CommonGround Lets start talking about Food and where it comes from!

This is a great read that was published in the Buckeye Farm News.

Three Ohio farm women who are Farm Bureau members are working to bridge the disconnect between consumers and their food by sharing their personal experiences through a new program called CommonGround.

“As a mother myself, I understand their concerns,” said Rachel Heimerl, a CommonGround volunteer from Licking County. “CommonGround is all about trying to rebuild the confidence in our food system. To do that, we are working to show the commonalities between real farm families and consumers who benefit from all that farmers grow – to show there is, in fact, CommonGround.”
While it started as a national program, CommonGround is coordinated state-by-state. Ohio has now joined this movement and recently held a kickoff dinner Aug. 11 at the historic Amelita Mirolo Barn in Upper Arlington.
“The best thing about the CommonGround program is that it involves real farm women connecting with other women to talk about any questions and concerns that they may have about food,” said Kristin Reese, a CommonGround volunteer from Fairfield County.Local business and community women leaders were invited to the dinner to have conversations about food and farming while enjoying a delicious meal of locally-produced foods. Topics discussed during the event included everything from when crops are harvested in Ohio and the importance of healthy eating to the size of farms and food safety.
“This was an excellent opportunity to link these wonderful farm women with suburban consumers,” said Mary Ann Krauss, Upper Arlington City Council vice president. “I really enjoyed the evening and look forward to hearing more about the ladies’ activities throughout the state.”
All CommonGround spokeswomen are volunteers who are passionate about agriculture and want to set the record straight about the facts about farming and food. In every state, including Ohio, there is a diverse mix of farmers represented. The program was developed by the United Soybean Board (USB) and National Corn Growers Association.
“Throughout all of the CommonGround states, we have volunteers that have thousands of acres and some that have less than one hundred acres,” said Gretchen Mossbarger, a CommonGround volunteer from Ross County. “We have volunteers who raise animals, some that grow vegetables and others that grow corn and soybeans. We have volunteers that grow organic crops and those that do not. CommonGround is a program that seeks to bridge the gap between the farmers and the people that buy food. To do this effectively, we have to be open and real with the people we meet. We just tell them our own stories.”
The CommonGround program has been launched in five states and is moving forward in six others. Those states include Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota and Ohio. The movement will continue to grow and expand nationwide.
“The best thing about the CommonGround program is that it involves real farm women connecting with other women to talk about any questions and concerns that they may have about food,” said Kristin Reese, a CommonGround volunteer from Fairfield County. “We are not advocating that people buy a certain kind of product. Our purpose is to introduce people to farmers and make sure they have good, straightforward answers to their food questions so that they can make informed decisions about their food choices and feel good about those choices.”

Learn more at www.FindOurCommonGround.com.