As one of approximately 70 OARDC Research Internship Program (ORIP) interns, I have been traveling to nearby cities and interviewing people involved in the local food movement, then writing their stories for this website.  One of the most exciting things about my internship is the ability to see progress in the local food movement occurring right in front of my eyes.  My most recent opportunity to see progress in action was during a trip to Columbus last week.  Two of my fellow interns and I went to lunch at the New Harvest Community Center and Café in the Linden neighborhood.  Present at this meal and meeting of the minds were Kwodwo Ababio, owner of the café, Seleshi Asfaw of the Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services, Steve Bosserman, co-PI on a grant for establishing a local food system, his son Oliver, State Representative Weddington, and Dr. Ross MacDonald, our faculty co-mentor.

    Before eating, everyone explored the garden that Ababio has established in the vacant lot behind the café.  One edge of the garden in covered in tires that were probably dumped illegally in order to avoid a dump fee.  Ababio has attempted to make the best of it by painting up the tires and planting crops inside them.  The rest of the garden is laid out in neat rows, similar to any other garden.  Nearly every surface, such as wood used to make raised beds and the back wall of the restaurant, has been painted, making the garden even more colorful.  Much of the dirt comes from nearby streets.  When the street is dug up for construction, Ababio utilizes the excess dirt in his garden.  Working in the garden were two ORIP interns, a community member named Mike, and a couple of young Somalis.  The interns are experimenting with the use of human hair as a way to fertilize the plants.  Overall, the garden is doing quite well despite setbacks like poor soil quality and the abundance of tires.

    The local food discussion began in earnest out in the garden.  Representative Weddington discussed the importance of keeping dollars in the local community whenever possible, and how that ties in to the local food movement.  When people buy local food, the farmer is likely to reinvest that money in the local economy when purchasing supplies, keeping money circulating within the community for longer.  The fact that Scotts Miracle-Grow supports the community garden movement was discussed.  The idea of getting churches involved in community gardens was also mentioned.  Everyone seemed eager to share their ideas with Rep. Weddington and he appeared to be genuinely interested in helping the local food movement along.
    While we were all quite hungry at this point, we made one more stop before lunch, at an overgrown field across the street.  The city plans for a bike path to come through the area, and this collection of local food proponents saw the opportunities that could go with that.  They hope to put a food stand in the area where people can stop and enjoy some local food partway through their bike trip.  Ababio’s plans were even grander.  He wants to put a skate park in the remaining vacant area, an idea that Brent, who works in his garden, and Oliver Bosserman enthusiastically supported.  Rep. Weddington was quick to point out logistical problems, such as the ownership of the land.  A church and a funeral parlor both occupy part of the space.  Ababio refused to let the momentum for this project die and made a call to try and find out if the church was in foreclosure as he suspected.  When Rep. Weddington pointed out that the funeral parlor might want to expand, Ababio was unsympathetic, saying that he wanted to promote life, not death.  Seeing the connections being made and problems being worked out was definitely an interesting experience.

    At the end of all this, we headed back to New Harvest and feasted on chicken and fresh vegetables from the garden out back, all prepared by Ababio.  Seleshi Asfaw played chess with some of the younger children from the garden, and Steve Bosserman talked about the need for a unifying network of urban gardens in Columbus.  Everyone passed ideas around the table in the same way that you might pass a shaker of salt.  The connections made and ideas shared at this lunch, especially with Rep. Weddington, may be an important part of advancing the local food agenda in Columbus.