lunken Field, to permit construction of Riverfront Stadium.

Although no longer a wholesale market, an outdoor farmers market operates in that location today. Read original history here.

AJ Rahn Family established their Greenhouse at 4944 Gray Road, Cincinnati, OH 45232. The family is now in their 5th generation of propagating flowers, th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

12

houseplants, vegetables, and fruiting plants.

George Wiedemann dies at the age of 57.

Jabez Elliott Flower Market is built on Sixth Street between Plum and Elm street with a $10,000 gift from Mary Holroyd in memory of her first husband, Jabez Elliott.

The 7,200 square foot market opened for business in March 1894 and claimed to be the largest market in the nation devoted exclusively to flowers. Jabez Elliott Flower Market was razed in 1950 to make room for a parking lot.

1892 The Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station moved from the Ohio State University in Columbus, to Wooster, Ohio, in Wayne County. The station took possession of 470 acres of farmland just south of Wooster. The bulk of the land was composed of the two "Rice Farms" established by Barnhart and Simon Rice in 1822. Today, the center continues its primary mission of research targeted at better food and fiber production, environmental and water quality issues for both rural and urban populations, and continued emphasis on new, improved and safer products for use in the agricultural endeavors of both the state of Ohio and the world community.

The Lebanon Farmer Market is established when the newly completed Market House located at 35 South 8th Street in Lebanon, Ohio opened. Over the years the Market House has been occupied by a variety of tenants including a Theatre, Crestview Secretarial School (in the 1950), Parry Printing, and the Lebanon Stamp and Coin. The Kantor Sewing Company operated in the building from the 1930s until recently. The Farmers Market operated continuously at this location until the mid1960s when it closed due to expansion of the sewing factory. In 2003, Lebanon Landmarks, Inc., owned by Bill Kolovani, purchased the Market House as part of a downtown revitalization plan. In 2010, Lebanon Farmers Market, LLC purchased the historic building from M&T Bank and the farmer’s market has now returned to its original location.

Late 1800’s – Al Funke’s Grandfather arrived in Cincinnati.

1895 Meier’s Wine Cellars, Inc, begins as a small grape juice business when John Michael Meier starts to grow grapes on land that now known as the Kenwood Towne Center, just north of Cincinnati. His son, John Conrad Meier, discovers a method of bottling fresh grape juice and formed the John C. Meier Grape Juice Company, Inc. 1896 Fredrick Funke and Sophie Meyer settled four aces on Gray Road, just west of Spring Grove Cemetery and begin to top dress the soil with manure from the nearby stock yards of the Mill Creek.

The Castellini Company is founded by Joseph J. Castellini at the original Cincinnati produce terminal market. His grandson, Robert (Bob Castellini) becomes executive vice-president at the Castellini Group of Companies in 1967, and then from 1970 to 1992 is the president. The Castellini Group is a produce buyer, packer, distributor th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

13

and logistics food service company. Today, they provide produce and flowers to over 750 supermarkets in the Midwest and Southeast via direct store delivery. Major companies of the group include: Crosset, Club Chef, Grant County Foods, RWI Logistics, RWI Transportation, and General Produce. Of note, General Produce (acquired in 2014) is the largest full line wholesale produce house in the Southeastern US. Also, their subsidiary Crosset has inventories over 1,200 conventional items, and their products come from some of the most recognizable names in the industry including: Chiquita, DelMonte, Dole, Driscoll, Grimmway, Pure Pacific, Stemilt, and Sunkist.

1897 Christian Moerlein passed away and his company eventually goes out of business. It is reborn in the late 20th Century.

The first Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) from Purdue is awarded in Agriculture.

1900’s Early in the decade, the Irons Fruit Farm is founded in Lebanon, Ohio.

Oliver Webb and Sylvia Wilson-Webb purchased 56 acres in Clinton County and start the Ryan Farm. This is the beginning of what is currently the Webb Valley Farm.

Eventually an additional 800 acres is purchased.

Meier’s Wine Cellars purchased land in Silverton, Ohio, along the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad line. During prohibition, the company prospered making sparkling Catawba grape juice.

1901 Pearl Street Market, also known as "Lower Market" is built. The Pearl Street Market was located on Market Street between Sycamore and Broadway at a location that had been the site of a public market since 1804. The Pearl Street tower bell moved to Findlay Market when Pearl Street was razed in 1934.

1909 Gillespie Farms, at 4350 Huston Rd., Hamilton, Ohio, is started when Edward Gillespie purchased the property. The farm was then passed on to Clarence Gillespie, and then to Paul Gillespie. In 1999 the farm was passed down to Nathan Gillespie, making it a 4th generation farm.

1910 D.W. Mikesell and his wife buy potato chip making equipment and the Mikesell's Potato Chip Company is born. At the time Mikesell operated a business selling dried beef and sausages from two rooms on South Williams Street in Dayton, Ohio.

1913 Fillager Farms is founded by Fred J. and Tillie Fillager near Oxford Ohio. The farm is about 300 acres in size.

Section III – The Automobile, Home Refrigeration, and World War II

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

14

From 1915 to 1950 automobile development revolutionized transportation and greatly impacted city and regional planning. While the railroad remained an important method for moving goods and people, cars and trucks became central. As the city grew and the early suburbs expanded, home refrigeration units began to change American’s relationship to food and farms. Households kept perishable items longer and were able to consume more fruits and vegetables (often at lower prices) that were grown out of season and/or in distant locations. In Cincinnati, grocery stores replaced our once abundant public market houses. A group of families gained control of the downtown Wholesale Farmers and Produce Market and it became a regional hub for Louisville, Indianapolis, Columbus, Charleston, and Lexington.

1916 The Bahr Farm is established in College Hill. Today this is the oldest farm within the limits of Cincinnati. In 2012, Our Harvest Cooperative rented land and began their CSA program.

1918 Hudepohl Brewing Company survived Prohibition by making near beer and soft drinks.

Pic’s Produce, a wholesale produce company, is founded by the Pichichero Family.

Joe Lasita & Sons, Inc., a produce distribution company is created in Cincinnati, OH. Burwinkel Farms, located at 4359 Hamilton Cleves Road, Ross, OH 45013 began operation. Today, this third-generation farm has locations in Harrison, Colerain, White Oak, Delhi, Western Hills, Fairfield, Sharonville, West Chester, and Cheviot to name a few. Each of these area markets is run by family or long-time family friends.

Burwinkel Farms hires teens in the summer, and in September, the Ross Farm transitions from a produce market into an October Fall Extravaganza with over 20+ varieties of locally grown apples, as well as fall decorations such as corn stalks, gourds and pumpkins of all sorts, Indian corn, apple cider, and mums. In October, they offer a variety of activities for all ages including a corn maze, skid maze, Halloween scavenger hunt, crawl-thru straw tunnel, corn pool, and weekend hayrides through a pumpkin patch and sunflower field. The farm also offers group/school field trips for weekday visits, which includes an educational session.

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

15

1922 Margaretta Baker Hunt established the Baker Hunt Foundation to encourage the study of art, education, and science to promote the good works of religion in Covington. Baker Hunt Arts and Cultural Center later became a hub for cooking education (see 2014) 1925 History of Public Market Houses - The 1925 City Plan recognized that the public market rentals were not paying market maintenance costs, but they did keep food prices low in the city basin, so they recommended closing two markets and retaining 3 others. The city tried to replace the flat fee for market stall rental with an auction, but the merchants were able to block the change Pearl Street market, the oldest in the city, was one that the city decided to close and raze in 1934, but, like Court Street, farmers and resellers continued to come and sell their produce on market days (Mullen, 1934; Times Star, 1934a).

1926 Harry Garver purchased land at 6716 Hamilton Lebanon Rd, in Middletown, OH, 45044. In the 2000’s, the farm was transformed into two distinct enterprises: Garver Family Farm Market and Garver Farm Incorporated. The Market is operated by Michael Garver and his wife Suzy, and the Farm is operated by Robert Garver and his wife Sue. The market offers produce, hanging baskets, and a pumpkin festival in the fall.

1929 The Bell Family purchases land in Georgetown, KY and began their farming operation, which today is known as the Elemwood Stock Farm.

1930 Early in the decade, the first fruit trees are planted at Iron’s Fruit Farm in Lebanon, Ohio.

Pringles Orchard is founded. Currently the orchard is run by John and Miki Pringle, located at 2697 Pringle Rd, Goshen, OH 45122 1933 Prohibition Ends.  1934 Paramount Distillers, LLC is founded in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Schoenling Brewing Company opens.

1939 Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace consolidated a number of bureaus and programs within the United States Department of Agriculture to create a single agency: The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). The new agency is tasked to facilitate the efficient and fair marketing of U.S. agricultural products, including food, fiber, and specialty crops. For the past 76 years, the AMS has evolved to support American farmers, ranchers, importers, exporters and many other facets of the agricultural industry. The agency’s support for agriculture is provided through commodity-specific efforts, such as Dairy; Specialty Crops; Livestock, Poultry and

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

16

Seed; and Cotton and Tobacco Programs. AMS also oversees the National Organic Program (NOP); Science and Technology Program; and the Transportation and Marketing Program, which include local food directories for Farmers Markets, Food Hubs, and CSAs. 1940 United Dairy Farmers is established in Cincinnati, Ohio.

1941 Meier’s Wine Cellars purchased land on North Bass Island (Isle St. George) in Lake Erie to meet the growing grape needs of the company. Over the next 35 years, the company continued to prosper, extending their winemaking skills by producing table wines, sparkling wines, dessert wines, vermouths, and carbonated grape juice.

1942 The Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati is created.

1943 The property that would eventually become Reserve Run Farm is purchased in Oxford Ohio.

1944 Grailville is founded in Loveland, Ohio, on a 300-acre farm, as a land-based educational center for women seeking an integration of spirituality, study, work, and community. It is owned by The Grail, which is an international movement of women, focused on cultivating spiritual values, envisioning a world of peace, justice and renewal of the earth, with women working together as catalysts for change. It was operated as a retreat center from the 1960’s to 2015, while maintaining the farm through various stages.

Fillager Farm near Oxford, Ohio is passed on to Harry F. and Ruth Fillager, and Elise Fillager. Around this time about 70 acres (of the 300) are in orchard production, with peaches, grapes, and apples. The apples did the best, but around 1950, Harry F. cut the trees down, bulldozed the stumps and began planting corn as their primary crop.

1948 Wilmington College established its Department of Agriculture, making it the only private college in Ohio to offer agriculture as a bachelor’s program of study.

Today, Wilmington and OSU are the only two schools in Ohio permitted to grant BA’s in Agriculture. Central State University (also a Land Grant), offers a BS in Agricultural Education and Sustainable Agriculture.

Mush & Sons, Inc. is started by four brothers in the basement of the Pavlofsky family grocery store in Dayton, Ohio. The company provided fresh fruits and vegetables delivered to customers. This is the precursor to ProduceOne and Premiere ProduceOne (see 1989 and late 1990s).

The Niederman Family Farm is founded at 4972 Lesourdsville West Chester Road, Hamilton, OH (see 1988).

1949 Greenacres Farm is purchased by Louis and Louise Nippert and is established in th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

17

Indian Hill, Ohio. Louis Nippert was the heir to the Proctor and Gamble fortune. The Nipperts are famous for many reasons, including their generous philanthropic gifts to arts and agriculture.

Section IV: Post WWII, Suburbanization, and Fast Food From 1950 to 1969 America experiences tremendous population growth and change as the interstate highway system supports suburban sprawl. Many suburbs successfully resist city incorporation as understood in the context of White Flight. Grocery store chains grow and consolidate and the modern fast food system emerges with the mass production and slaughter of livestock. National restaurant chains emerge and frozen dinners become all the rage at home. In the 1960s we see the beginning of the counterculture and environmental movements that challenge the societal norms and rebel against the mass standardization and socialization of the times. In the area, the Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana Regional Council of Governments is formed and Indian growers association is created.

1950’s Anna Walter of Walter Farms took charge of their dairy operation and assisted with other farm activities such as raising beef cattle and vegetable crops. She continued in this role until the 1990s. The Walter Family Farm eventually started the Stonebrook Winery in 2001.

The Bell Family purchased a large tract of land in Georgetown, KY (just a few miles from their existing farm and expanded the Elmwood Stock Farm. The Bell Family is in their sixth generation of farming.

1951 Ted & Matula Gregory bought McCabe’s Inn in Montgomery, Cincinnati, Ohio, and renamed it the Montgomery Inn. It turned into a true family affair, with Matula’s sister, Tasha, Father Charlie Kalomeres, and Ted’s parents, Thomas and Tasia Gregory all pitching in to make the restaurant a success. In the late 1950’s Matula first cooked barbecued ribs and BBQ sauce for Ted and his buddies at the bar. Since then the Gregorys have been serving ribs and BBQ sauce at their now famous resturant.

1955 Tewes Poultry Farm is started by John Tewes in what is now Charter Oak in

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

18

Edgewood, KY. Currently Dan Tewes (the 13th child of 17!), his wife, Darlene, and their family run the farm in Erlanger KY. 1957 Beiersdorfer Orchard relocated to Guilford, IN. The family had a previous orchard in Ohio and is currently in their 5th generation of farmers.

For over a quarter of a century, Sharon Farm Market provided a local landmark.

Edward and Mickey Giuliani, the owners, operated the business with a constant presence. The location of the Market at the corner of Kemper Road and US Route 42 in Sharonville, OH never changed. The last year that the Giuliani family operated the Sharon Farm Market was 1987. Many shoppers acknowledged being the thirdgeneration of customers from their family to shop at the market. Parents brought their children, who in turn brought their children. Shopping at Sharon Farm Market was a group activity and many customers routinely brought the whole family to shop. During the peak season around the 4th of July, finding a parking spot challenged even the most dedicated shoppers.

1959 Eugene Lobenstein purchased land from his maternal grandfather (Philip Alig) in Brookville, IN, and established The Lobenstein Farm. Currently, the farm is in its 5th generation.

Ralph Bartels moved his family from a farm in Hamilton County to 4427 Cotton Run Road in Wayne Township, Butler County. With his wife, Lucille, they raised 2 sons, Steve and John, on the 124-acre farm. For over 50 years the family produced crops and livestock (see 2008).

1960’s Early in the decade, Ellenbee Leggett, a food service distribution company, was created by Ernest Kite. Kite, a longtime Cincinnati food broker recognized the business potential in the industry and began a series of company acquisitions.

Among them is the notable Francis H. Leggett Company, a seven-state retail distributor, and Ellenbee Foods, a supplier to many schools and hospitals. The merger created Ellenbee Leggett. By 1980, the business had added several other food service distribution companies.

1962 The Malone Family purchased a subsistence farm in Centerville (the farm land dates back to 1839) and opened Hungry Toad Farm.

1964 The Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI), a council of local governments, business organizations, and community groups committed to developing collaborative strategies to improve the quality of life and the economic vitality of the region is created. OKI works on a wide range of issues that intersect with our agrifood systems such as regional development, green space, water quality, solar adoption, environmental justice and land use.

1966 The Bavarian Brewing Company is closed in Covington KY.

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

19

The Brighton Center in Newport, KY is founded by Reverend Bill Neuroth, an assistant pastor at Corpus Christi Church in Newport’s West End. The Center started providing a wide range of programs and services including early childhood education, workforce development, substance abuse recovery for women, affordable housing, financial education and counseling, youth services, and other neighborhood based programs. The Center also runs a neighborhood farmers market and community gardens program (see 2016).

1967 Wiedemann Brewing reaches a capacity of almost a million barrels per year.

Wiedemann signs could be seen hanging at some of the most popular drinking and eating establishments in the area. Soon thereafter, it was sold to G. Heileman Brewing Co. of LaCrosse, WI. After a series of consolidations over the next 40 years, the Wiedeman brand is discontinued in 2006.

The land for Red Stone Farm is purchased by John Wulsin in Hillsboro, Ohio.

1969 Valley Vineyards is established when Ken Schuchter planted 20 acres of grape vines in Morrow Ohio. The Vineyard features tours, tastings, and since 2012, a lineup of craft beers. The business, now in its third generation, is known for epic wine festivals dating back to 1971.

The Indiana Organic Growers Association (IOGA) is formed in the late 1960’s with the goal of educating the public about the reasons for, and methods of, environmentally friendly gardening; and to encourage the reduction of chemical dependency in gardens, lawns and farms.

Section V – The Reemergence of Local Food From 1970 to 2009, the healthy and local food movements take shape across the US and in Cincinnati. The first Earth Day is celebrated in 1970. Nationally and internationally, agricultural corporations consolidate horizontally and vertically. Seed, pesticide and biotech companies introduce Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Farm consolidation accelerates and we begin to see the health impacts of this new food system. Concurrently, we see the continued growth of new farmers markets, especially after 1990. The food movement becomes established.

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

20

In Cincinnati, Findlay Market is preserved as catalyst for new development in OverThe-Rhine. There is also the emergence of smaller tailgate, and pop up farmers markets, along with food based cooperatives and the establishment of environmental and agricultural non-profits, such as the Imago Earth Center in Price Hill, The Greater Cincinnati Nutrition Council and The Ohio Ecological Food and Farming Association (OEFFA).

After 1980, several non-profit, farm-based educational organizations are founded – Sunrock Farm, Homemeadow Song Farm, Greenacres, Turner Farm, and Gorman Heritage Farm, among others. Community Supported Agriculture programs emerge as compliments to farmers markets and backyard gardens. Green Umbrella is founded in 1998, the Enright Ecovillage in 2004, and Green Bean Delivery and the Central Ohio River Valley Food Guide 2007.

1970 Dennis and Suzanne Hebauf established Honey Tree Acres Farm and Gardens in West Harrison, IN. Today the operation is run by the eldest son Pete and his wife Linda.

1971 Freestore Foodbank (FSFB) opened with a mission of providing food and services to create stability, and further self-reliance for people in crisis. FSFB operates in the 9 Northern Kentucky Counties, 3 in South East Indiana, and 8 counties in Southwest Ohio. See a video history of its founding here.

The WWOOF program started in the United Kingdom under the name “Working Weekends on Organic Farms.”

Milton Cook took over the Cook’s Family Farm, located in Waynesville, Ohio. The Cooks have been farming the same land for six generations.

1972 Findlay Market is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was renovated in 1973-74 as part of the federal Model Cities program. It was renovated again and expanded in 2002 and 2003.

Jewel Smith helped to open a food panty in a Methodist Church in Northside that would become part of Churches Active in Northside (CAIN).

1973 Burger Brewing Company, a once dominant Cincinnati brand, announced its closure. th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

21

Hudepohl Brewing Company stepped in and purchased the brands and recipes of Burger, which included Burger Beer, Bohemian Tap and Red Lion Malt Liquor. Burger Beer became Hudepohl's budget price brand.

Phil and Susann Wendel started their grain and hog farm operation at 8134 State Line Rd, Brookville, IN (see 2000).

Tom Smith, of Spring Grove Cemetery, started teaching horticulture courses at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Evening and Continuing Education. Tom also goes on to teach horticulture at Northern Kentucky University and Cincinnati State Technical and Community College.

