The people involved in the Northwoods Food Project have been very busy since forming in 2009. The nonprofit is working to develop Cook County’s long term food sustainability and self reliance by developing a countywide food growing system. As these efforts continue, the Northwoods Food Project is seeking two board members to serve three-year terms.
Pat Campanaro of the Northwoods Food Project (NFP) made the announcement about seeking board members and said, “No experience is necessary except a commitment to seeing more locally grown food here!” Diane Booth, the county Extension director said NFP and Extension have partnered on a number of projects, such as two small community gardens, one at the Grand Marais Recreation Park and one at WTIP community radio. A major NFP effort was the Green Dollar Survey. Working with other organizations in the county, NFP spearheaded the study which highlighted how dependent the community is on outside food sources and the importance of local food sources for the county’s tourism economy.
“There is a huge market and opportunity for local food production,” said Booth. “We just need to support local food production with city, county and business support to keep more of those dollars within our community.”
NFP also conducted a compost study to determine how much food waste (nitrogen) source might be available to produce local compost in Cook County. Booth said this information could lead to a new business in the area in the future.
NFP has held informational meetings with current producers to support them in their agricultural endeavors and had discussion with government officials about zoning more favorable to different aspects of food production.
NFP partners with Extension to offer a monthly WTIP radio show, Northern Gardening. The program covers a wide-ranging variety of gardening topics and conversations with agricultural experts.
The next big thing for the Northwoods Food Project and Extension is to develop a large community garden space with the Cook County Community Center Board of Trustees in the next couple of years. Booth said discussions have included the need for a larger gardening space, a possible greenhouse, drilled well, etc. “The only way we would be able to do this is with the support of the county board of commissioners and funding from several grant sources,” said Booth.
As well as a couple more board members. If you would like to apply to be a board member or just want to learn more, contact Diane Booth at (218) 387-3015.
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