Is Our Food System Broken Beyond Repair? – Charlotte Magazine

A look at the distribution model that fails so many families

Several organizations work to reduce food waste in this city. Kellys’ Community Kitchen collects leftovers from college dining halls and donates them to local food pantries. Goodie Bag allows consumers to purchase unsold food from local restaurants at a discount of 50% or more.

Each helps curb food insecurity—and that’s huge—but they’re working within the parameters of a problem. Why is it such a challenge to get fresh produce and nutritious meals to underserved areas—and make them affordable?

In his new role as executive chef of Carolina Farm Trust Market, Ryan Forte wants to change the current food distribution model. “It’s failing too many families,” he says. “It’s leaving them without access to the nutritional food they need.” 

But eating healthy is a challenge when processed foods are cheaper and more readily available than unprocessed ones. According to the Carolina Farm Trust website, 42% of adults consume no fruit daily, and 22% no vegetables. Many farmers don’t have the resources to get their food to farmers markets, and many people live in food deserts where farmers markets don’t exist. They defer to processed and packaged foods that are high in calories, low in nutrients, and contribute to a range of health problems. The cycle continues.

“We’ve had so many generations of people grow up around this convenience,” Forte says. “If we could just break that habit, eventually it would turn around, and we’d all save money in the long run.”

Forte acknowledges that the $10 breakfast sandwiches he sells at the Davidson Farmers Market cost more than a slice of pizza at QuikTrip. “But that bacon came from a local farmer, the eggs from another farm, and we made the biscuits in-house,” he says. “So that provided a shift for a pastry chef, and we bought 20 dozen eggs from a local farmer.”

For those who can’t afford a $10 breakfast sandwich, Forte uses the CFT food truck to transport produce in coolers from local farms to people who need it or can’t get it. He operates out of CFT Market on South Hoskins Road in west Charlotte, where just 1.2% of homes are within a half-mile of a full-service chain grocery store. The facility houses a commercial kitchen, warehouse, distribution center, and, eventually, a year-round market that will sell affordable produce to nearby residents thanks to fundraising by CFT. 

When he does cooking demonstrations, Forte tries to open people’s eyes to how eating local has a ripple effect on the economy and the environment. “We want pineapple in December when we should be eating our grains. Instead, you’re paying someone to drive a truck to California to go get that pineapple and bring it back,” he says. “You should skip out on that pineapple, eat what’s in season, and support your farmer neighbor. Emissions go away, money stays in the community where it needs to be, and a local farmer is able to provide more.”

What costs us more on the front end will pay dividends in the long term. The biggest challenge, it seems, is reaching those who can’t afford what’s on the front end. “It takes one guy to start the rally,” Forte says. “When we help our neighbor farmer, his volume goes up, he starts thriving, and you’re not paying a trucker to drive across the country to go get that pineapple. It’s one giant stepping stone in the right direction.”

TAYLOR BOWLER is the lifestyle editor.