1974 The Greater Cincinnati Nutrition Council (GCNC) is officially incorporated and one year later achieved its tax-exempt status in 1975. In 1976, the GCNC hired an Executive Director and received a United Way allocation, which made the organization the first community-based, fully funded and staffed agency of its type in the United States. Today the Nutrition Council is part of the Children’s Home and focuses its resources on reaching out to children (and their parents) before they enter kindergarten.

The Cincinnati Human Relations Commission and Michael Maloney published The Social Areas of Cincinnati: An Analysis of Social Needs. A second edition by the same authors is published in 1986. The Third Edition, co-authored by Dr. Janet Buelow, is published by the School of Planning of the University of Cincinnati in 1997. The Fourth Edition is written by Maloney and Dr. Christophe Auffrey, also of the School of Planning, and is published in 2004. Auffrey and Maloney continued to work together and published the most current edition (5t), in 2013. The Social Areas have become widely used by local government departments, health and social service agencies, community groups, and others working towards positive social change in our region.

1975 Cincinnati State Community and Technical College started offering a Horticulture program.

Rauen Honey Farm, located at 6651 Imhoff Rd, Oxford, OH, is founded by Bob and Martha Rauen. At the height of their operation in the mid 1990’s, they had 125 hives, and were selling to Jungle Jim’s and other larger retailers. Currently, they have about 30 hives, and sell honey and candles at Oxford Farmers Market.

Houston and Linda Wiseman of Wiseman Farms began growing food at their house in Oxford, Ohio.

1976 Meier’s Wine Cellars is purchased by Paramount Distillers, Inc. which is located in Cleveland, Ohio. Today it is Ohio’s oldest and largest winery (still in operation) producing wines and juices from Native American grape varieties. Grapes are no longer grown on North Bass Island, but are purchased from independent growers in Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania. th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

22

David Rosenberg purchased Wooden Shoe Gardens, in Wooden Shoe Hollow, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Mary’s Plant Farm is founded by Mary Harrison and Sherri Berger at 2410 Lanes Mill Road Hamilton, Ohio.

Mark Coblentz began operations for what would become Walnut Creek Cheese and Walnut Creek Foods. He purchased a “cheese route” and with the rolodex from the previous owner, began selling cheese and “Trail Bologna” out of a side-inrefrigerated truck. In 1984, the company constructed its first building in Walnut Creek, Ohio, with an attached retail store. In 1987, Mark and Jason (brothers) formed Coblentz Chocolate Company. Operations expand when they acquired Snyder Foods in 1994 and Holmes Distributing in 1995. Both of these companies had been friendly competitors in the wholesale trade. The Coblentz team opened their second retail store in Berlin, Ohio, in 1996, and then acquired Uncle Mike’s Beef Jerky in 1998. They built a new warehouse in 2002, and business grew so much that they decided to build a new wholesale distribution center (60,000-square-foot facility), that was completed in 2007. Today Walnut Creek serves more than 1,400 wholesale customers who sell these products in their stores.

The Original Talawanda Farmers Market was started at the Oxford YMCA building and was closely intertwined with Miami University. Since 2004, the market has been located at Talawanda High School.

1977 Harv and Pat Roehling purchased land on Sample Road and started Locust Run Farm in Oxford, Ohio. Harv is a certified organic farmer and has been an active member of the MOON (Miami Oxford Organic Network) since its beginning. From 1985 to 1989 he was the President of OEFFA (Ohio Ecological Food and Farmers Association). As a frequenter of tailgate markets (since 1982), he helped establish an Oxford OEFFA chapter in 1988, which set the stage for the MOON coop. As President of OEFFA, Harv worked with The Ohio State University to research scientific advantages of organic farming practices. Through the establishment of OSU’s OFFER program (Organic Food Farm Education and Research) organic farming practices were shown to have greater life and diversity in their soil and suffer less insect damage. Harv has been instrumental is the Oxford Famers Market, especially since it split from the Talawanda Market in 2003.

1978 Imago Earth Center opened in Price Hill. As a grassroots, environmental education organization, it models and educates people about living in concert with the natural world, both animate and inanimate, human and non, alike. It was founded by Jim and Eileen Schenk, with the purpose of deepening our connection to Earth.

Frank Traina purchased the land for Sun Rock Farm, in Wilder, Kentucky.

That Guy’s Family Farm is founded by Guy and Glenn Ashmoore. th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

23

The Nativity Church Tailgate Farmers Market is established at 5935 Ridge Rd. Cincinnati, OH 45213.

Cincinnati sees the emergence of Tailgate Farmers Markets. Read original history here and see 1983.

1979 Ohio Ecological Food and Farming Association (OEFFA) is founded as a grassroots coalition of farmers, backyard gardeners, consumers, retailers, educators, researchers, and others who share the desire to build a healthy food system that brings prosperity to family farmers, meets the growing consumer demand for local food, creates economic opportunities for rural communities, and safeguards the environment. OEFFA hosts an annual conference, as well as farm tours and workshops. It is the oldest organic-certification body in the nation. It also provides funding to small farmers and works on agricultural policy at the state level. Jody Grundy, Maria DeGroot, Harv Roehling, Mick Luber, and many others were central in the effort to help start OEFFA. Dan & Donna Rouster opened the Apple House in Milford, Ohio. This U-Pick operation offered blueberries, blackberries, peaches and apples.

1980’s Early in this decade, the community garden space that eventually became known as the Eco-Garden and the home of Permaganic LLC, opened in downtown Cincinnati.

Located at 1718 Main Street, the garden was run by the Civic Garden Center and one of the first gardeners was Eric Pawloski, who now works for OEFFA as their sustainable education director. Today, the garden and the surrounding land is a contested space, as it is under the threat of development. ☹ At some point in this decade, Grailville achieves its organic cortication by OEFFA. The Milford-Ohio Valley Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association began to operate two farmer’s markets in Milford and Mt. Carmel, Ohio.

American Farmland Trust (AFT) is formed by a small group of farmers and conservationists who are concerned with the nation's food supply in light of the wasteful development practices and suburban sprawl that are consuming our best farm and ranch land. Peggy McGrath Rockefeller, the wife of philanthropist David Rockefeller is a founding member. The AFT worked with noted soil conservationist Norm Berg, California farmer Ralph Grossi, and others, to pioneer programs around the country that use a powerful tool – conservation easements – to make the nation's best farmland off limits to developers.

The Butterfield Farm Market opened in Oxford, Ohio. In 2004 the market moved to a larger space and in 2006 the Butterfield Family opened a greenhouse. The Market th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

24

sells fresh produce, metal works, Amish goods, wooden crafts, and garden materials such as mulch and compost.

1981 Civic Garden Center Director, Margie Rauh, and Education Director, Gary Goosman, initiated the Community Gardens outreach program. The success of the program became a national model that other cities adopted. The Over-the-Rhine People’s Garden is one of the initial gardens of the Civic Garden Center’s Community Gardens Program.

The Christian Moerlein brand is brought back and re-introduced to Cincinnati by the Hudepohl Brewing Company.

1982 Sunrock Farm in Wilder Kentucky officially opened and offered educational programs including tours and camps. Dr. Frank Traina, a pioneer in the local agrifood movement, became “Farmer Frank.” He worked to introduce children to the wonderful world of nature and food production. His goal was to “Help Children Touch the Earth” by offering farm and nature experiences. Currently, over 30,000 children visit Sunrock Farm each year.

Randy and Pam Webb moved into Randy’s parents’ farm, which is comprised of 135 acres (from the original 865 acres of the Webb Farm).

The Land Trust Alliance is formed as a national land conservation organization. The Alliance represented more than 1,000 member land trusts supported by more than five million members nationwide. The Alliance is based in Washington, D.C., and operates several regional offices.

Apline Berry Farm is created when Hal and Dorothy Cooley plant several acres of blueberries. The U-Pick operation is located at 26185 Pocket Rd. Batesville, IN 47006, and offers 7 different varieties of blueberries, in addition to blackberries.

Today, the operation is run by Kathy and Ted Cooley.

1983 Greater Cincinnati sees the continued emergence of a group of contemporary farmers markets, called Tailgate Markets. There is a sudden increase from the regions four markets in 1975 to 17 in 1983. This number remained between 18 and 21 until 2005, when 7 more were add and these style markets peaked in 2012. The reason for the 1983 increase was the work of a group of activists who began the tailgate markets in 1978 that grew to 13 markets by 1983. The tailgate activists, Terry and Jody Grundy, Eileen Freshette, David Thompson, and Kathleen Cussick attended a conference in Nashville organized by the “Agriculture Marketing Project,” a group that had established a series of farmers markets in Nashville and later through much of Tennessee. The Cincinnati group decided to copy the model and created Cincinnati Agriculture Marketing Project (CAMP).

Gravel Knoll Farm in West Chester is established by Jim and Linda Rosselot (on land

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

25

belonging to Jim’s family). The farm is certified organic by OEFFA in 1989. Linda and Jim also opened the Feed Barn, a retail store that specialized in garden, yard, pet and livestock solutions, with an emphasis on organic methods. Neither of these businesses are in operation today.

Steve Pipkin, opened Pipkin’s Fruit and Vegetable Market in Blue Ash, 5035 Cooper Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45242, which focused on selling local produce from six area farms. Three years after Pipkin’s opens its doors, Steve and Ben (brothers) started selling flowers and garden goods such as colorful planters, ceramics, outdoor art (curated by Steve’s wife, Kim), and rows of flowers and trees.

1984 Homeadow Song Farm is founded by Leslie Poindexter when she purchased 2.5 acres at 5038 Gray Road, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Leslie established a relationship with one of the Waldorf Schools and used the site for farm-based education, as well as spring and fall community festivals. A few years later Leslie purchased two additional acres with another house on an adjoining property. Peter Huttinger (formally of the Civic Garden Center and currently with Turner Farm), Vickie Mansoor, and Karen Egan moved to the farm in 2004. Vickie has been running their Rudolf Steiner inspired farm-based educational programs, including homeschooling, workshops, summer camps, and demonstration gardens for about 14 years and is carrying Leslie’s vision forward. The farm is currently owned by Peter, Vickie, and Karen and is a WWOOFing site - World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms.

John Johnson and Ray Kolkmeier opened Discount Produce on Vine Street in Hartwell, Ohio. In 1990, the two opened Country Fresh Market and Wine Depot in Anderson, Ohio, and changed the name of the Hartwell store to Country Fresh Market. Both locations are still open today.

Carl Lindner, the Founder of American Financial, purchased United Fruit Company (it would become Chiquita Brand International in 1990) by obtaining 87% of its stock (he had been buying stock since 1973), and named himself CEO. Lindner helped move the company away from large diversified operations and toward a narrower focus on stable profits. Along with new leadership, he streamlined the company's operations by selling some of its extraneous businesses (i.e., soft drinks, animal feeds, domestic lettuce, and telecommunications) and lowered its overhead by moving the headquarters from New York to Cincinnati. Under Lindner’s guidance, the company succeeded in recapturing its position as the number one marketer of bananas worldwide (from Dole).

1985 Vinoklet Winery opened in Colerain Township. The Winery and Restaurant is located on 30 acres of picturesque rolling hills and ponds and is the only working winery with a vineyard in Hamilton County.

The Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation is founded as a 501(c)(3) charitable, nonprofit organization. Its mission is to help community groups and civic leaders and consumers in rural, suburban and urban neighborhoods use agriculture to address a th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

26

variety of quality of life issues. Today the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation funds programming in four areas: education, community development, legal issues and animal issues. The Farm Bureau publishes Buckeye Farm News and Our Ohio Magazine, and even has its own YouTube Station for Our Ohio.

1986 Hudepohl Brewing Company combined with Schoenling Brewing Company.

The Brown Family (of the Brown Family Farmers Market) began shifting their operations from grain, cattle, and hogs, to produce and sweet corn. Previously, John Brown, his parents, and grandparents did a lot of “truck farming” (produce farming), where they took their produce to markets. The Browns are some of the original vendors at the Hamilton Farmers Market (which dates back to 1875).

1987 The Boone Country Farmers Market is established by Kim Kinman of Kinman Farms along with a group of other individuals in Burlington, KY. The first year of the market was held in front of the County Court house, and then in 1988 it moved to the Extension Services building. Around 2002 the market shifted to staying open 7 days a week and in 2006, the market moved to its current location at 1968 Burlington Pike, Burlington, KY. The Brown Family (of the Brown Family Farmers Market) opened its first store location in Ross, Ohio, at the corner of Hamilton-Cleves Road and State Route 27.

Today, a Gold Star Chili sits at this location.

1988 Bob and Bethann Niederman were married and moved back to the family farm, 4972 Lesourdsville West Chester Road, Hamilton, OH. They continued in Bob's parents’ footsteps, raising their children and caring for the animals and crops (see 2011).

Spaeth Farm Market is incorporated, and established at 1469 State Route 741 Lebanon, OH 45036. The farm has been in the family since the early 1900’s.

1989 – Greenacres began offering educational programs to the public. The farm currently offers summer camps, and a variety of programs such as the Greenacres Naturalists, Sustainable Agriculture and Research Equine Educators, Art Educators, Gardeners, and Water Quality Educators.

Gary and Erv Pavlofsky purchased Mush & Sons (see 1948) from the last of the four founding brothers and became third generation owners. After a series of acquisitions, the name evolved to ProduceOne to reflect the goal of growing the company into a regional provider. Together, they grew the business from a familyowned local produce company in Dayton into one of the largest produce providers in the state of Ohio (see late 1990s and 2009).

1990 Harmony Hills Farm in Bethel, Ohio is founded.

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

27

The first Upper Midwest Organic Farming Conference is held in Southwest Wisconsin with the goal of educating the growing number of farmers interested in organic agriculture. That inaugural conference drews about 90 farmers and set the foundation for what would eventually become the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Services (MOSES). This conference is attended by farmer and food advocates from our region.

The Tecumseh Land Trust is founded by citizens in Yellow Springs and Miami Township, as a nonprofit conservation organization. The land trust serves Greene and Clark Counties of Ohio and surrounding areas with the purpose of preserving agricultural land, natural areas, water resources, and historic sites. They work with voluntary landowners to educate the public about permanent land preservation and assist landowners in navigating state and federal easement programs, as well as accept donated easements on farmland and natural areas. Currently, it is estimated that 28,000 acres in this region have been protected from development.

The Brown Family Farm Market opened at 11620 Hamilton Cleves Road, Hamilton, Ohio 45013. The Brown Family leased the land from the Southwestern Water District, which purchased the land from the previous owner, Randy Hartman.

This is the Brown Family’s second market location. At one point in time the family had four locations. Today, they have two locations, and their operation now focus on greenhouse growing.

From Slaughterhouse to Soap-Boiler: Cincinnati's Meat Packing Industry, Changing Technologies, and the Rise of Mass Production, 1825-1870 is published by Steve. C. Gordon in The Journal of the Society for Industrial Archeology, 55-67.

OEFFA created its Good Earth Guide to Organic and Ecological Farms and related Businesses, which is a searchable online database that connects consumers to local farms and associated businesses so that their dollars support wholesome food and farm-related products produced using ecologically supportive practices.

Grailville holds a ten-day educational permaculture program, utilizing local and nationally know speakers. The event focused on design for sustainable living. The farm displayed its compost project. The workshop led to a shift toward growing organically certified produce as an educational venue for individuals desiring to learn about growing food and how it relates to care for the earth and social justice.

1991 Bonnie Mitsui returned from California and began operating Turner Farm in Indian Hill, Ohio.

The Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (Southern SAWG) is founded to foster a movement toward a more sustainable farming and food system – one that is ecologically sound, economically viable, socially just and humane. SWAG functions as a regional entity, working with and through hundreds of associated organizations th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

28

across 13 southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

Amy and Tony Powell of the Atwood Village Family Farm began their first operation in Walton Kentucky, as tenants on a cattle farm, with an emphasis on growing heirloom tomatoes. Then in 1997, the farm is moved to Dry Ridge, KY, and in 2007 they relocated back to Amy’s family farm in Independence, KY. Rural Action is formed as a citizen action organization, which grew out of the Appalachian Ohio Public Interest Campaign (AOPIC), a group that trained grassroots activists to advocate on issues of economic and environmental justice. Since its founding, Rural Action has focused on agriculture in the region, and in 1994, they began their Sustainable Agriculture Program, which works with local, regional and statewide partners to build and strengthen local food systems in Southeast Ohio.

The Sustainable Agriculture Program gives farmers and partners the tools to increase food production in a way that reduces their risk and enhances their profitability. In 1996/97 Rural Action received funding for a Vista Program, which helped them launch a big project in 1999 called Good Food Direct. This project worked with farmers to aggregate food and create pre-cursors for their CSA. The Good Food Direct Project lasted until 2003. In 2004, Tom Redfern is hired as their director for Sustainable Agriculture and they begin working on larger aggregation systems to serve wholesale and institutional markets.

Country Fresh Market opened in Anderson Township as a family owned and operated farm market. Along with the freshest produce in the city, they offer a massive selection of specialty and discount wines, over 800 varieties of craft and import beers, unique and specialty grocery products, and a full service deli.

1992 Sunflower Sundries is founded by Jennifer Gleason. The cottage business uses locally grown produce, and offers herbal soaps, fruit jams, coarse-grain mustards, pickled asparagus, and heirloom corn grits and chips.

Churches Active In Northside (CAIN) is founded after Jewel Davis Smith passed away. CAIN is a neighborhood ministry made up of 13 participating churches that transforms lives and inspires hope by providing nutritious food, crisis assistance, resources, and compassion in a way that respects human dignity and builds a more vibrant community. CAIN has a food pantry and works closely with the Northside Farmers Market.

The City of Cincinnati created the Office of Environmental Management, which was run by Bonnie Phillips. This office is the precursor to the Office of Environmental Quality, and then the Office of Environment and Sustainability currently run by Larry Falkin.

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

29

Paul Zorn established Peace Angle Farm in Morrow, Ohio. The farm specializes in garlic.

The Barn-n-Bunk Farm Market is founded by Tom and Bev Theobald in Trenton, Ohio. The farm belonged to Tom's dad in the 1930’s and to Bev's family since 1941.

In 1975, Tom and Bev moved there to raise their young family. Today, Tom, Bev, their son Brian, and son-in-law Scott work there full time. Many other family members are also involved part time.

Bryan and Carolyn Madison purchased 100-acre farm in Adams County, Ohio, naming it Madison’s Ridgeview Farm. This is the beginning of Madison’s at Findlay Market (see 1996).

Tony and Ruth Schaefer established Schaefer’s Meats in Trenton, Ohio, where they raise livestock and sell a variety of meats, including beef, lamb, pork, and poultry.

They also process deer for local hunters and it is estimated that they have processed 14,000 deer in 10 years.

1993 Turner Farm opened their self-serve market stand on the property.

Michaela Farm held the first Permaculture Design Course in the area with teachers Cynthia Edwards and Miguel Moore. Mary Lu Lageman (Grailville Farm) assisted.

