TAHLEQUAH — Supporting independent producers and providing fresh, locally grown food for consumers is the goal of area volunteers who are establishing a Food Policy Council.

Marketing, networking and sharing ideas are three of the tools the group is using to generate  interest.

Independent consultant Pam Kingfisher, a volunteer with the steering committee for a Tahlequah Food Policy Council addressed about 50 people Tuesday at a noon meeting about the Tahlequah Area “Food Hub” - the local food system.

The food council will facilitate the “linkages in agriculture distribution and social networks” (production, processing, distribution, consumption, composting/recycle).

Attendees also participated in a mapping exercise to begin visualizing the food hub system in Cherokee County – who they are, discovering who else they know in the food system, including institutions, restaurants, food pantries, farmers, Head Start, senior centers, tribal and local governments, students, and locavores.

“We really want to celebrate the gifts in this county,” Kingfisher said. “We’ll be happier and healthier and our kids will understand where our food comes from.”

They’ll be mapping all the producers and potential businesses that could buy local. The map will also identify clusters of producers in the areas where they are concentrated and help them network and be aware of who their neighboring producers are.

“We’ll be networking restaurants, grocery stores, all the institutional businesses in this county and hope to move to 14 counties,” Kingfisher said, “and identifying blooms of producers so they can make local connections and get to know each other.”

The Tahlequah Farmers’ Market is dreaming of a store front, Kingfisher said.

“People do have big visions and dreams, and we want to help them succeed,” she said. “There’s a lot of interest in a food system that is local. A food council can’t force, we can just know who does what.”

A feasibility study is included in the planning.

“There is a need here; we’re out there foraging all the dirt roads to see what’s there,” Kingfisher said. “Small businesses are running on baling wire and chewing gum. They need our help.”

Sen.  Jim Wilson, D-Tahlequah, attended the event, and enjoyed the locally grown lunch.

“It’s great these folks are trying to make a living [growing local food], and if they can sell retail they’ll make more money,” Wilson said. “Jeff Reasor told me he’d buy from them, but he can’t just buy one watermelon. And Burgess buys all the time.”

Melissa Bennett provided the goat cheese for the lunch. She owns 200 acres outside of Hulbert, and is producing grass-fed beef, goat cheese, raw goat’s milk and free-range chicken eggs. She’s been involved with the group from the beginning.

“Many producers leave the county because there’s no market for them here,” Bennett said. “I’m excited to meet people doing what I’m doing, getting to know what my neighbors are doing so we can do it together.”

She’s also involved at the state level, encouraging people to participate as local growers with Oklahoma grown food statewide and helping to influence the legislature regarding policies that regulate how food is grown.

“Shouldn’t the governor be serving locally grown food at dinners?” she asked.

Diane Weston, Tahlequah City Council member, became interested in the sustainable food system when working at the Cherokee County Health Department with Kid Connections on Childhood Obesity Childwatch.

“I’d like to see children become more involved in growing their own food and knowing where their food comes from,” Weston said. “And see the public school system help students grow their own food and serve it in the schools.”

Working on Healthy Nations projects first got Elizabeth Montgomery-Anderson, with Cherokee Nation Geo-Data, involved.

“I’m a consumer, and I love that we have apples from Chile available in the winter, but I’m concerned about children’s health,” she said. “Having access to good food that’s fresh is important for their health.”

Many family producers are learning how to expand their gardens to make healthy, home-grown foods available throughout the community.

Charles Gourd began with his own garden, and now is in the Beginning Farmer and Rancher program at the Kerr Center, learning to become a producer.

“I want to produce the right way and the right stuff that will sell,” Gourd said. “Research shows processed food contributes to ADHD and other problems in kids.”

Gourd understands that making partnerships may make things better for the local community.

“When we network, we find out what other people are already doing,” said Gourd. “People are willing to share their knowledge, what they know to support the community and larger area,” Gourd said.

Local Food Day at the Oklahoma Capitol is Monday, April 9 and the public is invited to attend. The next Food Policy Council meeting will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday, Feb. 24, at the Armory Municipal Building.