Earlham College Student Creates Local Food Guide

Ben Hastil became so passionate about supporting local food systems after reading Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma that he decided " to see if it was really possible to eat locally from the food shed around Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana". The then college junior majoring in Peace and Global Studies, read the book in one of his environmental classes last semester and after doing some research not only decided it was possible but wanted to preserve the information he found for the local residents.

So, in three days during a pressure filled finals week, he created A Local Food Directory for Richmond, Indiana which includes a listing of producers within a 30 mile radius of the town. The user friendly guide's format is similar to the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice Fair Trade and Local Food Directory, a project that was part of an internship that Ben had with the Network during their directory's development.

Ben told me that he hopes the directory will achieve a few important objectives. First and foremost, he wants to inspire Richmond citizens to eat locally by providing them with the resources to do so in their community. But he also hopes his work will inspire others in Indiana to create similar directories for their towns. According to Ben, not only is it possible to eat well by choosing locally grown and produced foods, it's a critical step toward building safe, sustainable, and self-reliant food systems in our country.

Congratulations to Ben for developing this well-designed directory and for being an inspiration to others to do the same. If you have comments about the directory, Ben would like to hear from you. You can email him at hastibe@earlham.edu.