Barb Fath (Wrocklage Farm), Karen Arnette, Richard Cartwright, and Mary Meyer received their certificates at this course.

Chip Emmerich, with the help of his friend Steve Dietrich, created Burnet Ridge, Inc., a commercial winery located in North College Hill, Ohio 45224. Burnet Ridge specializes in transporting grapes from California to be made into wine in Cincinnati.

Can Du Farms is founded by Charlie and Vaunda Ernst in Bethel, OH. Ame Vanorio (who eventually opened Fox Run Farm in Falmouth, KY, begins farming in Winchester, Ohio The Roth Produce Company opened in Columbus, Ohio.

Wallace I. Edwards founded a land trust to preserve the property around the Four Mile Creek Valley in southwest Ohio. In 1994 The Four Mile Valley Conservation Trust is incorporated as an Ohio nonprofit organization. Then on May 3, 2000, the Board of Trustees voted to change the organization’s name to Three Valley Conservation Trust and extended the Trust’s service area to the watersheds of Seven Mile and Indian Creeks, and to the watershed of Four Mile Creek north of Acton Lake in Butler and Preble Counties, Ohio. Today, the Trust’s service area includes all of the Four Mile Creek watershed, the Twin Creek watershed, portions of the Whitewater River watershed in Butler and Preble Counties, the Elk Creek watershed, and all land in Butler County drained by eastern tributaries of the Great Miami River. In 2001, th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

30

the Trust hired its first Executive Director, Larry Frimerman, and established its office on the scenic Beck property on Morning Sun Road. Today, the Trust remains a vital force in conserving the natural environment and cultural heritage of southwest Ohio.

1994 Grailville began the first CSA program in the area, started by Wendy Carpenter and Mary Hogan, two activists in the early local-food community. Grailville held annual 3-12-month garden internship programs for women, and hosted over 60 interns between 1994-2004.

Lauren Niemes-Lancaster joined the Nutrition Council.

Backyard Orchard is founded by Dennis Sauerhage in Rising Sun, IN. During the market season, their fruits are available at a variety of locations, including Findlay Market, Hyde Park, Northside, Anderson, and Wyoming Market. Today, the Orchard is run by Dennis and his son Nathan.

The USDA National Farmers Market Directory is launched by the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service . In 1994 (according to Food Tech Connect), there were approximately 1750 farmers markets. As of mid-2011, there were approximately 7,200 farmers markets and currently, there are more than 8,569 farmers markets nationwide. The top states, in terms of the number of markets in the directory, include California (~765 markets), New York (~670 markets), Michigan (~339 markets), Illinois (~ 329 markets), Ohio (~321 markets), and Massachusetts (~310 farmers markets). Together, they account for about 31 percent of all the farmers markets listed in this directory today.

Groundwork Cincinnati, a community-based, boots-on-the-ground nonprofit, is created. It focuses on youth, environmental education, river restoration and natural resources, transformation of derelict properties, planting trees and edible gardens, building trails, revitalizing Mill Creek neighborhoods, providing a Green Jobs site, and engaging the public in its work. In 2011, the nonprofit changed its name from the Mill Creek Restoration Project to Groundwork Cincinnati - Mill Creek. In partnership with the National Park Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Groundwork USA, Groundwork Cincinnati works with other Groundwork trusts in cities across the nation to engage inner-city residents in urban transformation.

1995 Turner Farm began its CSA program. Karen Arnett, who had attended Grailville’s land-based program, worked with Bonnie Mitsui and established the Turner Farm garden and CSA. The City of Cincinnati's Departments of Economic Development and Public Works commissioned a master business development plan for revitalizing Findlay Market.

The planning process involved public officials, market merchants, neighborhood representatives, market shoppers, and several national experts on public markets. th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

31

The resulting master plan was adopted by Cincinnati City Council in December 1995 and continues to guide the revitalization of Findlay Market and its surroundings.

This set the foundation for creating The Corporation for Findlay Market, which was founded in 2000.

Jon Branstrator returned home to his family’s farmland after 10 years of traveling and working in Central America. The land degradation he saw on his travels inspired him to become more environmentally conscious and prompted him to transition his farm from a grain monoculture operation to that of a mixed fruit and vegetable farm.

Branstrator used methods such as crop rotation to help maintain a healthy ecosystem.

According to Ray Babcock, the South West Ohio Bee Keeping Association (SWOBA) was created (the exact date of its founding remains a mystery). SWOBA is a nonprofit organization made up of beekeepers from Hamilton, Butler, Clermont, and Warren counties in Ohio and some from Indiana and Kentucky. Their goal is to help develop interested beekeepers’ skills and increase the awareness of honeybees and their importance to our environment and food supply. In the early 2000’s Kevin Cress was the president of the organization and around 2009 Ray Babcock took over the position.

Farmers Market Online® is established for producers selling their handmade, custom crafted, home grown and farm raised goods direct to consumers worldwide.

The site claims to be the oldest of its kind with listings from all 50 states (the USDA actually beat this claim by one year). The site operates as a connector between farmers and the public.

1996 Gorman Heritage Farm is donated to the Cincinnati Nature Center. At this time, the Village of Evendale gave a 22-acre land parcel along Reading Road to build an interpretive building and parking lot.

Greenacres Farm began selling its farm products to the public.

Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewing Company is sold to the Boston Beer Company, which is later renamed the Samuel Adams Brewery.

Under the direction of Pam and Randy, the Webb Valley Farm began selling Goat meat. In 2008 the farm adds Lamb and started selling at the Deerfield Farmers Market. After selling for one season, they decide to add Pasture Raised Pork, and Grass Fed Beef. In 2010 the farm adds Pasture Raised Chickens and Eggs.

The Highland Heights Farmer’s Market is created and first held at the Extension service office in Highland Heights, KY. Later the market is moved to the Highland Heights Senior Citizens Activity Center at 3504 Alexandria Pike. This is one of three markets overseen by the Campbell Country Farmers Market Board.

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

32

Delhi Foods is founded. This company also operates under the name Refresh Produce, and is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The organization primarily operates in the Groceries, General Line business / industry within the Wholesale Trade Nondurable Goods sector.

Bryan and Carolyn Madison (of Madison’s Ridgeview Farm in Adams County, Ohio) began selling produce at Findlay Market (See 2001).

1997 Findlay Market opened it modern Farmers Market and hires Robert Pickford as the market manager.

Boulder Belt Eco-Farm is founded by Eugene and Lucy Goodman in Eaton, Ohio.

They begin a CSA program this year.

Interact for Health is founded when the ChoiceCare Foundation, sells its HMO to Humana for $221 million and invests the proceeds and renames itself “The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati.“ The foundation’s name was changed to Interact for Health in 2013. Each year funds from this investment enables Interact to award grants and make charitable gifts of roughly $9 million to support regional health programs.

1998 – Green Umbrella, our regional sustainability alliance, was developed to unite citizens and organizations concerned about preserving and restoring the abundant diversity of wildlife and plants that thrive in the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana area. The organization focused initially on conserving green space for the social, economic and environmental vitality of the region, but later added local food promotion and healthy food policy to its agenda.

Gravel Knoll Farm in West Chester began its CSA Program.

Luke Ebner, who later founded Permaganic with Angela Ebner, began interning at Turner Farm (where he meets Angela).

That Guy’s Family Farm, in Clarksville, OH, is certified Organic by OEFFA. E.A.T Food For Life Farm is started when Dan and Nancy Kremer returned to Dan’s family far in Yorkshire, Ohio. E.A.T. Food for Life Farm is a 140-acre, chemical free, non-GMO, family farm located in northern Darke County near North Star, Ohio. The farm began major production in 2000.

Guy Ashmoore of That Guy’s Farm took over the business and is certified organic.

Teresa Biagi and Raphe Ellis purchased land and established Hazelfield Farm in Owen County, KY. The second portion of the farm was purchased a few years later

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

33

and is owned and operated by Todd and Esmee (their daughter and her husband).

Read more about the farm in their Edible Louisville & Bluegrass article.

The Kentucky Proud Program is funded through the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund. The Fund is a product of the 1998 Master Tobacco Settlement between cigarette manufacturers and 46 states, including Kentucky. The Fund is directed by the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board and administered by the Governor's Office of Agricultural Policy and is the official state marketing program for agricultural products. Programs for members include grants, cost sharing, consultations, marketing assistance, including being featured on their mobile app.

Late 1990’s Northminster United Presbyterian Church began its tailgate-style farmer’s market in Finneytown, Ohio.

A group of farmers from Camp Spring, KY, established the Farmers Market that is today the Campbell County Market. The market earned its nonprofit status in 2002.

Tony Anselmo (of historical West Side Market) and Anthony Rossi formed Premier Produce and Specialty Foods in Cleveland, Ohio (see 2009).

1999 – Turner Farm began offering a winter CSA program.

Ande Schewe attended a 5 day Permaculture course at Crystal Waters EcoVillage in Austrialia.

Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Services (MOSES) is officially founded and carries on the work of hosting the Upper Midwest Organic Farming Conference (which began in 1990). Faye Jones is the executive director from 1999 – 2016. Under her leadership, the conference, now known as the MOSES Organic Farming Conference, grows to be the country’s largest educational event focused on organic and sustainable farming, with more than 3,600 people in attendance at the 2016 event. The conference is currently held in La Crosse, WI (since 2000) and attracts farmers and food advocates from all over, including Gretchen Vaughn (formally the owner and farmer of Greensleeves Farm in Alexandria, KY) Federation of Ohio River Cooperatives (FORC), a food coop, merged with another food coop, Northeast Cooperatives.

Woodstone Creek Winery and Distillery opened in St. Bernard, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Founded by Master Distiller and Winemaker Donald Outterson, Woodstone Creek produces 100-200 cases of wine, mead and distilled spirit yearly. The offerings change seasonally, with Ohio grape varietals from dry to sweet, honeywine from local honey, port from potstilled brandy and fruit wine from area farms, and range of mead (7-10) from dry to sweet and fortified dessert wines. Woodstone's potstill th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

34

produces brandy, honey liqueur, five-grain bourbon, single malt whisky (peated and unpeated), rum, gin, bierschnaaps and vodka.

The Southern Ohio Farmland Preservation Association is formed with the goal of protecting farm and forestland.

The Newport-Campbell County Farmers Market is established. This market is held at 709 Monmouth St in Newport KY. This is one of three markets overseen by the Campbell Country Farmers Market Board.

The Batavia Farmers Market is established.

The Land Conservancy of Hamilton County is formed by Roland Johnson of Green Township, a local attorney Tim Mara, and others, with the mission of protecting land from development in Hamilton County.

The Cardinal Land Trust (Not the Cardinal Land Conservancy) is formed as a private, nonprofit, tax-exempt conservation organization. CLT is a member of the national Land Trust Alliance (LTA) and the Coalition of Ohio Land Trusts (COLT). CLT preserves the natural lands and farmlands of southwest Ohio through donations of conservation easements from landowners, gifts of land, and the purchase of land.

Marvin’s Organic Gardens is founded in Lebanon, Ohio, and earns its official USDA organic certification in 2003. In 2012, Marvin’s operation included a certified class II compost facility, enabling them to recycle up to 50 tons of food scraps per day, in addition to yard waste and manure. Then in the summer of 2014, Wes and Diantha Duren, Marvin's son and daughter-in-law, acquired ownership of Marvin's Organic Gardens and shifted the focus to landscape design and installation, closing the existing composting facility. Marvin’s daughter, Audrey Keyes, began working with Blue Sphere to build an Anaerobic Digester on site, but the project ran into challenges and did not happen.

2000 The Corporation for Findlay Market (CFFM), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit is founded with the goal of managing market renovations in 2002 and 2003.

The Clean Ohio Fund, the state’s main funding source for open space conservation, farmland preservation, trail creation, brownfield restoration, and protection of ecologically sensitive areas is created. The fund was approved by voters in 2000 as a $400 million bond initiative and renewed for another eight years in 2008. The agricultural easement donation portion of the program began in 1999 and the first donated easement was secured in January 2000. The first purchased easement took place in 2002 through the Agriculture Easement Purchase Program (AEPP). In 2012, AEPP became LAEPP, or the Local Agricultural Easement Purchase Program, when the department worked to certify local sponsors to hold and administer their own agricultural easement purchase programs. This helped reduce the administrative role of the state and helped attract additional federal farmland preservation funds to th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

35

·

Ohio. Funding of $100 million for the fiscal years 2016-2018 is available through the state capital appropriations bill.

Fillager Farm near Oxford, Ohio is passed on to Harrry Fillager (son), who becomes the sole operator (see 2012).

Cincinnati State Community and Technical College opened their Midwest Culinary Institute.

In the early 2000’s – Patricia Allison (from Earth Haven EcoVillage) began offering Permaculture Design Certification in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Adam Batson purchased the land for Fair Ridge Farms in Hillsboro, Ohio.

Phil and Susann Wendel, of Wendel Farms decided to share their love of farming with others, and converted their grain and hog operation into a unique farm experience centered around education and fun! The farm still produces corn, beans, wheat, and hay, but has now added pumpkins, mums, and a multitude of animals for all to enjoy. In the fall they offer a corn maze, straw maze, hayrides, pick-your-own pumpkin patch, petting farm, play areas, and education center.

2001 – Ande Schewe completed his Permaculture Design Certification in Dexter OR, at the Lost Valley Education Center, under the guidance of Toby Hemenway, Jude Hobbs, and Rick Valley. Ande shared these ideas with Braden Trauth upon his return.

Harmony Hills Vineyards is established on the Harmony Hills Farm property in Bethel, Ohio. The Winery features tours, tastings, and the opportunity to bring your pets along for the ride.

Karen and Daryl Baldwin moved to their small farm in Liberty, IN, and name it Tapaahsia Farm. The word Tapaahsia is from the Miami Indian language and means “Canadian Goose,” referring to the geese commonly seen flying over the farm in the spring and fall. In addition to raising animals, they produce vegetables, culinary and medicinal herbs, and other plant products used for soap making.

StoneBrook Winery in Camp Springs, KY planted its first vines.

Northside Farmers Market began under the direction of Robin Henderson. Initially this was a partnership with the Northside Business Association and Northside Community Council. Today the market works closely with CAIN (Churches Active in Northside).

Tim & Tiffany Shinkle began TS Farms as a “hobby” on their land in New Vienna, Ohio.

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

36

The Madisons moved indoors at Findlay Market. Bryan and Carolyn buy fruits and vegetables from the Amish and Mennonite families of Adams County, OH. In addition, Madison’s carries milk and cultured products from Ohio-based Snowville Creamery. Customers can also buy fresh, tantalizing breads from Cincinnati’s own Sixteen Bricks Artisan Bakery.

Joe Lasita & Sons, based on West Court Street, owned and operated by brothers Jerry and Dan Lasita, purchased the old U.S. Food Service building on West Fifth Street in Queensgate in Cincinnati.

Cincinnati Cooks Catering is created. This full-service catering company works with fresh, local, and seasonal ingredients to provide delicious food worthy of any venue.

Cincinnati Cooks Catering is experienced with catering everything from business lunches to elegant wedding receptions. All of the profits from our catering business funnel directly back into our operations and the many programs of the Freestore Foodbank.

2002 Carriage House Farm received an infusion of energy and purpose when Richard M. Stewart, Jr., the now-head farmer, returns to help his father build the stables.

The College Hill Gardeners began the College Hill Farmers Market.

Bixler Farm and Bixler’s Farmers Market are founded in Russellville, Ohio by Viki Bixler.

B & D Goats, specializing in goats’ milk, soap, lotion, chicken eggs, honey, and homemade jelly and jams is established in New Richmond, OH. The Niehoff Studio at the University of Cincinnati is founded by Director Frank Russell from the OTR based UC Community Design Center. The Studio as a unique interdisciplinary initiative, undertaken to address urban issues that challenge the quality of life in Cincinnati. The studio engages the community in urban problem solving efforts. The first two-year studio theme focused on Urban Food and Quality of Life, including several food history projects, a grocery store access study, and a series of conceptual studies for markets, stores, and civic spaces. From 2002-17 work produced by faculty, students, and staff associated with the studio have extended to more than 20 community projects, studies, and initiatives such as the Cincinnati Regional Food Congress (2009-10-11), Greater Cincinnati Food Policy Council (2005-, Venice Pizza (2006), Gabriel’s Place, Rothenberg Rooftop Teaching Garden, and others.

Granny’s Garden School, a nonprofit organization is started by Roberta (Granny) Paolo, at Loveland Primary School, in Loveland, OH. Granny’s Garden School develops and supports hands-on learning experiences for children through

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

37

schoolyard-based garden and nature-focused programs to help children experience nature, the satisfaction of growing their own food, and to appreciate the simple pleasure of picking a flower.

The Batesville Farmers Market is established in Batesville, IN. The Ripley County Farmers Market is established is Osgood, IN. The Farm at Holiday Harbor, in California, KY is established.

2003 – The Gorman Heritage Farm Foundation is created when the Cincinnati Nature Center transfers ownership of the farm to the Village of Evendale.

Greenacres Farm Sales LLC is formed. This paves the way for their on-site farm store and the selling of their farm products.

Running Creek Farm, located in Mt. Healthy, OH is started by Jim Lowenberg.

Luke Ebner stated working for Impact Over the Rhine and tending the Eco-Garden.

Jaybird Farms is started by Vivian and Jay Pfankuch in Sardinia, Ohio.

Doug Weber starts Mud Foot Farm, selling free-range eggs, grass fed beef and lamb, pasture raised poultry, and pawpaws; using organic and permacultural practices.

The Village Green Foundation is established in Northside, Ohio, and houses the Mobo Bike Coop and the Village Green Gardens.

Adam and Sarah Mancino opened Farm Beach Bethel in Bethel Ohio.

JT Moreland Farms LLC, is established by Josh and Tiffany Moreland just outside the small rural village of Camden, Ohio.

Heatherbrook Farms, LLC is opened by Vicky and David Brooks at 3874 Hendrickson Road, Franklin, OH 45005. After investigating produce, blueberries, blackberries, and various other labor-intensive horticultural interests, the farm invests in Alpacas, and runs a breeding program with the primary focus of producing fibers.

Local Harvest.org is incorporated as an LLC. This national, searchable, digital directory lists over 30,000 family farms, farmers markets, and CSAs, along with restaurants and grocery stores that feature local food.

Elk Creek Vineyards is established in Owentown KY. It officially opened for business in 2006 and currently has 30 acres in grape production. The vineyard produced Kentucky’s first Estate Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Sangiovese wines. Elk Creek also th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

38

grows Vidal Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Riesling, Chardonelle, Norton, and Chambourcin grapes on the Estate.

The City of Cincinnati’s Office of Environmental Management is eliminated by Mayor Charlie Luken. This is the precursor to the City’s Office of Environment and Sustainability.

The Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) is formed with a recommendation by the City of Cincinnati Economic Development Task Force with the goal increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of development activities in the City of Cincinnati. Board members include the Cincinnati corporate community (P&G, Western and Southern, Macy’s, Cintas, Castellini, Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Duke Energy, Kroger, etc.) Major projects include the renovation and development of Fountain Square, Washington Park, Over the Rhine, Music Hall, and other historic landmarks. Currently Fountain square hosts the Troy Strauss Farmers Market.

