The Rev. David Meier of Humboldt told Allen County commissioners many residents are just one incident away from being in dire straits.
Meier surmised that maybe half of Allen Countians have enough income to meet expenses, but “when something happens, like your car breaks down,” that puts their livelihood in jeopardy, he told commissioners at their meeting Tuesday.
Stepping in to help is the Allen County GROW Food Policy Council, that means to supplement what already is being done with community pantries throughout the county. (GROW is an acronym for Growing Rural Opportunities Works.)
The council is an initiative of Thrive Allen County. Damaris Kunkler, program chairman, and others, including Allen County Farm Bureau’s Debbie Bearden, visited governing bodies to collect ideas for providing nutritious food in ample supplies, as well as to hear concerns. Community gardens, commercial projects, farmers markets and similar things were mentioned.
The countywide assessment, which included a survey that drew 219 responses, is wrapping up. Next for the council is policy development and then implementation, with its extent depending on success of a grant, which will be sought from the Kansas Health Foundation, or other sources of revenue.
Among survey results were that fruits and vegetables frequently were absent from dinner tables, with those receiving U.S. Department of Agriculture food stamps indulging even less. Fast food restaurants were a choice once a week or more of 36 percent of those surveyed; nearly 44 percent had gardens.
Of respondents, 76 percent said they were food secure, meaning they never wanted.
Kunkler said the survey may have been skewed by those completing surveys mostly being employed in what are considered good-paying jobs.
Among goals of the council is to increase affordable, nutritious and safe food for all Allen Countians.
That may be a daunting task from statistics Kunkler mentioned. “About 50 percent of people in the county are in a food desert,” she said, meaning they have challenges with their incomes and often eat meals — even skip some — from a table set with food that isn’t always healthy and nutritious.
Transportation also enters the equation. Some Elsmore residents, Kunkler said, don’t have a way to Iola’s Walmart — or the Moran store — to purchase food and have to depend on the help of friends. Current public transportation services are hit and miss, she said.
An immediate solution is to grow vegetables on site, if vacant land is available for those willing to put to use spade and hoe.
The county owns three lots in Iola, which failed to draw bids at the last tax sale and are in limbo, that could be made available. “We can get it done,” said County Counselor Alan Weber of turning the lots into garden spaces.
Also, Iola has a number of lots that were bought and became the city’s after the 2007 flood ravaged homes in the south end of town, near Elm Creek. City Administrator Carl Slaugh, at the meeting, said he was unsure what arrangement could be made to convert the green space to garden plots.
Humboldt and other towns also have empty lots that might be converted to gardens, including at least one private lot in Humboldt that was offered during the meeting.
A little effort “can change lives,” said Meier, pointing out that food pantries “help to keep people at a break-even point.”
IN OTHER NEWS, commissioners:
— Were asked by Slaugh if definition of what may and may not be deposited at the county landfill could be made public on the county’s website. Catalyst was a recent incident in which an Iola worker had muriatic acid splashed on his face — hospital treatment was required — when a partially filled gallon jug burst when it was crushed in the trash-collection truck.
— Accepted a bid of $1,080 from Superior Builders to replace the west door on the county-owned building at 223 N. State St., which houses the Iola Senior Citizens thrift shop.
— Learned Kansas Department of Transportation will include $355,000 in its fiscal year 2017 budget to pay most of the cost of replacing a bridge over Martin Creek on the Allen-Anderson counties line. The two counties will share remaining cost, expected to be about $50,000.
