Amigos, Foodies, New Mexicans, lend me your eyeballs. I need your undivided attention as we jump into the deep-end and look at a very important issue facing our local food system now. So grab your orange floaties and let’s do this.
Competition. I have to tell you that I love competition. I love playing sports, watching hot dog eating contests, and have been known to bark when my little Scottie Monopoly piece is about to win the game. Competition gets my blood flowing.
So that is my preface to this week’s journal and to let you know the competition in the food world right now is intense. Some seasoned grocery folks say it is the most challenging the industry has been in 40-50 years. Access to food has not been this easy since the cavemen found a suicidal Woolly mammoth. I don’t think they had psychiatric vets back then.
My point is that we (as consumers) are living through an extraordinary time of food right now. We are surrounded by food choices and low prices. Our grandparents were used to paying 20% of their income on food. Now, folks still find room to complain when, as a society, we pay less than 7% of our income on food. The lowest percentage seen in history.
So how do food prices and competition play into a pressing issue for our local food system?
Well right now throughout our entire state, CSAs, Co-Ops, Farmers’ Markets, and Mom n Pop food providers are in a battle to find space in your kitchen as the large box stores rage their price wars with one another. You would be very hard-pressed to find a Local food provider/supplier who is doing better now than they were 3 years ago. SKRS Farms is no exception. The competition is that intense and widespread.
When Amazon bought Whole Foods, my initial reaction was that this is a huge opportunity for the local food suppliers to step up and fill a void for our community. But then it hit me… We already have an amazing local food network. Local dairy partners, all the local pork and beef that we need. Thousands of pounds of local produce weekly. Honey, cheese, baked goods, roasted coffee, kombucha, teas, fermented foods, fresh pastas, and tortillas. I mean the list of what we have to enjoy from this great Land of Entrapment is huge.
So I have realized that it is not a matter of the local producers stepping up to serve the community, but will the community step up and support our local producers?
Our local food system is in a Sink or Swim situation right now. I am not going to sugarcoat it for you. We saw the very same erosion of support happen in Arizona. First, sales at Farmers’ Markets cooled off. Then a CSA closed. Then the landslide hit. We saw 8 CSAs and home delivery models close down in the span of 16 months. Box stores winning the fight. Right now, NM is showing the same cracks in the ship.
Fortunately, New Mexico is not as far down the rabbit hole as Arizona was at the time. But without community support, we are going to see a very different local food landscape 2 years from now. But honestly, it comes down to you.
I have written this so many times and I will write it again; the businesses that call our communities home are a direct reflection of the values of the people. Realize that. Businesses are not around by accident. They exist from the support of the community. Economic democracy where $$ are votes.
Whenever I would read that old bumper sticker “Think Globally, Act Locally” something never seemed right about it. For me, thinking globally is the easiest way to lull yourself into a state of paralysis. We can become so worried about events in Las Vegas or hurricanes along the coast, that we become desensitized to the impact that we can actually create in this world. The wording of that bumper sticker should have read, “Think Locally, Act Locally” We need to focus our energies on what we can create at home. What we can build?
So here we are in our most transparent attire. I need your support. All of our local suppliers need your support. Our community needs your support. You hold the key to shaping our local economic landscape. How is it going to look?
Farmer Monte