The Deerfield Farmers Market was started. For eight years the market was held at the old township office building on Montgomery Rd. in Cincinnati. It was later moved to Kingswood Park. In 2013, the market hired its first market manager.

The Alexandria, KY Farmers Market is founded. The market is held in the parking lot of the Southern Bowling Lanes, located at 7634 Alexandria Pike in Alexandria. This is one of three markets overseen by the Campbell Country Farmers Market Board.

The Talawanda Market (started in 1976) split into two groups when their location at the Stewart School is sold. One group moved their market to the Talawanda High School; the other sets up a new market in Uptown Oxford.

2004 - The Enright Ridge Urban Ecovillage, located in East Price Hill, Cincinnati, is founded

by Jim and Eileen Schenk, and their friend Joyce Quinlan, along with 17 other neighbors including Jerry Ropp, Jeanne Staas, Sharon Wilson, Dennis Coskie, Vince Leta, Carla Weber, Kathy Feibelman, Julia Yarden, Eileen Cooper, Jim Mainger, Michael Frazier, Kim Brown, Blanche Underwood, and Diane Gerwin.

The Center for Closing the Health Gap is founded as a non-profit organization committed to raising awareness about and eliminating racial and health disparities across greater Cincinnati. The organization works collaboratively with hospitals, government, associations and businesses to address prevalent health disparities and social determinants. They focus on disease prevention, promoting healthier eating and enhancing quality of life to make our neighborhoods and our people stronger through their many programs and initiatives, including: Community Engagement Academy, Do Right!® Healthy Eating, Do Right!® Healthy Corner Store initiatives, the Health Leadership Institute, and more.

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

39

Red Sunflower Farm is founded by Barry and Mackey in Independence, KY. The farm is an education and demonstration in homesteading and sustainability. Barry has hosted numerous groups, service projects, and classes around the topics of designing, and creating, a self-sustaining homestead using permaculture principles.

The house received an Energy Star rating in August 2009.

The Corporation for Findlay Market (CFFM) and the City of Cincinnati entered into a lease and management agreement that authorizes CFFM to manage and operate the market. These agreements were renewed in 2009 and The City of Cincinnati continues to provide some operating funds.

Price Hill Will is founded as a nonprofit community development corporation serving the neighborhoods of East, West and Lower Price Hill on the West Side of Cincinnati. Their mission is to create systemic change in Price Hill through programs that include community gardens, business district planning, residential/commercial real estate development, community programming, a 100-member youth orchestra, cultural events, and many others.

The Christian Moerlein Beer brand is purchased by Beer Baron Gregory Hardman.

The Dixie Farmers Market was started by the Renaissance Committee of Erlanger /Elsmere, Kentucky. Robert Yoder (the Mainstream Coordinator at time) ran the market for many years.

Old Homeplace Farm comes back into existence, when the Bowling family received the opportunity to purchase one tract and then combined with an adjacent tract of land, previously owned by Squire Hensley in Clay County, Kentucky. Gloria Bowling (Squire's great-granddaughter) already owned about 30 acres of the original farm. Incidentally, one of her cousins owned 90 adjoining acres that included Squire's original house site. The Bowlings purchased the adjoining 90 acres, resulting in the 120-acre farm that we affectionately know as the "The Old Homeplace."

MarketMaker, a national network of states that connect farmers and fishermen with food retailers, grocery stores, processors, caterers, chefs, and consumers is founded.

MarketMaker was created at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, and is licensed to Global Food and Ag Network, LLC. It is an ever-growing partnership of Land Grant Universities, Departments of Agriculture, and food and agricultural organizations investing in a coordinated effort to build a virtual infrastructure that brings healthier, fresher, and more flavorful food to the average consumer.

MarketMaker has a searchable directory for each state, including Ohio.

Hyde Park Farmers Market is started by Mary Ida Compton and Judy Williams. Mary Ida was a CSA member at Turner Farm.

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

40

Robin Moshier purchased a 26-acre farm at 755 Heifner Rd, in Jamestown, OH 45335 and opened her own business. Soon after, she invested in miniature Hereford cattle (for their gentle temperament, hardiness, feed efficiency, and bush/grass mowing ability). Today she runs Ohio Miniature Hereford Cattle Pleasant Valley Farm and partners with the Grudosky Farm, located at 4094 Industry Rd, Rootstown, OH 44272.

The Organic Farm at Bear Creek is started by Jeff and Sandra Ashba in Felicity, Ohio Linda Rosselot of Gravel Knoll Farm began the West Chester Farmers Market.

Cincinnati Locavore is founded (according to Facebook, 2004, first blogspot posts appeared in 2007) with the goal of promoting Eating Locally In and Around Cincinnati, Ohio.

Angie Carl, of Planning for Success, a strategic planning consultant, is asked by Bill Hopple of The Cincinnati Nature Center to facilitate a strategic plan for Green Umbrella. At the time Angie was a member of the Board of Directors for the Cincinnati Nature Center. This helped set the stage for Green Umbrella to incorporate food into their mission in 2011.

Steve Sizemore, under the direction of Chris Auffery, Ph.D., published his dissertation for Community Planning from The University of Cincinnati, titled: Urban eco-villages as an alternative model to revitalizing urban neighborhoods: The ecovillage approach of the seminary square/Price Hill eco-village of Cincinnati, Ohio.

This case study provided a model of sustainable development that can be applied at the local level and serve as an alternative approach for neighborhood revitalization.

The Seminary Square Ecovillage is the precursor to the Enright Ridge Urban Ecovillage.

Matthew and Mary Lynn Schwan purchased a small farm just northwest of Oxford, Ohio with a mission to become a small producer of ultra-healthy food products.

They renamed the property Hokybe Farms, demolished most of the existing farm layout and began to develop the facilities for their new enterprise. After learning about the significant nutritional differences in beef, they decided to raise 100% grass-fed Black Angus cattle. They embraced rotational grazing practices (and a herding-dog named Henry) and chose to never apply pesticides or commercial fertilizers to their pastures.

The Uptown Oxford Farmers Market, in Oxford Ohio, is created after a split from the Talwanda Market.

Hillary L. Burdette and Robert C. Whitaker published Neighborhood playgrounds, fast food restaurants, and crime: relationships to overweight in low-income preschool children in Preventive medicine 38, no. 1 (2004): 57-63. This study uses cross-sectional data from 7,020 low-income children, 36 through 59 months of age th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

41

living in Cincinnati, OH. The study concludes that the population of urban lowincome preschoolers (over) weight was not associated with proximity to playgrounds and fast food restaurants or with the level of neighborhood crime.

2005 - Green Umbrella expanded its mission to include a focus on promoting outdoor recreation and nature awareness for children and adults alike.

StoneBrook Winery in Camp Spring, KY opened for business.

James Linne purchased 300 acres in southeastern Highland County and starts White Clover Farm, selling 100% grass fed beef.

The Mt. Carmel Brewing Company is established in Mt. Carmel, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Jaime Carmody launched the Cincinnati-based Out Of Thyme Personal Chef Services, specializing in preparing in-home meals for busy people, private caterings, dinner parties and cooking classes. Her knowledge of food and flavors, combined with creative hands-on cooking techniques, helped Jaime become a guest favorite at cooking schools around the region.

2006 – Earthshares CSA (previously Grailville) started as a nonprofit corporation in the state of Ohio.

Braden Trauth trained with Scott Pittman in Santa Fe, NM at the EcoVersity and completed a Permaculture workshop in Oregon with Doug Crouch.

Peter Bane, one of the editors for the Permaculture Activist Magazine moved to Bloomington, IN. Braden Trauth does his Permaculture Design Certificate Teacher training with Peter.

Turner Farm received its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.

Deeper Roots Coffee is started by Les Stoneham at a local cafe in Cincinnati.

Bee Haven Honey, LLC is established and started selling 100% beeswax candles, soothing hand salves, lip balms, beeswax lanterns, and of course, honey. Their current shop is located at Findlay Market.

Double J Farm is founded by Joe Streit at the age of 60 in Hamilton, Ohio. The farm grows produce and offers herd shares.

Ame Vanorio established Fox Run Farm in Falmouth, KY. In 2015, Ame created an education and wild rehabilitation center when she received her nonprofit status.

Abundant Green Pastures Ranch is established in West Harrison, IN th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

42

Local Dirt is founded with the mission of connecting local farmers and producers with local buyers of all sizes including restaurants and local food markets. Local Dirt is an online community that facilitates online marketing and networking for members to help interested parties find a place to buy and sell local food. The base office is located in downtown Madison, Wisconsin. The company also has a development team in San Francisco.

The Covington Farmers Market begins as the Northern Kentucky Regional Farmers Market. Around 2010 it became clear that Covington was not going to own the regional market so the name was changed to the Covington Farmers Market. The market was a program of the local government until 2012 when Renaissance Covington took over the management of the market.

Foster’s Farms is established in Maineville, Ohio. They have a Market in Hamilton Township and a Farm in Deerfield Township.

Troyer Country Market is opened at 5201 Co Rd 77, Millersburg, OH 44654. The market specializes in Amish produced foods, such as cheese, meat, produce, ice cream, jar goods, soaps and more. The Troyer products are sold at other markets in the area, such as the Schawb Family Farm Market.

Somewhere in the middle of this decade, the Eat Well Guide is created. Eat Well is a robust directory of sustainable food purveyors, generated through staff research, individual suggestions, partner organizations and the owners of many of the businesses it lists. The Eat Well staff reviews all listings before adding them to the Guide by checking websites and/or calling businesses. The guide makes note of any sustainability certifications a business has earned from third-party certifiers on its listing page.

Blue Oven Bakery, located in Williamsburg, Ohio, began making bread. In addition to bread, the operation now includes a farm and a CSA. 2007 – Green BEAN Delivery is launched by husband-and-wife team Matt Ewer and Beth Blessing in Cincinnati, Oh. “BEAN” is short for Biodynamic. Education. Agriculture.

Nutrition. The delivery service is based at regional hubs in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri. The company owns two organic farms (in OH and IN) and competes with full service grocery stores. They provide available local food and mainstream natural and organic brands to their customers. Green BEAN developed innovative partnerships with Cincinnati Zoo, and created one of the zoo’s farms, the 60-acre EcOhio Farm in Mason, Ohio, which was established in 2012. The EcOhio Farm services Green BEAN Delivery Ohio members and local food banks, as well as the animals at the Cincinnati Zoo. Other companies in the BEAN family of companies include Tiny Footprint Distribution and Feelgood Farm.

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

43

The Ohio Fruit Growers Society, Ohio Vegetable and Potato Growers Association, and Direct Agricultural Marketers Association merged to form Ohio Produce Growers & Marketers Association Turner Farm in Indian Hill, Ohio offered a year-round meat CSA. Martin Hill Farms is established in Aberdeen, Ohio.

The Wyoming Ave Farmers Market is launched as a nonprofit, producer-only, volunteer-run business that is committed to offering local, consumable products to neighbors in Wyoming, OH. All farmers are located within 90 miles of the Market, and the cottage-produced products are made within 25 miles. The market is located on Wyoming Ave. at Oak on the Village Green in downtown Wyoming.

Susanna TY Tong and Sarawuth Naramngam published Modeling the impacts of farming practices on water quality in the little Miami River Basin in Environmental management 39, no. 6, 853-866. The study used the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to evaluate the individual and combined impacts of various farming practices on flow, sediment, ammonia, and total phosphorus loads in the Little Miami River basin. Using data from1990–1994 and 1980–1984, the tested farming scenarios suggested that no-tillage (NT) offered more environmental benefits than moldboard plowing (MP). Flow, sediment, ammonia, and total phosphorus under NT were lower than those under MP. The Greensburg / Decatur County Farmers Market is launched by Bryan Robbins of Mainstreet Greensburg, IN, as a nonprofit community development organization.

Braden Trauth trained with Geoff Lawton, David Holmgren and Bill Mollison in Australia.

Dave Jacke visited the Cincinnati region and gave talks at Enright Ridge Urban EcoVillage, the Civic Garden Center, and the Madeira Library. He also worked with Nancy Sullivan, an Enright member who designs a forest garden in her backyard.

Greensleeves Farm, in Alexandria KY, opened under the leadership of Gretchen Vaughn. Mark Sheppard ran 1-Day Permaculture workshop.

The Central Ohio River Valley Local Food Guide (CORV) is created to educate people, connect eaters and growers, and promote a vibrant, ecologically friendly, and sustainable local-food economy in our region. The guide originated in 2007 at the Imago Earth Center, as a group of concerned individuals met to talk about the environment and discuss local-food resources. Deborah Jordan and Susan Miller Stigler with the help of designer Breanna (Harris) Parker saw the need for an allinclusive directory of resources, and thus the idea for the guide was born. The CORV guide is published annually.

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

44

Karen Kahle is hired at Findlay Market as their Resource Development Director. She worked with Cynthia Brown and Robert Pickford to increase programming for the farmers market. Over the years the team is awarded several USDA grants, including money for their Cultivating a Healthy Environment for Farmers Program (CHEF).

City of Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory hired Larry Falkin as the Director of the new Office of Environmental Quality (previously the Office of Environmental Management).

Bonnie Phillips, worked with Larry Falkin and Ginnell Schiller, to host the first 3 E Summit (Environment, Equity, and Equity) at the Duke Energy Center. For the first few years the summit targeted city employees (to help them learn about different green initiatives) and potential sponsors related to sustainability to raise money. In 2009, Steve Johns is hired as the city’s Sustainability Coordinator (2009 – 2013).

Johns helped move the summit to the University of Cincinnati, broaden the audience, and made the event more focused on education. The 3 E Summit is the precursor to the Midwest Sustainability Summit, now hosted by Green Umbrella, the Office of Environment and Sustainability, and the Brueggeman Center at Xavier University.

Park + Vine opened. Described as the “General Store of the Future” by CityBeat, Park + Vine is an all-vegan, green general store, and restaurant that caters to all types of eaters. The store encourages people to become more aware of the environmental impacts of their consumption choices through a nice variety of events and activities.

Safe Haven Farms is established as a nonprofit organization with the goal of providing autistic adults with a variety of meaningful living, working, learning and leisure activities in a safe and accepting farm environment. In 2009 Safe Haven purchased a 60-acre parcel near Middletown, Ohio. Construction of the onsite residences was completed in 2010, and the Hatton Center opened in early 2011. In 2012 and 2013 the organization completed a major renovation of the barn to include an indoor riding arena, along with a nearby outdoor arena.

Wilson J. Warren published Tied to the great packing machine: The Midwest and meatpacking (University of Iowa Press), which tells the dramatic story of meatpacking's enormous effects on the economics, culture, and environment of the Midwest (including Cincinnati) over the past century and a half.

2008 – Greensleeves Farm in Alexandria, Ky. began their CSA program.

Mike Hass established Idyllwild Farm in Melbourne, KY. The Ohio Farmer’s Market Managers’ Network is founded with the mission of educating market managers and vendors about best practices, regulations, tools and opportunities for sharing ideas.

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

45

Red Stone Farm in Hillsboro, Ohio, began converting 200 acres of tillable ground to pasture. This acreage is now leased to Grassroots Farm & Foods, owned by Drausin and Susan Wulsin, to produce grass-based foods.

Braden Trauth began teaching Permaculture and offering Permaculture Design Certificates (PDC) in Cincinnati, under the Permaculture Guild, which is a collection of people including Mary Lu Lageman, Suellyn Shupe, Peter Bane and Ande Schewe.

Charles Griffin and David Rosenberg where also tangentially involved. Imago Earth Center in Price Hill and the International Workers of the World (Union) began hosting the PDC classes. Students in this first class included Gretchen Vaughn, Karen Egan, Patricia Walker, Heather Sayre, and Emily St. Claire among others.

In 2008, Rural Action launched the Ohio Foodshed Project, which has a local food directory for the southeast part of the state, and keeps track of markets, farms, CSAs, Co-Ops, Nurseries, Community Gardens, and Caterers. In 2014, they formed a partnership with the Appalachian Center for Economic Networks (ACEnet) and the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation in Nelsonville, to work on supporting food access for all three of these organizations in the form of Southwest Ohio Food Hub. The Osteopathic Heritage Foundation provided funding for a shared position between all three organizations. In 2015 with USDA funding, Rural Action purchased a blast chill freezer with Hocking College, and in conjunction with their culinary program, they buy food in season and freeze for winter consumption (primarily to sell to local schools). Currently, Rural Action sells produce to hospitals, 6-7 local school districts and is working with OSU to begin selling to them as well.

Fabulous Ferments is incorporated and in 2009 began selling their products (Raw Cultured Veggies, Beat Kvass, Kombucha and Raw Cultured Pepper Hot Sauce) with the mission of bringing back nourishing foods that heal the body, mind, and soul.

Jerry and Elizabeth Eaton established The Eaton Farm near Madison, IN. The 50acre farm was purchased by Jerry’s grandparents, the Scotts. About a half mile up the road stands “The Old Homeplace,” where many generations were born and raised, and dates back to the early 1800’s.

Mark’s Pure Honey is founded in Mt. Orab, Ohio.

Growing Closer: A Guide to Local Foods in Butler County is created by the Rural Butler County Group of the Wilks Scholars at Miami University. The Guide includes chapters on Why Buy Locally, A Local Foods Dinner, Local Markets Overview, Local Farmer Directory, Seasonality, Local Recipes, How to Preserve Local Food, How to Start a Backyard Garden, and Local Farmer Histories. The Local Farmer Histories chapter was used to compliment other material in this timeline.

R. Alan Wight published We are Nature: Exploring Ecovillagers’ Perceptions of Nature and Uses of Technology, as his MA thesis in Sociology at the University of Cincinnati. This case study investigated the morals, values, ideas, and technological th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

46

decision of the Berea Kentucky, Enright Ridge, and Heartland Ecovillages in the TriState region.

The Diocese of Southern Ohio granted use of a portion of the grounds to the Avondale Community Council for the Do Right!® Teen Garden lead by The Center for Closing the Health Gap, with funds from Place Matters. The garden provided fresh vegetables, along with nutrition and healthy eating training to the teens in the summer from 2008-2010. The garden also resulted in the establishment of a Farmers Market stand managed by the Avondale Youth Council. This work is a precursor to Gabriel’s Place.

Rothenberg Preparatory Academy in Over the Rhine opened their Roof Top Garden with the purpose of providing unique learning opportunities for students through hands-on garden-based lessons and to engage community members in rooftop activities.

The Green Cincinnati Plan is approved and adopted by City Council. The plan included a section for recommendations on citizens diets, and a call for eating less meat, as a way to reduce Green House Gas emissions. Larry Falkin of The Office of Environment and Sustainability and William Messer, a local food avtivist, both claim that Cincinnati is one of the first cities to adopt a plan that includes such specific recommendations.

The Ohio Kentucky River Valley Chapter of OEFFA sponsored its first local food seminar in Georgetown, Ohio. The OK River Valley Chapter is now in its 9 th year of sponsoring the seminar.

