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Posts Tagged ‘Helderberg Hilltowns Association’
Hilltowns Build on Local Foods
April 29th, 2010
Can the development of farmers markets lead to larger economic activities than just selling fresh food? Many Hilltowns residents in rural Albany County, NY believe it can. And they’ve formed the Helderberg Hilltowns Association to lead the charge.
According to an article titled “More than farmers markets,” the new association will seek to “promote sustainable economic development in the small, rural towns by featuring their farms, hiking trails, historic sites and sweeping vistas.” (Source: Christen Gowan, “More than farmers markets,“ Albany Sun-Times, April 9, 2010).
Sustainable economic development; that’s awesome. As I looked into the Association a little closer, several items caught my attention:
- The region is rural. Of the four communities represented in the Association, the largest has a population of 3500.)
- The organization is tapping into an underutilized asset as its foundation. The region is already blessed with a cluster of farmers growing foods for local farmers markets. They hope to connect these and other craft businesses with the region’s natural beauty to attract visitors.
- It’s a grassroots organization. Membership is open to anyone who shares the association’s goals, and decisions about the organization’s future will be shaped by those who participate.
- They’ve got a good start with Web 2.0 tools: They used wiki technology to build their website and have a Facebook Group to connect with their community. Transparency in community development is becoming increasingly important.
I still sense that most South Dakotans don’t see the local foods industry as real economic development. Just a couple weeks ago, I was told by a person who operates a bed and breakfast on a rural acreage that South Dakotans can’t make money from growing local foods. It caught me totally by surprise because I believe B&B’s and local foods are a perfect marriage.
I responded to this criticism saying local foods is economic development and pointed out the success of Hardwick, VT. I also mentioned the Business Week article touting the local foods industry as an economic development strategy. Unfortunately, I sensed my argument fell on deaf ears.
Now I realize the local foods strategies employed in rural South Dakota would have to be different from those of the Helderber Hilltowns Association; we don’t have the population base nearby like they do in the Hilltowns of Albany County. But we do have other assets that we can marry with local foods to build a new economy. We just need to be creative and open to new ideas.
After all, isn’t that what we mean by “ReImagine Rural?”
Photo Credit: Miamism – Flickr
Tags: farmers markets, Helderberg Hilltowns Association, local foods, New York
Posted in Community Development, Economic Development, Rural | Comments (0)