With USU's Create Better Health Hub Director and Hunger Solutions Institute co-director Lea Palmer.
Lea's Create Better Health Hub recently brought Utah agriculture, food systems, and government leaders together to launch the USU Extension Food Systems Alliance.
Lea is here today to tell us about the alliance, its mission, and her goals with the initiative.
Wynter Varner
Thank you for joining us today, Lea.
Lea Palmer
Thank you for having me.
Wynter Varner
What is the Food Systems Alliance and the Create Better Health Hub it's founded through?
Lea Palmer
Sure. So, I work as the director for the Create Better Health Hub, and so we're housed under Extension. Our focus is to help improve the well-being of communities across the state.
Because of that, Create Better Health is very focused on nutrition education, nutrition security, and food security.
The Food Systems Alliance is a new initiative focused on bringing together industries that haven't necessarily been involved in the whole picture before.
So, we're looking at food systems as a whole, and then bringing players from each area together, so that we can optimize that food system.
Ideally, by the end, what we're seeing is less food is going to waste and more food is coming to our communities.
Wynter Varner
How are different organizations in Utah working to make the alliance successful?
Lea Palmer
We are right at the beginning of this alliance.
We just had a kickoff a couple weeks ago, and we're hoping that over the next few months, we can have strategic planning meetings where we can consider our resources, what people can contribute, and how we can optimize the system.
We have specialists. For example, the person who brought up the idea was from the manufacturing sector, and he came to us and said, "I have this excess of food, but there's a lot of barriers for me to get that to a food pantry."
The food can't be sold, so a lot of times it has to go to either animal feed or to waste.
"So what can we do? I need other professionals to help with that."
That's one example of where we're bringing sectors that don't necessarily have full awareness or know the other sectors as well, and we'll kind of work as a liaison between them.
Through this connection, we're able to get that excess food to people that need it the most and optimize their systems.
We want this alliance to be one where everybody is contributing, not just another coalition where we show up and talk about what needs to happen.
We are working on actionable projects that optimize the food system.
We're hoping to start building some fundraising for it, and then also start having those strategic planning meetings next.
Wynter Varner
What goals does the alliance seek to fulfill, and how will it reach those goals?
Lea Palmer
We've got a few goals, and as we put together the outline, I really used the food system as kind of the model or the centerpiece for this whole alliance.
We've got goals within agriculture and production, within manufacturing, processing, distribution, transport, food retail, consumer engagement, and food recovery and resilience.
We hope that we're strengthening access to and success of agriculture, that we're optimizing forecasting and getting food from manufacturing to consumer faster and more efficiently, and that we're able to improve support for local food systems.
That way, we can have less long-distance transportation for food, optimizing that consumer engagement at the retail sector, and helping educate consumers on how to eat healthily while using foods that are available and showing them where they're available.
At the recovery and resilience piece, we are taking what is already produced, which might be excess, and helping it go back into the food system, so that it doesn't just go into the landfill.
Wynter Varner
What positive outcomes do you predict to see because of improved food security?
Lea Palmer
Our vision is to have a food secure Utah. That's a big, lofty, oversized vision, but I think the only way to move towards that is to start bringing in people who have not been involved before.
So I would love to see people showing up and being there and bringing their own passions and their own expertise with them.
Another great outcome would be Utah food pantries not having empty shelves.
A great outcome would be that people are finding the food that they need, and our food security rates start improving rather than getting worse.
I'd see a positive outcome as people know where to go to help or get involved.
I hope that with an alliance like this, that's what we'll see. A very optimized system where all hands are on deck.
Wynter Varner
Thank you again for joining us today, Lea.
Lea Palmer
Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.
Wynter Varner
This has been Wynter Varner with the USU Extension Education Highlights. Thank you for tuning in.