The Fort Thomas, KY Farmers Market is established. Currently the market is hosted in the parking lot outside Fort Thomas Antiques & Design Center at 90 Alexandria Pike U.S. 27.

The Montgomery Farmers Market is established by a group of folks (including Russ Speiller) who were trained in the Montgomery Community Leadership Academy and decided to take on this venture as their project. In 2014 Kim Chelf joined the board and is currently the president. The current market manager is Gabi Ragusa.

TrueChoicePack (TCP) Corp, a subsidiary of Che International Group, is founded in Dayton, Ohio. The organization is a leader in providing packaging and disposable solutions. One of their product lines is BioGreenChoice®, a green/sustainable product line that manufactures high quality environmentally friendly green packaging products. Packaging products are made to be biodegradable and compostable, with an emphasis on being used in hospitals, corporate cafeterias, Universities, restaurants, schools, and homes etc. All BioGreenChoice® products are made from annually renewable resources like sugarcane, corn etc.

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

47

The City of Cincinnati passes a motion to form the Food Access Task Force, with the objectives of addressing the disparity that exists between lower-income communities and higher-income communities regarding access to quality and healthy food supplies. Specifically, the task force’s main objectives were to (1) assess the needs of low-income communities related to the disparity in access to healthy foods, (2) Identify innovative solutions and national best practices currently deployed against the problem, and (3) make policy recommendations to City Council that address disparities in access to healthy foods (see 2012).

Hamilton County Public Health (HCPH) is awarded a five-year $2.6 million Strategic Alliance for Health (SAH) grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Hamilton County is one of 9 communities selected around the country to receive this funding. SAH focused on preventing obesity and tobacco use, the two leading preventable causes of death and disability, and was designed to make healthy living easier by promoting environmental changes at the local level. The purpose of this report is to 1. Present a mapping and analysis completed by the University of Cincinnati (UC) School of Planning, which showed the current status of healthy food access in Hamilton County. 2. Describe how strategies associated with the WeTHRIVE! initiative and other organizations have addressed healthy food access throughout Hamilton County, and 3. Provide recommendations to achieve healthy food access for all in Hamilton County. Results of the report are here.

Cincinnati Food Security: A Community Assessment is published by Brandy Jeanette McQuery as her Master’s Thesis in Community Planning at the University of Cincinnati. The study investigated whether residents within the City of Cincinnati, Ohio have equal food access and whether a correlation exists between neighborhood social character and food insecurity.

Late, 2008, Sustain Brand is launched by Matt Kennedy. The business focuses on buying products from local farmers and food manufactures under a single name for bulk sale. Partners include KHI Foods.

2009 – Building upon the success of the Strategic Alliance for Health (SAH-see above 2008) HCPH (Hamilton County Public Health Dept.) received the Healthy Kids Healthy Communities (HKHC) grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

HKHC is a four-year $360,000 grant focused on childhood obesity. In 2010 HCPH received the Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) grant, also through the CDC. CPPW was a two-year $6.7 million grant targeting obesity prevention.

Bluegrass for Babies is formed to help improve children’s health through raising funds for the Prenatal Institute of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. See 2014, where Bluegrass for Babies rebrands itself - Healthy Roots Foundation.

The Cultivating Healthy Environment and Farmers Program is established. The Corporation for Findlay Market received a Community Food Projects Competitive th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

48

Grant award in 2009 from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for $57,109. This money funded the (CHEF) project, which recruited, trained, and provided start-up resources for new farmers to grow produce on vacant urban lots and sell at the Findlay Market. The program created a composting system to recycle food waste from the market using the compost to fertilize locally-grown fresh produce. The program is run by Ken Stern (2010-2012) and later Charles Griffin.

The program trains new farmers including Megan Gambrill (who worked for Turner Farm and eventually Carriage House Farm) and Kate Cook (of Carriage House Farm).

The Ohio Valley Foodshed Project is incorporated as a nonprofit 501(c) (3). Records indicate this organization is not in existence anymore.

The Niehoff Studio at the University of Cincinnati held its first annual Food Congress, which brought together over 60 urban and rural stakeholders from nonprofits, citizen groups, governments and businesses with the intent to share best practices, set goals for the local food economy, and identify opportunities for local food system development. Successive Food Congresses are held for several of the next few years.

Lizbeth Ruiz, Masters of Community Planning Graduate Student, published Food System and Food Management at The University of Cincinnati: White Paper I. This study builds on the previous work of the Cincinnati Food Congress, and explores the food system of the University of Cincinnati. The paper outlines the findings of the second stage of research work concerning the place of the University of Cincinnati, as an institution within the Cincinnati food system. The University of Cincinnati, as a major institution, and the region’s largest employer, is an important part of the local food system in terms of the amount of food purchased as well as the waste produced. The paper examines food management practices within the university and all the elements related to its internal food system.

Reserve Run Farm in Oxford, Ohio, created an LLC so they can sell their productions directly to restaurants and the public. Their productions are served at the Maple Street Station Dining Hall- Encounter Restaurant- Miami University Main Campus, Steinkeller Bavarian Bier Hall and Restaurant- 15 E. High St., and at Quarter Barrel Brewery and Pub- 107 E. Church St., Uptown Oxford, OH. McMonigle Farm started its pumpkin operation at 7441 Franklin Madison Road Middletown, Ohio 45042. They host a Pumpkin Fest in the fall that features hayrides, a corn maze and cow train that is intended for families with young children.

The Clinton County Green Alliance, a coalition of environmental groups in Clinton County, OH is formed. The Alliance was established by the office of the Clinton County Regional Planning Commission as a way of combining the strengths of all of Clinton County's Green Groups to increase each group's respective impact on our environment in Clinton County. Members include: Clinton County Open Lands, Inc. (CCOL), Clinton County Parks Department, Clinton County Trails Coalition, Clinton th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

49

County Stream Keepers, Energize Clinton County (ECC), Lytle Creek League of Conservators (LCLC), No Child Left Indoors (NCLI), Wilmington Garden Club, Wilmington Tree Commission, and the City of Wilmington Parks and Recreation.

The Organic Association of Kentucky (OAK) was founded by farmers, grocers, University workers, and representatives from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. The goal of OAK is to bring more attention to the benefits of an organic diet, and more resources to those growing organic and other low-input crops and livestock in Kentucky. The group earned its 501(c)(3) status in 2015.

The Ripley, Ohio Farmers Market opened. This market was in existence for about four years until 2013.

The City of Cincinnati created the Food Access Task Force, with the goal of addressing the disparities that exists between lower-income communities and higher-income communities regarding access to quality and healthy food supplies.

The task force’s main objectives are to (1) assess the needs of low-income communities related to the disparity in access to healthy foods, (2) Identify innovative solutions and national best practices currently deployed against the problem, and (3) make policy recommendations to City Council that redress disparities in access to healthy foods. See 2012 for results and recommendations.

Gary and Ervin Pavlofsky (of ProduceOne) and Tony Anselmo and Anthony Rossi (of Premier Produce & Specialty Foods) decided to collaborate. In 2011, they began a strategic partnership aimed at advancing their company’s mission of statewide coverage and in 2013, they officially merged to form Premier ProduceOne. In 2012 the company acquired Roth Produce in Columbus, Ohio. Premier ProduceOne is a produce and specialty foods distribution company servicing all of Ohio and adjacent counties in Indiana, Kentucky & West Virginia. The company has distribution facilities in Cleveland, Columbus and Dayton, Ohio, and has become the leader in servicing the needs of chefs at fine restaurants, colleges, caterers, hotels, and many of Ohio’s sporting venues.

Leslie Poindexter, the founder of Homeadow Song Farm passes away.

Carriage House Farm began a CSA Program.

Tim & Tiffany Shinkle of TS Farms in New Vienna, Ohio, began their CSA Program, including a herdshare.

The Cincinnati Chapter of Slow Food is founded.

Straight Creek Valley Farm started market production in Georgetown Ohio.

One Small Garden, LLC. is started by Julianne B. Gardener. With inspiration

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

50

and guidance from Bonnie Mitsui of Turner Farm, Julianne created a raised bed garden business with the goal of providing easily accessible, fresh food to even the most inexperienced gardener. Working with the craftsmen at Wheat Ridge Cedar, a local mill in Adams County, OH, Julianne helps design raised beds made out of enduring, food safe, local cedar. One Small Garden also offers a variety of sheds, compost bins, tables, trellis, and other garden accessories.

Braden Trauth and his fellow permaculturalists teach at Red Sunflower Farm in KY, which is owned and operated by Barry Shelming. Also around this time Sakina Grome (who worked with Geoff Lawton), Sam Dunlap, and Doug Crouch started teaching with Braden the following year.

Enright Ridge Urban Ecovillage began their CSA Program—now called Urban Earth Farms. Their first farmer, Charles Griffin, worked there until 2012, when he left to work for Our Harvest Cooperative. Sueellen Shoupe was their community coordinator.

Cincinnati Union Cooperative Initiative (CUCI) is established. CUCI is a nonprofit union co-op incubator that strives to generate family-sustaining jobs. This organization was formed by the United Steel Workers and Mondragon, which is a federated network of 120 worker-owner cooperatives in the Basque region of Spain that employs over 80,000 people. CUCI has funded and supported the following worker-owner businesses: Our Harvest Cooperative (2012), Sustainergy (2013), Apple Street Northside Market (still in process, expected to open in August 2018), Union Coop Training Institute (still in process), Renting Partnerships (2013), and others. These coops work together and form a network of like-minded businesses.

The City of Cincinnati, as part of The Green Cincinnati Plan, launched the Urban Gardening Pilot program. This was originally conceived by Vice Mayor Crowley as a pilot project, then it was made permanent by a later motion. The program rents parcels of City-owned land to any neighborhood stakeholder to create a garden, increase energy efficiency, and reduce carbon emissions in Cincinnati by growing fruits and vegetables for local consumption, thus reducing transportation emissions.

In 2010, the program expanded with funding from the US Department of Energy, which was provided by the Energy Efficiency Conservation Block stimulus package.

By 2011, there were 59 gardeners and 11 plots of land in production. The Urban Agriculture program, as it was called, brought together the Civic Garden Center (which administered the program), Cincinnati State, and several established community gardens, including Permaganic, Enright Ridge Urban Ecovillage Farm Project, and The Corporation for Findlay Market, along with Gabriel’s Place, the Nutrition Council, the Hamilton County Ohio State University Extension, and the Cincinnati Health Department. The program operated with stimulus money until 2013/14, upon which time it became a line item in the city’s budget (Urban Agriculture in Cincinnati, 2011). These funds have been decreasing slightly every year ☹

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

51

Permaganic is officially founded by Luke and Angela Ebner in 2009 and, along with others (such as Braden Trauth of This Land), they have created an urban permaculture paradise with fruit trees, native plants, berries, annual vegetables and labyrinths less than a mile from the heart of downtown Cincinnati at 1718 Main St. Doug Crouch established TreeYo Permaculture, an organization that aims to educate the next generation of farmers and project managers and create resilient ecosystems so an evolution of culture will naturally flow. TreeYo offers PDC training, workshops and design consultations.

Deeper Roots Development (DRD) is founded by Les Stoneham of Deeper Roots Coffee. DRD is a non-profit with the goal of directly connecting customers to coffee farmers in Santa Maria de Jesus, Guatemala, and other parts of the world. The program helps ensures that farmers earn more money for their beans.

5 Oaks Organics Farm is started by Kristi Hutchinson in Oxford, Ohio.

Bergefurds Farm Market and Greenhouse is founded in Wilmington, OH. They begin a CSA program this year as well.

Hanover Winery is incorporated as Butler County’s only winery at the time. The winery grows grapes on site, has a tasting room, and currently offers 28 varieties from dry to sweet dessert wines. It is located between Oxford and Hamilton, Ohio, just North of SR 130 in Hanover Township, and is owned and operated by Eddie & Elizabeth (Scheffel) McDonald.

Chocolats Latour, an artisan chocolate shop, owned and operated by Chocolatiere Shalini Latour (a pastry chef from Montreal, by way of Belgium, by way of India) is started in Shalini’s kitchen in Northside, Cincinnati. Chocolats Latour’s production eventually moves to the Factory Kitchen and then the Chocolate Bee in 2015.

Larry Falkin of the Office of Environmental Quality hires Robin Henderson. Part of Robin’s work in the office is to advance the agenda of Urban Agriculture and the local food movement.

WeTHRIVE!, a county-wide initiative focused on making healthy living easier is formed by Hamilton County Public Health (HCPH). Funding is provided by Strategic Alliance for Health, ($2 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Healthy Kids Healthy Communities ($360,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation), and Communities Putting Prevention to Work ($6.7 million grant from the CDC). The initiative and HCPH engage schools, businesses, churches, elected officials and residents to address chronic disease by increasing access to healthy foods and physical activity opportunities, while decreasing exposure to secondhand smoke. This collaboration has resulted in numerous policy and environmental changes that have lasting impact in our communities, and has helped build capacity for the two iterations of our Food Policy Council- known as the th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

52

Greater Regional Cincinnati Food Policy Council. In 2014, HCPH expanded the focus of WeTHRIVE! to include additional Pathways for improving the overall health of a community.

Adam Batson of Fair Ridge Farms in Highland County, Ohio began a CSA program.

Fair Ridge Farms encompasses dozens of independently family owned and operated small farms that produce for Fair Ridge Farms CSA and foodhub. Many of the small contributing farmers are Amish or Mennonite. The Fair Ridge Farms foodhub is an all local food distributor and businesses that sells to: Orchids at Palm Court, Bite Restaurant, Clifton Market, DIRT at Findlay Market, Hyde Park Fine Meats, Gabriel’s Place and more.

Easter Rising Farm is founded in Friendship, IN. Lisa Kagen opens Melt Eclectic Cafeé and Picnic & Pantry in Northside, Cincinnati, Ohio. Picnic & Pantry is a small grocery store sourcing local foods, which moved to Over The Rhine (OTR) in 2014. Then in 2016, Picnic & Pantry is renamed “Bottle and Basket” (as part of a rebranding campaign), as the grocery store shifts from selling food to alcohol (beer and wine), with sausage and cheese offerings.

Rivertown Brewing Company is founded in Lockland, Ohio. In 2007, Jason Roeper became a finalist in the Sam Adams Longshot Competition with his unblended Lambic, called “Straight Up.” Shortly after that experience, Jason put his vision onto paper and after a few years of planning, Rivertown was up and running. Today the company operates two barrel houses in the Cincinnati, Ohio area: their original Lockland Barrel House and their newer location, the Monroe Barrel House.

The Madeira Farmers Market is established in Madeira, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Findlay Market is awarded $218,890 from the "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" initiative launched by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), with the focus of increasing access to healthy, affordable local foods.

Crigger Farm is established in Gallatin County, KY. Northside Farmers Market becomes a year-round farmers market and hires a parttime manager.

Gorman Heritage Farm added chef’s camp to their Summer Farm camp programming to get kids involved with the gardening, farming, and cooking experience.

Amy Stross completes her Permaculture Design Certificate with The Cincinnati Permaculture Guild.

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

53

Section VI – In These Recent Times Since 2010, there has been constant iterations, improvements, and developments in the nation’s and region’s local food scene. The numbers of Community supported Agriculture programs, farmers markets, and other related food efforts have ebbed and flowed. Ohio Edible Valley Magazine was created as a higher end local food publication and the Ohio State University established their Food Innovation Center, advancing Food Mapping projects and collaboration across the state.

Additionally, there has been growth in the numbers of Permaculture Design Course offerings and the establishment of groups and task forces (i.e. Local Food Action Team and The Greater Region Cincinnati Food Policy Council) working to create a healthy, and more localized food system. Interact for Health became a major funder of these and other local food initiates. The City of Cincinnati’s Office of Environment and Sustainability has authored several Green Cincinnati Plans that include an entire chapter on food. The region now has established farmer training programs and new agriculture based businesses such as Waterfields, 80 Acres, The Our Harvest Cooperative, and Ohio Valley Food Connection, the later two offering new aggregation and distribution models. There has also been increased academic focus on local food and its intersection with transportation, planning, architecture, community engagement, and urban agriculture grass root efforts.

2010 – Urban Greens CSA is established in the East End of Cincinnati by Ryan Doan, Kevin Fitzgerald, and Lauren Wulker.

Mary Laymon and Greg York purchased 3.5 acres of an old dairy farm in Mt. Healthy in Cincinnati. They opened Tikkun Farm with a mission of healing, restoration and repair, through meaningful work and spiritual practices. The farm welcomes people to live in community. Mary and Greg have opened their farm to Bhutanese refugees, th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

54

local non-profits, created a maker space to refugee and immigrant women for fiber arts projects, hosted an after-school cooking program for underserved neighborhood youth, hosted retreats and workshops, served community meals, taken in animal rescues, welcomed a local drum circle, and offered spiritual direction.

The Shagbark Seed & Mill is launched by the Appalachian Staple Foods Collaborative, in Athens, Ohio, to build a prototype regional grain and bean processing facility that brings high nutrition sustainably grown crops back to our farms and back to our bellies.

Hamilton Urban Garden System (HUGS) began farming land at South Front Street in Hamilton, Ohio. They also have a small operation in Butler County at one of the metro housing complexes. HUGS was co-founded by Alfred Hall and Patty Burbacher.

HUGS received its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in 2012. Future plans include yearround growing at Butler Tech.

The Lettuce Eat Well Farmers Market is started by Mary Hutten at the Joy Community Church in Monfort Heights, Green Township, Cincinnati, Ohio, and due to its success during the first year, become a year-round market. Later, in 2010, it was hosted at Harvest Home Park (in the summer) and then moved to the Cheviot United Methodist church (CUMC) in the winter, and repeated this pattern of locations until 2012, until the CUMC became its full time home. In 2017 the market outgrew its home at CUMC and moved to the Cheviot Elementary School.

Shagbark Farm Ohio, LLC is founded in Adams County, Ohio.

Ohio Edible Valley started its quarterly publication. The magazine tells the stories of the people that grow, raise, and produce food in and around the Greater Cincinnati region, including Dayton Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Southeast Indiana. This publication is one of 90 local Edible magazines and websites across the U.S. and Canada, which forms a Northern American community called Edible Communities founded in Ojai, California by Tracy Ryder and Carole Topalian in 2002. Julie Kramer, Joy Kramer-Arndts, and Jennifer Kramer-Wine - Cincinnati natives and University of Cincinnati alumni - are founders of this local publication. This platform, including the articles written, interviews shared, and community calendar of events help to publicize the work of our regional food movement.

OTR Homegrown is founded by Tevis Foreman, Sarah Saheb, Shelia North, Kelly and Quentin Koopman, Chelsea Powell, and Mark Stegman. The organic urban farm focused on cultivating ecological stewardship and social welfare through sustainable practices. OTR Homegrown used land given from the city’s Urban Agriculture program. The organization provided education on healthy, sustainable living through community involvement, investment, and partnerships that foster good citizenship and inter-group tolerance. The organizations also provided local access to healthy, local foods for the Greater Cincinnati area. th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

55

Permaganic receives it 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.

