Reasons why locally-grown food in El Paso will become the norm

Lisa Degliantoni interviewed me on her program Charlando con la Gringa with Lisa D on Talkback Radio Station KQBU 920 AM. (You can hear her show Monday through Friday from 10 until Noon.) We talked about farmers markets, community gardens, City of El Paso policies and locally-grown food in general.

The other day I wrote that El Paso has a long way to go. It's not that the City dislikes farmers markets, it is just that there is no hew and cry for the markets. There are people who value locally-grown food and who will go each Saturday morning to the market at Ardovino's Desert Crossing from late spring until fall. There are certainly others who frequent the market at San Elizario. I think more people would be interested in farmers markets if they were more available - if more neighborhoods around El Paso would sponsor them on different days of the week.

For now farmers markets are not on the City radar. That is why there aren't any special fees to encourage the markets at neighborhood parks. Park use fees apply each and every time and they are too expensive for farmers markets.

Nor does the City seem to value or encourage community gardens even though there has been a very successful garden since 1979 for seniors. Although under the umbrella of the Parks Department, this garden with 100 "farmers" has been basically self-governing.

So what will it take to build a fire in El Paso to get support for locally-grown food? Actually, I think that the sparks are already here. Here's the list:

1. The Abuelas - the lore of food and herbs goes back to antiquity and still exists in little plots of gardens in small yards all around this region. The Abuelas know. It is a matter of tapping into their ancient wisdom.

2. Ardovino's Desert Crossing - They run a successful market with people and vendors who go there every week while it is open throughout the warmer months. In other words, there is enough interest - there is a market out there for locally-grown food.

3. Increasing knowledge and enthusiasm for community gardens, yardsharing and such. It's there as evidenced by my conversation with Lisa D and Johanna Wallner's before me.

4. Oscar - a UTEP student who has his own garden and shares jalapeños and tomatoes with his friends and family. He called in while I was on the air. Oscar is the future.

5. A growing number each year of people who sign up for Master Gardener or Master Naturalist courses. Too bad that current policy for Master Gardeners sees helping with community gardens as extraneous labor and maintains that MGs only work at the farm at the A&M Research facility in far east El Paso. There are MGs chomping at the bits to do more work out in the community and get credit for it.

6. Active neighborhood associations in El Paso - the framework is there for encouraging, planning and implementing community gardens, yardshares and neighborhood farmers markets.

7. The Newspaper Tree - the online news source for El Paso - they are looking at issues of sustainability, locally-grown food, neighborhood action groups. Also Talk Back Radio 920 AM especially with Lisa D who promotes everything local including local music groups.

8. The economy - the bad financial picture may push people from the super markets to the farmers markets. Will the City of El Paso facilitate this trend?

9. Availability of commercial kitchens at churches and other places where people could potentially can vegetables.

10. Interest in providing food to soup kitchens. There is a deep value in El Paso to care about those in need.