Telling a New Story: Working Together to Build Place-based Food Systems in the Palouse-Clearwater Region of the U.S. Inland Northwest

Abstract

From early adopters and the first stirrings of cultural change to development of a thriving local foods culture and economy, the Palouse-Clearwater region of southeastern Washington and north central Idaho has seen remarkable place-based food-system development through decades of hard work by a broad variety of players. These place-based food systems have arisen from a combination of individual entrepreneurism, organizational leadership, partnerships, and synergistic relationships across communities and the larger region. Founded on value-based relationships and a shared vision of the future, the local food narratives that have emerged during the development process have framed and shaped the character of these food systems and their expansion over time. In the Palouse-Clearwater region, University of Idaho Extension faculty and nonprofit staff have been co-leaders in place-based food system development. As co-leaders, they have taken a participatory approach to working with farmers and ranchers, retailers, restauranteurs, community practitioners, and university researchers and staff to understand and overcome barriers and to nurture place-based food systems development. This has led to a rich exchange of ideas and resources between the community members spearheading the local food scene and the university. Multiple research and education projects have been successfully implemented.

Developing a community-based local food system in Will County, Illinois: insights from stakeholders' viewpoints

“…Although the presentation facilitated sharing the stakeholders' vision about Will County's local and community-based food system, many participants pointed out that enacting a profound transformation will require local government to see itself as an agent of radical social and political change, rather than constrained to land-use regulation and program implementation at the county level. This is challenging because, despite the rising political discourse on food issues at the national level in the United States (DePhelps et al, 2019;Hilchey et al, 2006;Gibbons et al, 2020;Low et al, 2015;Martinez, 2016;Okrent et al, 2018), the ongoing food strategy processes at the county level have only recently entered the public debate.…”