Just Farmin’ is established by Steve and Barb Willis at 6887 Devon Dr. Middletown, Ohio. This family farm runs a market and CSA. Grateful Grahams is started by Rachel DesRochers out of her home. The business focuses on hand-made vegan treats, which can now be found in more than 50 outlets nationwide.

Braden Trauth created OmValleyPermaculture a design consultancy.

Chris Smyth completed his Permaculture Design Certification with Braden Trauth. In 2012, Smyth joins the Price Hill Will team, as their sustainability coordinator.

Hundred Happy Acres Farm is established by Kenneth Lofald and his wife Emily in Owen County, KY. The Loveland Farmers Market is established. Currently the market is hosted at 205 Broadway, Loveland, Ohio, northeast of Cincinnati.

The Northeast Ohio (NEO) Local Food Assessment and Plan is established. This began when the regional (Cleveland) Food Policy Council and partner organizations selected a national consultant team to assess the state of NEO's food system and make specific recommendations for re-localization. The consultant team considered the full-value cycle of healthy regional food systems by evaluating things in terms of: agricultural production, supply chain infrastructure, markets, capacity building, and secondary businesses. This report built on "community conversations" work that Jenita McGowan and the Community Food Assessment Working Group had done in 2009 about access to healthy food in four Cleveland neighborhoods: Central, Glenville, Ohio City, and Slavic Village. In the summer of 2010, the Coalition interns Simone Jelks and Todd Alexander expanded the scope of Community Conversations and held focus groups in seven Greater Cleveland neighborhoods, including: Hough, Euclid, Union-Miles, Kamms Corners, Clark-Fulton, Cudell, and Warrensville Heights.

Partnering with the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Greater Cleveland in the Central neighborhood under the auspice of a HEAL (Healthy Eating / Active Living) initiative, the FPC engaged several resident advocates to administer a food access and transportation survey in 2012. Results were aggregated and share with the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority and Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority in 2013 to implement recommendations from the study. Angie Carl would later (in 2012/13) site this report and work as an exemplar to be considered in the formation of the Greater Cincinnati Regional Food Policy Council.

The Ohio State University Office of Academic Affairs and Office of Research created the Food Innovation Center (FIC) to encourage trans-institutional and interdisciplinary scholarship across campus to address issues and problems of th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

56

global dimension. Since, the FIC has attracted more than 380 faculty members, staff and graduate students who share a common interest in food, health and sustainability.

2011 Green Umbrella partnered with Agenda 360 and Vision 2015 (now Skyward), our area's leading planning initiatives, to become the sustainability alliance for the region around Cincinnati. Green Umbrella works to improve the economic vitality and quality of life by maximizing the collective impact of a wide range of concerned citizens and organizations dedicated to environmental sustainability. Their service area includes 10 counties: Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, and Warren (in Ohio); Boone, Campbell, Grant, and Kenton (in Kentucky); and Dearborn and Franklin (in Indiana).

GU operates seven different action teams, including the Local Food Action Team (LFAT). The ambitious goal of the LFAT is to double the percent of fruits and vegetables sourced and consumed within our region.

Sidestreams Foundation, Inc., is formed by Steve Rock. Sidestreams is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the mission of building gardens and creating locally grown fresh food projects alongside people living in food desert communities. Sidestreams is incorporated in Madisonville, Cincinnati, Ohio, with fiscal support from Green Umbrella. The organization works in Madisonville to reuse vacant urban land, creating urban farms, building group and individual gardens, and sponsoring educational programs. The organization launched their Lighthouse Community Garden, which includes an Urban Agriculture training program later in 2011. Other projects include 500 Gardens, 500 Chickens, and a Farmers Market.

Jon Newberry, a local beer enthusiast and former home brewer enlists Kevin Moreland of Listermann Brewing to devise a new Wiedeman’s recipe that eventually became known as the Wiedemann’s Special Lager™, a crisp and flavorful lager in the Bohemian tradition.

The Organic Association of Kentucky (OAK) held its first Farming Conference.

Eat Locally Grown, a crowd-sourced community driven tool that helps people find, rate and share locally grown food is founded in 2011 by Rick D. Its mission is to promote awareness of the health benefits of eating healthy, locally grown foods and the how supporting local businesses improves the community.

Chiquita Brands International moves it head quarters to Charlotte, North Carolina from Cincinnati, Ohio., where it had been located since the mid 1980s.

Bob Niederman passed away in December 2011 after a hard-fought battle with cancer. The Neiderman Family Farm continues its farming and other operations including Paintball Country, parties, festivals, tours, and corporate events.

Pleasant Ridge Montessori Elementary School in partnership with the Imago Earth Center and The Civic Garden Center opened a school-community garden. The th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

57

community gardeners help maintain the school gardens and the gardens are available to Cincy Afterschool programs and all PRM classrooms.

Gorman Heritage Farm launched monthly cooking programs based around different themes utilizing meat from their farm and produce from their garden that the participants pick. The cooking program broadens to incorporate a weekly culinary club in partnership with Norwood City School’s Avenues for Success.

Whirlybird Granola, located on Wooster Pike in Cincinnati, is founded by Christine White. This food manufacturer makes all-natural, non-gmo, gluten-free, vegan granola by hand in small batches. Batches are sweetened with Ohio pure maple syrup and organic agave nectar. Whirlybird Granola is estimated to generate $70,000 in annual revenue.

Claire and Marc Luff opened Finn Meadows Farm in Montgomery, located at 8100 Perin Road, Cincinnati, OH 45242 Braden Trauth and Dale Murray opened This Land.org with the mission of creating educational opportunities in permaculture, green building, and sustainable living in Cincinnati, Ohio. This Land serves as a parent organization for a network of urban farms, urban gardens, Permaculture demonstration sites, educational workshop providers, and local entrepreneurial enterprises involved in promoting Permaculture principles, green building technologies, and sustainable development.

The network includes organizations such as Cincinnati Permaculture Guild, TreeYo Permaculture, Grailville, Greensleeves Farm, Enright Urban Ecovillage and OM Valley Permaculture (www.this-land.org). This land is granted its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in 2012.

Kevin Fitzgerald became employed at Sun Rock Farm. Along with Lauren Wulker they meet Jonathan Gabis, Dave Chal, Molly Seta, Barbra Schuter. The groups begins listening to Alan Chadwick tapes, doing agriculture related readings, and weekly Potlucks. Jonathan calls the group the Young Farmers Association.

Ray Kersey established Rising Sun Beef Farm in Rising Sun, IN. 5 Oaks Organics Farm in Oxford, Ohio, began their CSA program.

Sam Dunlap is hired as the School Garden Coordinator at the Civic Garden Center. He holds this position until 2014, with Mary Dudley takes over.

Miami Oxford Organic Network (MOON) Coop opened in Oxford, Ohio. The cooperative carries an array of organic, natural and local foods and goods with the mission of empowering the community to live a more sustainable lifestyle.

Using stimulus money from WeTHRIVE! and working with the Hamilton County Department of Public Health and Lauren Niemes-Lancaster (of the Nutrition th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

58

Council), invited Mark Winnie (a nationally renowned Food Policy Council Expert) to speak at the third Food Congress hosted by Frank Russell and The Niehoff Studio.

This meeting helped to ignite a small group of individuals (Deborah Jordan, Michelle Dillingham, Robin Henderson, Lauren Niemes-Lancaster, and others) to begin regular meetings focused on forming a Food Policy Council for Hamilton County. The group met for about a year at Michelle’s house, creating bylaws, membership guidelines, and other organizational documents (some of which would be used as templates for the next iteration of the Food Policy Council). Lauren acted as the chair of the organization. In 2012, the group lost momentum. This first Food Policy Council was much smaller in scope, operated under a different structure than the current iteration, and only focused on Hamilton County. None-the-less, this initiative set the stage for the future Green Umbrella lead Greater Cincinnati Regional Food Policy Council.

Dave and Mary Remley established Rising Phoenix Farm in Morning View, KY. Gabriel’s Place, located at 3618 Reading Road, in Cincinnati, Ohio, was established by the Diocese of Southern Ohio Trustees, the Hamilton County Community Action, Chase Bank, Children’s Hospital, UC Niehoff Urban Studio, LISC and other partners with the mission of providing a safe, beautiful, and spiritually nourishing place for the Avondale Community to gather in mutual respect to learn, interact, and go out in peace. The community-based organization hosts a weekly share a meal, as well as cooking and agriculture programs, and a farmers market (2012). Spring 2011 brought the implementation of the envisioned ‘hoop house’ and the hiring of Troy Frasier, with the generosity of LISC’s AmeriCorps program, to begin to develop and build an aquaponic system in the hoop house. Kitchen and Cooking Classes begin the following years.

The Mt. Washington Farmers Market opened in Mt. Washington, a neighborhood in Cincinnati.

Fillager Farm is sold in at auction to investors or individuals wishing to build single houses. Today, most of the farm is owned and farmed by Daryl Yost (who lives north of Canton).

Oregon State University’s College of Health and Human Sciences received a $4.8 million grant to develop an obesity prevention program for children in rural Oregon.

These grant dollars fund the creation of the Healthy Eating Active Living: Mapping Attributes using Participatory Photographic Surveys (HEAL MAPPS™) Tool Kit. These and other similar mapping methods are used by community-based researches at the Food Innovations Center at Ohio State University and the Action Research Center, at the University of Cincinnati to engage communities and create Food Maps.

The Healthy Cleveland Resolution (Res. No. 257-11) is introduced on February 28, 2011, and served as the impetus for igniting what would become the Healthy Cleveland Initiative. It provided objectives identified by our Mayor and Health and th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

59

Human Services Chairman, Councilman Joe Cimperman, as well as our four major hospital systems. The objectives sought to improve the health of our residents and reduce the over 20-year lifespan differential that exists in some neighborhoods of our city as compared to neighboring suburbs.

R. Alan Wight, working with the Steve Sunderland, Jennifer Killham, Bertin Ondja’a, Bill Brown, and others of the Peace Village (a University of Cincinnati Student group) began hosting Food Mapping (FM) Workshops and collecting data in Clifton, near the University of Cincinnati. Alan begins incorporating Food Mapping into his course assignments, and he and Jennifer present and facilitate FM workshops at academic conferences across the country and with UC student groups.

2012 – Gorman Heritage Farm in Evendale, Cincinnati, began their CSA Program.

Amy Stross started Tenth Acre Farm Blog, where she shares her gardening and permaculture homesteading. Around this time she also started teaching with the Permaculture Guild and This Land.org.

Wake the Farm Up is founded by by Ande and Lauren Schewe in Milan, IN. Ande Schewe offers Permaculture Design services, certifications, consultations, observational walks, and workshops.

The City of Cincinnati renamed the City Food Access Task Force The City of Cincinnati Task Force on Healthy Living. The taskforce included the new objective of identifying catalysts in the following four goal areas to speed progress in obesity prevention: 1. Food Access: Improving access to healthy foods, improving transportation, and improving education on healthy eating 2. Schools 3. Marketing and Advertising Food Messaging: Food and Beverage Industry and Beverage 4.

Physical Activity: Parks and Recreation. Based on the findings from the report (Cincinnati Fresh Food Retail Financing Fund), the Task Force has developed an implementation strategy for a retail model with a financing mechanism with assistance from The Center for Closing the Health Gap, The Food Trust, The Ohio Grocer’s Association, and the Cincinnati Development Fund.

The Georgetown, Ohio Farmers Market opened. This market lasted four years until 2016.

Our Harvest Cooperative (OHC), an initiative of CUCI, started a farm, CSA, and farmer-training program (with Cincinnati State Community and Technical College) by leasing parts of the Bahr Farm in College Hill. OHC is a vertically integrated farm and food business, focuseded on creating a Food Hub, that can easily connect customers to locally grown food. OHC has extensive partnerships in the non-profit, governmental, and for-profit world, and works with several other farms and growing operations, such as What Oak Farm in Morrow (OHC leases the farm since 2014), Ohio; Turner Farm in Indian Hill; Waterfields in downtown Cincinnati; Wake the Farm Up in IN; the Organic Farm at Bear Creek in KY; and others. Partnering th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

60

institutions include Interact for Health, the Cincinnati Health Department, Produce Perks, Freestore Foodbank, and the CAIN Food Pantry. In addition to the CSA, OHC also sells to restaurants and institutions, including Cincinnati State’s Midwest Culinary Institute.

Deeper Roots Coffee, LLC, a for-profit business, is created by Les Stoneham and his team. They started roasting their own coffee in Mt. Healthy, Ohio, out of a desire to have a direct say in the quality control of the product they are trying to showcase.

50 West Brewing Company opened at 7605 Wooster Pike Cincinnati, OH 45227.

Wise Acres Market, a natural and bulk foods market, cafe, and coffee bar in downtown Aurora, IN, opened (see 2014).

My Artisano Foods is founded by Eduardo Rodriguez, a traditional dairy farmer and cheesemaker. Located in Sharonville, Ohio, production begins in 2013 and My Artisano Foods offers cheese and condiments for sale as well as cheese culture classes.

Green Umbrella’s Local Food Action Team (LFAT) (established in 2011) launched the 10% Shift Campaign, which aimed to have people shift 10% of their food budget to purchase local food (food produced within 100 miles of Cincinnati).

Xavier University, under the leadership of Kathleen Smythe, established their LAND, Farming and Community BS programs, which provides students the opportunity to learn about and become stewards of healthy, productive soils, communities, and regions through the growing, processing and distributing food. XU sends students to train at local farms including Turner, Grailville, and others.

The Talawanda Market, operating out of the Talwanda High School, in Butler County, dissolved due to a lack of business and the remaining vendors join the Oxford Farmers Market in Uptown Oxford.

Bringing Urban Agriculture to the University of Cincinnati is published by Thomas Wadkins, as his MA thesis for Architecture. The study investigates how agriculture can be urbanized on multiple scales to chance the culture of a community. UC provides an excellent location to investigate a varied implementation of agriculture in a dense urban setting as well a large population of interested and open-minded individuals. The end result is a design for a dormitory where students live with and care for their food, resulting in a better-informed and healthier community.

Compost Cincy, founded by Grant Gibson, began its operation just west of Elmwood Place, in Winton Hills, Cincinnati Ohio. As the first large scale compost operation in the city, Gibson worked with haulers from Rumpke, Future Organics and Ruff, Inc., to secure the transportation of waste from Castellini Produce, P&G, Walmart, Kroger and individual restaurants. The operation also received yard waste from the city of th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

61

Mariemont, manure and stable bedding from River Downs Race Track, and tree material from local tree service companies.

Sometime around here, Moriah’s Pie opened in Norwood, Cincinnati. The founders, Erin and Robert Lockridge, think of themselves as parish farmers and once a week offer a local-grown pay-as-you-can meal in Norwood.

2013 – The City of Cincinnati orders Compost Cincy to shut down due to odor issues and complaints from neighbors. The City of Cincinnati notified Compost Cincy in April 2013 that its lease would not be renewed, and ordered the facility to shut down no later than Dec. 31, 2013, which was also the date that the facility’s state operating license expired. It is estimated the cleanup cost the city $300,000 to remediate approximately 40,000 cubic yards of unfinished compost at the site. It took an additional 4 years for all the composted material to be removed.

Jim Rossolot of Gravel Knoll Farm in West Chester passed away.

Bonnie Mitsui of Turner Farm in Indian Hill passed away.

Purdue Extension (Indiana) held it first Small Farming Conference.

Permaganic started its CSA program.

Ohio State University’s, Food Innovation Center began their Mapping the Food Environment project, assessing 10 Zip Codes in Central Ohio. The project created a food access data hub, in-depth surveying, which integrated and enhance existing mapping and modeling methodologies and included improve food environment indicators.

The Schawb family Farm Market, LLC, located at 3967 Oxford-Reily Road, Oxford, Ohio 45056, is incorporated. According to the Better Business Bureau, the market begins operations in 2015. They sell Troyer and Walnut Creek products, in addition to produce, crafts, flowers, garden supplies, and livestock feed.

Friendly Market is founded in Florence, KY by Jack Berberich. After the Tobacco Settlements at the turn of the last century, Jack (who owned a farm) started looking into re-education and training for small farmers to market their own products. Jack wanted to provide a retail space for small artisanal producers who made wine, cheese, jellies, jams, ice cream, local honey, tea, animal foods, etc. Inspired by historic Findlay Market, he opened Friendly Market, a year round, indoor/outdoor market, which has a casual dining eatery and seasonal outdoor farmers market offering fresh produce, artisan goods and all things Kentucky. The market is a Kentucky Proud General Store. Friendly Market provides a venue for local farmers, producers, crafters and artisans to come together to sell products directly to the consumer. The market encourages direct communication between consumers and growers, and fosters social gathering while expanding economic opportunities, th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

62

The Healthy Cleveland 2.0 Resolution (Res. No. 978-13), introduced on July 10, 2013, provided renewed direction, recommendations, and momentum for the initiative, supported by the work of identified subcommittees that were charged to address the health conditions that most impact the overall well-being of our citizens.

The Food Innovation Center (FIC) at Ohio State University is awarded an Innovation Initiative to the Mapping the Food Environment project. The Project: 1. Develops a comprehensive, user-friendly food access data hub to facilitate research and collaboration for food mapping-related research to enhance productivity and maximize community benefit; 2. Integrates secondary and primary data sets related to food security, food access, food production, health, community assets, sociodemographic variables, and food affordability for use in translational outcomes-based research; and 3. Integrates and enhances the existing mapping and modeling methodologies that have been developed by team members, and test and improve food environment indicators for use in evaluating policy interventions.

Results of this project provide the infrastructure and preliminary data and results for grant proposals to USDA, CDC, and health-oriented foundations (e.g., Robert Wood Johnson).

Ken Stern opens “We’re All Nuts,” selling a wide variety of nuts. This business runs for 2 years until Ken is hired to operate Our Harvest Research and Education Institute.

Probasco Urban Farm is officially launched by Alan Susarrett, located at the edge of Camp Washington and Fairview at 2335 W. McMicken Avenue. The urban farm business has been selling mushrooms at markets, restaurants, and grocery stores across the city since 2012.

Sidestreams launches 500 Gardens in collaboration with the Lighthouse Community School, with the goal of getting 500 gardens in Madisonville. The organization also establishes its Farmer’s Market (tailgate style) this year.

Joe Gorman of the Camp Washington Community Board creates the Camp Washington Urban Farm. The urban farm is located next to the River City Correctional Center, and partners with them for projects and labor. Later, working with Mimi Rook, the Farm signed a 5-year lease with the City of Cincinnati. In 2016 Kevin Graef and Sam Gorman (Joe’s son) are hired and the farm forms a partnership with Rhinegeist Brewery (where they also work) to provide their used mash (spent grains) as feed for the farm’s chickens and goats.

Rachel DeRochers, creator of Grateful Grahams, opened the Northern Kentucky Incubator Kitchen, which soon becomes the Incubator Kitchen Collective, with the mission of helping people start their small food business dreams. The Collective has three locations.

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

63

That Girl’s Flowers, a side business that is part of the That Guy’s Farm, officially started.

The Freedom Farm Market and Organic Grocery located in Hillsboro, Ohio, opens for business. Located at 405 West Main Street, this establishment provides a central location for local farmers to sell their products.

Sam Dunlap, Dan Divelbiss, Vic Garcia and several others opened Waterfields, LLC, a social mission-driven startup that sells premium microgreens and edible flowers to many top chefs and specialty grocers in the Ohio River Valley. Waterfields aims to revitalize some of Cincinnati’s most hard-hit neighborhoods such as Lower Price Hill, where the company was launched in an old warehouse that is now defined as one of only nine USDA GAP-certified farms in Ohio. Waterfields aims to capture underutilized and underappreciated resources in Cincinnati’s urban core, and provide livable wage jobs and wealth creation opportunities to local residents.

The Office of Environmental Quality is renamed the Office of Environment and Sustainability to reflect the City of Cincinnati’s adoption of the New Green Cincinnati Plan (originally passed in 2008, renewed and updated in 2013 and 2018).

Emmett Ridge Farm is founded in Georgetown Ohio.

Interact for Health shifted its strategic direction away from access to care and toward health promotion, which included a focus on healthy eating, cooking, food distribution and availability. This shift is in concert with passage of the Affordable Care Act, as the Foundation saw the opportunity to reframe its strategy and address health issues in a comprehensive, proactive way. As a result, Interact begins making grant monies available for organizations doing this kind of community food systems work (see 2017).

As part of this shift, Interact for Health awarded a planning grant to Green Umbrella (GU) to create a Business Plan for a Local Food Campaign, as well as a Local Food System Assessment. Work products from this grant include the State of Local Food Report by Kristin Gangwer, and three additional documents facilitated by planning consultant Angie Carl of Planning for Success: a Business Plan for the 10% Shift to Local Food Campaign, a marketing plan, and a Strategic Plan for the Local Food Action Team. These efforts involved many stakeholders in the regional food system for nearly a year, and helped the local food community to become more hopeful for increased traction. Among the strategic priorities of the plan are the recommendations for the creation of a Greater Cincinnati Regional Food Policy Council and the hiring of a local food system advocate to lead the GU local food campaign.

Kristin Gangwer, working as a contractor for Green Umbrella, published State of the Local Food In the Central Ohio River Valley. This project was funded by Interact for Health (formerly the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati). The information in th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

64

the report was collected from national data sources; from regional research, presentations, and publications; and from key informant interviews with over 30 local food system stakeholders. The report suggests 14 Food System Recommendations with the ultimate goal of doubling the percentage of fruits and vegetables sourced and consumed in the region by 2020. The report calls for increasing our local food economy, educating consumers, maintaining agricultural land, building social cohesion, and increasing fruit and vegetable access and consumption. The State of the Local Food is a pivotal resource for our regional movement.

Local Loans for Local Food (LL4LF), a Slow Money, peer to peer lending service, held its first networking event at the Peterloon Estate in Indian Hill. This inaugural event brought over 60 people together to share their projects and available resources.

Since then LL4LF has held over 10 events to support a wide variety of local food initiatives such as the Clifton, Apple Street, and Incline District Community Markets, Better World Beans (Coffee), Greener Portions (Aquaponics), and many farms and farmers.

The Federation of World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms Organizations (FOWO) was formed to help coordinate the various World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) in each country. WWOOFing started in 1971 in England.

Currently, more than 50 WWOOF groups worldwide are affiliated with the Federation. The WWOOF-USAÂŽ Host Farm Directory lists 2,177 organic farms (not necessarily USDA certified organic). There are approximately 18 farms within 100 miles of Cincinnati (includes Columbus, Indianapolis, Lexington, and Louisville) that are registered as WWOOFing organizations.

The State of Ohio passed legislation earmarking money for Cleveland and Cincinnati Public Schools to develop Agricultural Education within their Vocational and Technological Career Pathways. In Cincinnati, some of this money is used to hire Tony Staubach as the Hamilton County Extension Agent to work in public schools (Rothenberg Preparatory Academy, James N. Gamble Montessori High School, and Pleasant Ridge Montessori).

Rhinegeist Brewery produced its first batch of beer at 910 Elm Street, the former home for the Christian Moerlein Brewing Company old bottling plant.

Hen of the Woods Potato Chips is founded and the chips sold at Washington Park Farmers Market. Today the chips are sold in over one hundred stores across five states (Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Michigan).

At some point in these years, the Mt. Orab, (Ohio) Farmers Market was conceived, but according to Julie Kline of Brown County, the market never really got off the ground, or became formalized in any capacity. Over the years there have been a few vendors, here and there.

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

65

The Price Hill Farm Stand (Market) opened. This unique partnership is a collaboration between Tracy Power, resource coordinator at Roberts Academy and Community Learning Center (in Price Hill) and Karen Kahle, the director of resource development for Findlay Market (Karen now at the Civic Garden Center). The stand is operated by Findlay Market and the success of this project has led to the creation of other Findlay Market Farmstands (Westwood and Walnut Hills).

Food and Physical Activity Deserts in Cincinnati: Myths and Realties, is published by Dr. Chris Auffrey and Mr. Sagar Shah, of the School of Planning at the University of Cincinnati. This project reports on data collected from 2010-2012 by faculty and PhD students from the UC School of Planning who worked with Hamilton County Public Health as part of the Communities Putting Prevention to Work project. The goal was to create a geospatial database that can be used to collect, analyze and display a variety of different kinds of information about access to healthy food and physical activity in Hamilton County.

President Ono, of the University of Cincinnati, signed the Real Food Challenge, a pledge to work toward providing 20 percent “real food” in dining halls by 2020. The effort is led by the student group Leaders in Environmental Awareness and Protection.

HealthWorks! is created. This Cincinnati Children’s Hospital initiate is a cornerstone of the pioneering Center for Better Health and Nutrition, a national role model for combating childhood obesity. HealthWorks! uses a variety of methods to help overweight children and teens – and their families – improve eating habits and become more physically active. The Center for Better Health and Nutrition at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital partnered with Cincinnati State Culinary Program to provide hands on cooking classes for patients and families between 2013-2015.

HealthWorks! also offered monthly cooking and group nutrition classes (20132016) for patients and families at four locations. Most recently, HealthWorks! has partnered with FarmChef to provide Cooking for the Family classes at Roberts Academy in October 2017 and will be creating “Confidence in the Kitchen” cooking videos that will be available for patients, families and community members.

Xavier University, with Ann Dougherty’s leadership, opened its Urban Farm and hires a part-time manager.

Rothenberg Preparatory Academy completed the renovations for their Rooftop Garden. Students learn how to produce food. An after school-cooking club begins in 2014, where parents and families participated in garden inspired cooking classes during the school year and summer, partnering with Beech Acres and Freestore Food Bank. 2017 Rothernberg Rooftop Garden (RRG) is a site for the Civic Garden Center’s Summer Sprouts program that included a food preparation component while children and parents learned about the different parts of plants. In 2017, the RRG grew specialty crops for Please restaurant and shared fresh produce, herbs and flowers with partners for use in community. Each year, it is estimated that the th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

66

Rothenberg Rooftop Garden Program provided hands on experiences to over 400 children, preschool thru grade 6.

2014 Lola’s Botanicals is started by Lauren Schewe, of Wake the Farm Up, and offers herbal remedies, teas, and oils, which can be purchased at selected shops, Northside Farmer’s Market, and through their Community Supported Herbalism shares.

Wise Acres Market, a natural and bulk foods market, cafe, and coffee bar in downtown Aurora, IN, closed in March of 2014.

The City of Cincinnati establishes an Urban Agriculture Advisory Board, which includes the Civic Garden Center, Corporation for Findlay Market, Myrita Craig (Gabreiels Place), Luke Ebner (Permaganic), Tevis Foreman (Cincinnati Health Department and OTR Homegrown), Braden Trauth (Permaculture), the City of Cincinnati Departments of Planning, Public Services, and their Office of Environment and Sustainability.

Greensleeves Farm, in Alexandria KY works with Mark Sheppard and runs a 3-Day Permaculture and Key-line Design workshops, transforming their hillsides and planting them out with 400 fruit and nut trees.

Central State University received its federal designation as a Land Grant University, expanded its Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Agriculture (STEMAg) academic programming, research and education; plus partnerships within Ohio’s agricultural industry and local communities.

Agrilicious, a National Destination and Marketplace for all things local is launched, with a mission of expanding the family-farmer connection, while celebrating food experiences. The company aims to promote and educate about organic food, organic farming, and sustainable living. Social Purpose Corporation is behind the venture, which includes educational graphics, recipes, a farm locator, a blog, AnswerVille (questions and answers, and commerce connections), and even a TV station. In 2015, Agrilicious launched its virtual farmers market.

Produce Perks is started in Cuyahoga County, Cleveland by their Food Policy Coalition (FPC). This “Double Value Produce Perks” initiative was developed by the FPC in partnership with several Greater Cleveland philanthropic partners and Wholesome Wave, a national nonprofit focusing on access and affordability of healthy, local foods in underserved communities. Produce Perks is funded by a USDA Food Insecurity and Nutrition Incentive Grant that works to increase accessibility, affordability, and consumption of healthful foods for vulnerable populations, while supporting regional farmers, markets, and local economies.

Produce Perks expands to Cincinnati in partnership with Wholesome Wave, the City of Cincinnati Health Department, and Green Umbrella. It is modeled after the Cleveland program. th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

67

R. Alan Wight and Jennifer Killham, two graduate students working with Action Research Center, at the University of Cincinnati published: Food mapping: a psychogeographical method for raising food consciousness, in the Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 38:2, 314-321. This publication builds experience from previous mappings and workshops since 2011.

Becky and Patrick Hill purchased a herd of cows from Steve Edwards and Matt Delevega at Grailville and opened HillShares GrassFed Beef.

Interact for Health asked Brewster Rhoads, Executive Director of Green Umbrella, if GU would be interested in sponsoring the development of a regional food policy council with technical assistance from the Ohio State University Extension Office of Hamilton County. Brewster and Robin Henderson of the Cincinnati Office of Environment and Sustainability wrote and submitted the grant that resulted in the funding of a one-year planning process, with the potential for an additional fouryear implementation grant for the Greater Cincinnati Regional Food Policy Council.

The GU hired Angie Carl of Planning for Success as a consultant to direct the creation of the council. Angie worked with a development team for 6 months and recruited a cross sector of members from across the region, wrote the bylaws, established a structure, and built capacity. The Council is launched on April 15, 2015. Angie stays on as the director until November 15, 2016, when Michaela Oldfield is hired.

The Findlay Market Westwood Farmstand is established with the congregation of St. James Episcopal Church. Parishioner Kathy Schaeffer working with Karen Kahle helped to organize the effort and secure the location, a spacious corner lot on Montana Avenue across the street from the YMCA with a bus stop in front.

Kevin Wright, executive director of the Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation, became aware of the farm stand partnerships through the foundation’s relationship with LISC's Place Matters initiative. He helped to organize a Findlay Market Farmstand in Walnut Hills as a creative way to help revitalize Peeble’s Corner.

The Diocesan Catholic Children’s Home Farmers Market of Fort Mitchell is founded

by Jeannie Carnes of Gone to Pot Flowers, Irene Achor of Our Mother’s Garden, Amy Powell of Atwood Village Family Farm, and Nancy Kloentrup of Poverty Hollow Farm.

Green Umbrella and the City of Cincinnati’s Office of Environment and Sustainability partnered with the XU Bruggerman Center for Dialogue to host the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit at Xavier University.

Soil Mate, an online local foods directory is launched in British Columbia, Canada, with the goals of further educating and fostering the connection between consumers and their local farmers, raisers and producers. The aim is for communities to become as self-sustaining as possible, and reconnect people with the options th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

68

within their local area. Within 6 months of its creation, Soil Mate has listings in every state in the US and every province in Canada, with thousands of listings, and thousands of consumers using the site each week to find local food and drink producers.

Food Accessibility in Cincinnati, Ohio: Measuring the Effect of Census Tract Poverty Rate on Grocers is published by Pamela Meyerhoffer of Xavier University, in the Xavier Journal of Politics, Vol. V (2014-15): 1-17. Meyerhoffer suggested that the results of this analysis would be useful in determining if future policies are needed regarding store location, zoning, and food accessibility.

In order to help bridge the health education gap, Healthy Roots Foundation (formally Bluegrass for Babies) evolved into a robust, multi-layered non-profit with the mission of providing families with the knowledge to make the best choices to raise healthy children.

Xavier University Dining Service began to dehydrate and compost most of the food from its only dining hall on campus.

The 113th Congress of the United States designated Central State University (located in Wilberforce, Ohio) an 1890 Land-Grant Institution. This designation is a distinct recognition for an Ohio institution of higher education, and Central State is one of two institutions to hold this distinction. The major impetus of the designation is to provide access to education and to promote opportunities for students with interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Agriculture (STEM-A) integrated through all academic disciplines.

La Soup is founded by restauranteur Suzy DeYoung, with the focus of saving and redistributing food that is going to be thrown out. To bridge the gap between food waste and hunger La Soupe rescues otherwise wasted produce to create delicious and highly-nutritious meals for customers, non-profits and food-insecure families. Since 2014 La Soupe has grown exponentially. Each week, La Soupe is rescuing 5,000 pounds of perishables and feeding up to 2,000 kids via 47 partner agencies.

The Baker Hunt Art an Culture Center developed its first cooking programs with a youth class, Cooking Adventures in the Kitchen, led by instructor Judy Sanders, in which students learned kitchen fundamentals and measuring skills. The program expanded into Young Chef’s Kitchen in 2015 for youth cooking education, and included the 5 tastes, safety and cooking basics. Later in 2015, Edible Art, with instructor Chad Turner, began an emphasis on food as art, exploring color, plating, and texture, with food as an artistic medium. Instructor Ellen Bungenstock developed Food is For the Family (also 2015) to provide a parent plus child cooking class, supporting intergenerational cooking education.

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

69

2015 The Blue Ash Farmer’s Market (Ohio) began at Summit Park, the former Blue Ash Airport, in Cincinnati.

Ohio Valley Food Connection (OVFC) is founded by Alice Chalmers. This forprofit food connection business began with 3 employees, 1 refrigerated truck, and used the Local Orbit Platform and application. The goals of OVFC is to connect farmers to a network of active wholesale buyers, provide chefs with a way to source top-quality local food, and effectively manage all customer service, ordering, and delivery. OFVC was developed in collaboration with regional farmers and chefs. The business currently serves approximately 50 restaurants and sources from 25 farms in the region.

Findlay Market launched The Kitchen at Findlay Market, which is an 8000 square foot, shared use commercial kitchen for local food entrepreneurs. The project also included Food 4.0, a hybrid farmers market/grocery store that allowed growers and producers to sell year round on consignment with a nearly all-volunteer staff.

Interact for Health funded a proposal by Our Harvest Cooperative to train farmers.

This non-profit arm is called Our Harvest Research and Educational Institute (OHREI). Ken Stern is hired to run the program. The farmer apprentice-training program combined on-the-farm training with classes in the Sustainable Agriculture Management Certificate program at Cincinnati State Community and Technical College. Upon completing the training and 2,000 hours of on-the-job training, apprentices are certificated from the Ohio Apprenticeship Council.

The Food Systems Distribution Interact for Health Grant also funded: Apple Street Market, The Corporation for Findlay Market, Evergreen Holistic Learning Center, Freestore Foodbank, History Hoosier Hills, and Ohio State University Extension.

The Greater Cincinnati Regional Food Policy Council is launched on April 15, 2015 with the mission to promote a healthy, equitable, and sustainable food system for all within Greater Cincinnati’s ten-county region. The vision is that it will be easy for all residents of Greater Cincinnati to eat good food, defined as food that is healthy, green, fair and accessible. There are about 40 cross-system Council members from the region, divided into four working groups to determine policy priorities in the following areas: Good Food Access and Consumption, Good Food Production and Land Use, Good Food Distribution and Procurement, and Community Assessment, Planning and Zoning, and Food Waste. Members meet monthly to work on assessment, position statements, and advocacy for improved local policies in the regional food system. The Council is engaged in ongoing assessment of regional food policies and advocacy.

The Farm Chef is launched by Jamie Stoneham, with the mission of providing healthy culinary and gardening programming for schools, organizations, churches, hospitals, clinics, and much more. The organization offers hands-on classes, with small groups of students having their own portable cooking stations. The Farm Chef th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

70

partners with St Francis Seraph Ministries, and offers a 5-week hands-on culinary program called Cooking for the Family, where parents learn how to cook healthy and affordable meals for their family using locally grown produce. Other partnering organizations, supporters, and clients include: Findlay Kitchen, Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation, Cincinnati Recreation Commission, Healthy Harvest Mobile Market, TriHealth, Colonel De, and La Soupe among others.

Dean Family Farm is founded in Georgetown Ohio.

The Institute for Food (IF) (started as the Food Studies Institute) at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio is founded by Peggy Shaffer, associate professor of history and American studies, and Alfredo J. Huerta, associate professor of biology. The institute is funded by a $200,000 Innovation and Interdisciplinary Program grant from Miami’s provost office. The Institute’s mission is to foster healthy food, healthy eating, healthy communities, and a healthy planet. The IF operates a sustainable farm on the historic Austin-Magie Farm and Mill District, which serves as a living laboratory for experiential learning, collaborative research, and community engagement. The IF also cultivates extensive partnerships with community organizations both in Oxford and the greater Cincinnati area — working to enhance food access and resilience within our region.

John and Jessica Small started Small Acres Farm in Sunman, IN. Dirt: A Modern Market opened at Findlay Market opens. Dirt is a local produce store where farmers can sell their vegetables on consignment beyond the normal farmers market stand hours. Dirt is modeled after Local Roots, a market and cafeé in Wooster, Ohio, and is the brainchild of Rebecca Heine, local food director and market manager; Karen Kahle, Findlay Market communications and program director, and Mike Hass, Findlay Market farm manager. In the summer of 2014, Findlay Market applied for and received a $75,000 grant from Interact for Health, which provided the funds necessary to put the plan into action.

The Nutrition Council became a program of The Children’s Home of Cincinnati. The new partnership between the two organizations allows each to have a bigger impact on the needs of local children and their families who are at risk.

R. Alan Wight published his dissertation - Community supported agriculture as public education: networked communities of practice building alternative agrifood systems, which investigated the learning and educational opportunities happening within Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. The study reveals and a rich network of people, organizations, and resources that are working together to build alternative agrifood systems.

Mike and Denise Eck, along with support from Brian Shircliff of Vitality Cincinnati began hosting Rooted In Food Conversations. These discussions are designed to

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

71

build bridges between people and communities with the goal of lighting the path from underserved communities to fair wage jobs, Rooted in Food.

Sidestreams established its 500 Chickens Initiative in Madisonville, with the goal of providing 500 neighborhood chicken coops.

La Soupe started Cincinnati Gives Crock, a volunteer effort to bring cooking classes into school and community settings. Cooking students are provided with crockpots, utensils and weekly recipes with ingredients to create meals for their families over the course of a 10 week period. The following programs are also established:  Chef Bucket Brigade Challenge: Talented chefs join with La Soupe using rescued food in addition to their own excess ingredients to make soup for schools, people in need, school children on summer break, to sell to raise funds, etc.  Stone Soup Project: A series of events which use a magnificent paella pan and rescued food to focus attention on food waste and insecurity and La Soupe’s mission.

Robin Henderson from the City’s Office of Environment and Sustainability wrote a $6,000 grant awarded by the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) that brought together city partners (planners, health advocates, etc.) from the major metropolitan areas of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana (OKI) to talk about Urban Agriculture Best Practices for our region. R. Alan Wight is hired to disseminate three key documents and facilitate the discussion.

Andrew Hermann founded Better World Beans Coffee with Ryan Murphy and Scott Quertinmont. With guidance from the Sedler Center for Experiential Learning, the entrepreneurship folks at Xavier University, and through the formation of a partnership with Deeper Roots Coffee in Cincinnati, Better World Beans is born. The first shipment of coffee was imported to the United States in January 2016.

Robin Henderson from the City of Cincinnati’s Office for Environment and Sustainability and Angie Carl of Greater Cincinnati Regional Food Policy Council wrote a grant to the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities for several local food system initiatives. Leveraging matching local funds from Interact for Health and the Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank, the funds awarded were used for: 1-Additional support of the Greater Cincinnati Regional Food Policy Council; 2. Funding for a Local Food System Advocate and promotion campaign, and 3. Two regional programs initiated by the GCRFPC, the Cincy Good Food Fund Award, and the Cincy Good Food Fellows.

The Cincy Good Food Fund Award solicited award applications for innovative projects that promote more “Good Food” in the region. The winners, selected from 52 proposals, included Northside Farmers Market, Our Harvest Cooperative, La Soupe, Ohio Valley Food Connection, Cincinnati Public Schools, and St. Leo the Great Church community garden. th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

72

The Cincy Good Food Fellows, which is a collaboration between the Food Policy Council, Miami University, the University of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky University, Xavier University and Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, is born. Ohio State Extension Agent Tony Staubach provided leadership for the program. Angie Carl obtained additional funding from United Way to help make the program more robust. Faculty advisors selected a student from each school to intern for the 2016-17 academic year with local food system organizations to work on specific projects to help the organizations and gain practical experience.

Additionally, the cross-school system collaboration increased awareness and understanding of various programs related to the food system in each institution.

These programs were modeled after similar programs in Indianapolis.

This grant funding was also used by Green Umbrella to hire Marian Dickinson, to shore up the Local Food Team’s local food campaign. As part of her work, she created a Workplace CSA Guide (in consultation with R. Alan Wight) for Employers and an Interactive Food Map, which located restaurants and grocery stores sourcing food from local farms, farmer markets (including those that accept EBT), herd shares, CSAs, community gardens, and wineries and breweries.

Phoenix Greenhouses, located at 4798 Gray Road, is opened by Elizabeth Floyd. The business rents greenhouse space from Funke’s and specializes in tried and true heirloom varieties of vegetables, herbs, flowers and other hard-to-find cultivators.

Michael J. Widener, Steven Farber, Tijs Neutens, and Mark Horner published Spatiotemporal accessibility to supermarkets using public transit: an interaction potential approach in Cincinnati, Ohio in the Journal of Transport Geography 42 (2015): 72-83. The research analyzed people’s spatio-temporal constraints to accessing supermarkets in Cincinnati, Ohio, and showed there are a significant number of residents that have improved access to supermarkets when a grocery shopping trip is made on the way home from work, than if they were to depart from their home location.

Dan & Donna Rouster close The Apple House in Milford, Ohio, after 39 years of operating a U-Pick orchard.

Using the HEAL MAPPS tool kit, the Healthy Cleveland completes a mapping of their city.

Braxton Brewing Company opened in Covington, KY. The Ohio State University College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Science, in conjunction with the Franklin Co. Farm Bureau, published the Columbus Local Foods Guide. The guide features 28 community farmers’ markets, 8 farm markets and farm stands, 11 CSAs (Consumer Supported Agriculture operations), and numerous other markets where consumers can purchase fruits, vegetables, meats, th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

73

honey, eggs, cottage foods, baked goods, and other food items directly from farmers and food producers within Franklin County, Ohio.

The Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Sciences began hosting a directory of local food directories for the state.

Interact for Health awarded Margaret Mary Hospital (Batesville, IN) with a SIFTI (Southeastern Indiana Farmer Training Initiative) Planning Grant. The grant aimed to find ways to incentivize farmers to market their products to bigger institutions.

One outcome of this grant was that low tunnel hoop houses were given to Michaela farm and another local farm, Walhill Farm, to help extend their growing season. Also, a Farmer Education Training Program was identified as a next step.

The HEAL MAPPS Lawrence County project is started. This is one of the first communities to participate in the HEAL MAPPS project in the state of Ohio (after Cleveland). The project is conducted by Dr. Daniel Remley (OSU Extension Field Specialist in Food & Nutrition) in collaboration with Bon-Secours Health Care System, Community Action Organization, OLBH Healthy Communities Initiative, and Ironton Residents. The project focuses on the Southern Ohio (part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metro Statistical area.

Greater Cincinnati Regional Food Policy Council Director Angie Carl worked with Robin Henderson and Kristin Weiss to submit an implementation grant application to Interact for Health to continue partial funding for the Council for four more years.

The grant is accepted for funding.

In late 2015, after working together for more than a year, The Land Conservancy of Hamilton County, Ohio, Clinton County Open Lands, Inc, Southern Ohio Farmland Preservation Association, merged with The Cardinal Land Conservancy (CLC). This merger formed a regional land trust that works in seven southwest Ohio counties.

Working with their Strategic Conservation Partner The Cincinnati Nature Center, and armed with a gift of 100,000 from The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, the merger integrated the assets, expertise, connections and good will for greater reach and effectiveness of these organizations. This model of expansion and merger of land trusts is successful in northeast Ohio, southern Indiana and throughout the country.

Xavier’s Urban Farm became a student-run business operated out of the Sedler Center for Experiential Learning.

Turner Farm – opened The Turner Farm Teaching Kitchen, which is part of the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative and offers a learning experience where chefs and other food and wellness educators make sustainability and mindfulness into a delicious and edifying experience. Built in a renovated, 100-year-old, two-story barn, the kitchen offers space for a chef to work with as many as eight different twoperson teams at a time. The Teaching Kitchen was built in consultation with the th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

74

Culinary Institute of America and is intended for cooking classes geared toward using fresh-grown ingredients in such a way that promotes bodily health and mental well-being. It is also a regular host of the University of Cincinnati Center for Integrative Health and Wellness to teach medical students and other health professionals valuable nutrition information, culinary skills and self-care practices.

The Baker Hunt Art and Culture Center hosted FarmChef’s Jamie Stoneham, as she led several Date Night in the Kitchen workshop series for adults, in which coupled students shared wine and conversation as they prepared the evening’s dinner and desserts as a team.

2016 This Land.org became the Cincinnati Permaculture Institute – which runs and organizes the Permaculture Guild.

Abby Artemesia officially begins The Wander School, offering wild foraging and botanical medical walks in the woods and culinary experiences in the kitchen.

Findlay Kitchen, a non-profit food business incubator is launched. Findlay Kitchen is a mission-driven organization that places special emphasis on cultivating women, immigrant, and minority-owned businesses, which currently comprise 66% of our member businesses. Findlay Kitchen supports food entrepreneurs looking to start, grow and scale their business, by providing affordable access to 10 licensed commercial kitchens, commercial-grade kitchen equipment, and ample storage space. They partner with external programs and organizations to provide the necessary training, mentorship, and resources to aid business growth. We provide wraparound business support services, and access to exclusive sales channels and opportunities, all while helping our food entrepreneurs bring healthy, locally grown and produced foods to our region.

Our Harvest Research and Educational Institute (OHREI) is renamed Cultivate! Ohio Valley.

In the Field is created by Kristen St. Clair. This initiative focuses on creative and experiential "hands on" culinary education that draws from many tactile based arts: fine arts, gardening, pottery, theatrical arts, vocational educational initiatives.

The Baker Hunt Art and Culture Center hosted In the Field’s Kristen St. Clair as she spearheading youth cooking classes with a focus on healthy and fresh ingredients, using items grown directly in the Baker Hunt garden. Currently Baker Hunt offers two ongoing youth cooking classes, The Curious Cook for beginners, and The Confident Cook for teens.

The Central Ohio River Valley (CORV) Food Guide launched “Talk Local” monthly article series. The goal of Talk Local is to discuss a wide range of informational, research, persuasive, and opinion pieces related to agriculture and food in our

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

75

region. The series is edited by Deborah Jordan, R. Alan Wight, and Breanna Parker, with help from the rest of the CORV team.

The Healthy Harvest Mobile Market is created. This is a community collaboration among TriHealth, Impact 100 and the Freestore Foodbank. The Healthy Harvest Mobile Market promotes good nutrition and encourages healthy shopping in neighborhoods without ready access to fresh, healthy and affordable food. The Mobile Market visits 11 locations Monday through Friday year round, targeting local neighborhoods that lack easy access to grocery stores and farmers' markets.

Dwight Michener, Farmer and Agriculture Extension Service Agent passed Away.

Artichoke opened in Findlay Market. This store is the brainchild of husband and wife team Brad and Karen Hughes. Artichoke is a place to purchase cooking equipment and utensils of all sorts. They have a demonstration kitchen to offer classes and show people how to cook whatever they find at the Findlay Market with the products they have in their store. Guest chefs and staff teach all different kinds of classes from basic skills to more advanced topics.

Jaime Carmody opened Out Of Thyme Kitchen Studio, a full-service, commercial kitchen and event space located on Montgomery Rd. in Symmes Twp. The studio offers freshly made take-home meals, call-ahead ordering, baked goods, personal chef services, monthly cooking classes and private culinary events.

Joe Gorman (Camp Washington Community Board), Cal Cullen (Wave Pool), and R. Alan Wight (University of Cincinnati) are awarded an Engage Cincy Grant to Food Map Camp Washington and build the Community Art and Mobile Produce (CAMP) Cart, to hand out free produce from the farm, make-it and take-it art activities, and food maps to the residents. See CAMP Food Map. The City of Cincinnati’s Office of Environment and Sustainability hired Oliver Kroner as their Sustainability Director.

Green Umbrella’s Food Policy Council, The City of Cincinnati’s Office of Environment and Sustainability, and Xavier’s Brueggman Center for Dialogue hosted the Forum for Food Waste, at XU’s Cintas Center, attended by over 150 people from the region.

Funding was also provided by Turner Farm and the Meshewa Farm Foundation. One of the outcomes is the creation of The Greater Cincinnati Food Waste Action Plan.

Angie Carl retired from the director’s position of the Greater Cincinnati Regional Food Policy Council. Green Umbrella hired Michaela Oldfield, Ph.d, JD. Liberty Center Farmers Market is established. The market is hosted at 7100 Liberty Row, Liberty Ohio,

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

76

Megan Kennedy, working with the Greater Regional Cincinnati Food Policy Council, completed a study on the Margaret Mary Health Hospital food purchasing, in Batesville, Indiana to assess the outcomes of their Interact grant with a SIFTI (Southeastern Indiana Farmer Training Initiative).

Meadow Ridge Community HEAL MAPPS™ Report is published, which documents the lived experiences and challenges related to accessing food for Meadow Ridge Apartment residents in West Chester, Ohio. This report was generated in partnership with The Ohio State University Extension, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, using data collected during the HEAL MAPPS™ processes and provided to the West Chester, Meadow Ridge Apartment Community to support the community’s initiative to prevent childhood obesity. Read more about the community involvement here and view the story map here.

The Brighton Center in Newport KY, opened their Farmstands (formerly their Mobile Market) with four locations at Clothing Closet, Two Rivers, Bright Days, and the Boone County Public Library. The project is initially spear-headed by Zack Price and Talia Frye (who wrote a grant from USDA). Currently the project is run by Sean Kelly.

The stands feature local produce from: Campbell County Detention Center Production Garden, Crigger Farm (Warsaw, KY), Herbmania (Covington, KY), Little Green Pastures (Butler, KY), and Our Harvest (Cincinnati, OH).

Tablespoon Cooking Co. is launched by Jordan Hamons with the mission of teaching people how to cook good food at home. Tablespoon is all about culinary education, whether it’s cooking, eating, or drinking. They believe cooking should be fun, but also know it can be intimidating. Their goal is to teach tips and tricks to make student’s of all skill levels kitchen life easier. They keep their classes small so each student receives personal instruction and interaction with the chef and sous chefs.

Along with hands-on cooking classes, they offer a Cookbook Club, pop-up dinners and other culinary events such as tastings and workshops. They partner with local restaurants and organizations such as Findlay Kitchen, Incubator Kitchen Collective, Revel OTR, Pleasantry, Nation Restaurant and Bar, and The Rhined.

LiveWell NKY (Northern Kentucky) is founded a key strategy shift the health of adults in the region and improve the quality of life for all residents. During 2016, after an extensive process of gathering community input, the 5-year myNKY plan was developed and shared with the community. This plan includes four focused goals in the areas of JOBS, HEALTH, EDUCATION and VIBRANCY. Partners for this initiative include St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, United Way, Interact for Health, Nothern Century Chamber of Commerce, Northern Kentucky University, The YMCA, Three Rivers District Health Department, Fusionwrx , and Physi.

2017 – Produce Perks Midwest is launched under the direction of Tevis Forman, formally with the City of Cincinnati Health Department.

Amy Stross self-published The Suburban Microfarm, a book about applying th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

77

permaculture and self sufficiency to suburban landscapes. It became an Amazon best seller and was picked up by Chelsea Green Publishing in 2018.

Walther Farms, located at 2931 Ross Millville Rd Hamilton, Ohio closes. The farm was operated by John Walther since about 1973. John was the 4 th generation farmer.

R. Alan Wight published A Northside Fruit Park, a map detailing the wild edibles of this Cincinnati neighborhood.

As of March 6, 2017, Joe Lasita & Sons, Inc. operated as a subsidiary of Creation Gardens, Inc The Baker Hunt Art and Culture Center along with arts organization Walterhoope hosted two nights of performances at Baker Hunt, tying art, acting and cooking together through their events. Cooking workshops led by Kristen St. Clair will provide food for the performances, as the group focuses on sustainability and community gathering. Baker Hunt strives to renovate and expand its teaching kitchen in the next 3 years to accommodate more students and more educational cooking opportunities.

Findaly Market makes the decision to close its neighborhood farmstands.

The HEAL MAPPS Greene County project is started. This is a partnership with the SNAP-Ed program and OSU Extension Greene County, and the project is functioning as a “needs assessment” for the SNAP-Ed Program Assistants in the county. The results will inform the Greene Co Public Health needs assessment.

The town of Williamstown, KY passed a resolution promoting healthy food, based in part on a sample resolution from the GCRFPC (Food Policy Counci) and at the urging of the Northern Kentucky Public Health Department, which is a member of the GCRFPC. Congrats on your policy win! The Council looks forward to providing expertise and assistance to our members and Williamstown in implementing the resolutions Groundwork combined with the Mill Creek Watershed Council of Communities and hired Dave Schmitt as their new Executive Director.

The Food Opportunity and Research Collaborative (FORC) and I am My Brothers Keeper (IAMBK - a program of the Kirwan Institute) teamed up to food map the Southside of Columbus, Ohio. Both FORC and IAMBK are programs at OSU. The City of Cincinnati passes a Motion directing city departments to work cooperatively and independently to advance Urban Agriculture and address related issues.

Green Umbrella’s Local Food Action Team releases its 2017-2018 Strategic Plan th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

78

Green Umbrella establishes a regional indicator index (using this Locavore Index as a model) to measure progress in the area of local food, and benchmark among other peer regions, on a metro area (MSA) scale Graduate Assistant Alican Yildiz working with Professor Frank Russell created food systems data base using their own conceptual model for Food System Assessment.

This work stems from Niehoff Studio thematic work on food and the subsequent Food Congress events hosted by the studio. The work was conducted with the support and collaboration of the Cincinnati Food Policy Council, Green Umbrella, and the City of Cincinnati Department of Environment and Sustainability.

Addressing Food Access in Cincinnati, a slimmed down version of Alician Yildiz research is complied by Michaela Oldfield, the director of the Greater Cincinnati Regional Food Policy Council.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture and The Ohio Department of Health support school sharing tables to reduce wasted food. Indian State Department of Health also supports its own food recovery and sharing table policies.

Interact for Health hired a new Executive Director, Odell Owens, and announces its new grant and policy directions, which include: 1. Reducing tobacco use in lowincome communities, 2. Creating a regional infrastructure to turn the tide in the opioid epidemic, and 3. Continuing our leadership in providing access to healthcare through growth of school−based health centers that also serve the entire community. Unfortunately, these priorities do not include an emphasis on local food.

2018 Green Umbrella hires Ryan Mooney Bullock as their new Executive Director.

Mooney-Bullock first got involved in Green Umbrella’s collective impact work in 2011, and is currently the organization’s Communications & Program Manager. A life-long advocate for environmental sustainability, her career has included research at the Center for Neighborhood Technology, an urban sustainability think tank in Chicago, teaching science at Princeton High School, and developing and managing the Civic Garden Center's Green Learning Station.

Food Maps for Cincinnati Neighborhoods are made available on the Central Ohio River Valley Food Guide Website

Where are we Going Next?

To this day, the food movement struggles to reach beyond the educated and upper classes of society. While amazing policies, organizations, programs, projects, and initiatives th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

79

have changed our regional food systems, the reality is that we have a long way to go before everyone has access to affordable, healthy food. Furthermore, farmers markets, CSAs, farmer stands, and other direct to consumer options for purchasing local food, have not always been successful. Since 1968, a total of 82 farmer markets have opened in and around Cincinnati, and yet, 52 of these have closed, which means a success rate of only 40%. The food industry is not an easy place to make money. Margins are slim and the larger established players have formidable market power and political influence.

To Be Added: 1. Jim Hansel - Horticulture program at UC-DAAP. 2. Tom Jackson was (1997 Findlay Mkt) who was market manager, oversaw rehab and expansion, set the stage for the CFFM, and versioned many other food/community development projects around the market, like a kitchen incubator. You can reach him for an interview at 681-7917 or 607-3298 3. Summit Restaurant – Cincinnati State – When did this start?

4. Susan - WIN - Local Food, Local Jobs technical assistance planning grant 5. Rosie - KY's building in Boon has great teaching kitchen/conference space that has been used for a couple food meetings 6. Michelle or Cathy re. the food systems coalition in N KY and their farm to school work 7. KY's double dollars program 8. Breweries – Madtree, Woodburn, Three Points, Brink, Westside, etc.

9. Center for Closing the Health Gap

th

Updated – August 10 , 2018

80