1. If you could please state your name and title and if you
could also spell it for me that would be great!
So I’m
Heather Lynch and I am the Sustainable Living Coordinator here at the college.
I’m also the director of facilities.
2. How long have you been at Saint Mike’s and how did you get
involved?
So I’ve
been at the college for about 7 years now. I am the first Sustainability
Coordinator that the college has hired which is great! This is just sort of
what I wanted to do with my life so I got lucky! The Organic Garden was started
a semester before I was hired and it is my favorite thing to do that I have
under my wing. It will be expanding so we right now have it ¼ acre and now we
have a spot that is 1.7 acres that we are cultivating so it’s pretty awesome!
3. In your own words can you please define what sustainable
living is? How does this pertain to households and local farms?
Oh god!
Sort of the easiest way for me to describe sustainable living is that you are
just being respectful of how you interact with the world and other beings,
humans and non-humans. And how you interact doesn't degrade those resources for
anyone else, it’s out of respect. I like to use this especially for Saint Mike's because
we are about community and respect. You’re being respectful enough to live on
the planet.
For me, I
kind of see food as that gateway drug into sustainability. The main issue for sustainability
is to get people involved who might not want to get involved. So for me I had
to think about what impacts everyone, food. There is this great opportunity in
educating people about sustainability, organic food and farms and getting
people to be more conscious of how the food that they are eating is raised, how
is it grown and distributed. For me it was that bridge of getting people to
care.
4. How prominent do you feel that sustainable living and local
foods is in Vermont? How do you feel Vermont would be without it?
I don’t know
what Vermont would be without sustainable food systems. We are leading the
nation in this. Even with the GMO labeling law that recently was passed and now
other states are beginning to follow because of what we did but just with
Farmer’s Markets a statistic showed that Vermont was number one in the nation
per capita with its Farmer’s Markets (Strolling of the Heffers she recommended
was a great source!). It’s our ethos its old new England working the land helping
thy neighbor independent so you know growing food for your community and doing
it in a healthy respectful way that’s how we are and who we are. I don’t know
how we would be without them because it plays a huge part in our economy. Vermont sustainable food fund has the stats but farmer’s
markets are the largest sector of our economy it’s incredible.
5. How do you personally feel locally produce food is comparatively
to larger grocers such as Shaw’s or Walmart?
Eh. I think locally produced food
is far better and healthier. It connects you more to your place of being than
large grocery stores do. And Hannaford’s is good Shaw’s is good and they do
sometimes source from local places and label it which is awesome, but they are
still part of a larger system that is hurting local food systems in general. It’s
widening that divide that people have from their food and the farmer more. It
is encouraging people to be more disconnected from their food you don’t talk to
farmers or see the land where your food comes from its not the same. You just don’t
care don’t care what you are getting.
Someone once told me how that when
you are walking around in the grocery store food that you should be eating is
all along the periphery: your meats, your dairy, your produce everything in the
center which is the majority of the grocery stores is all the highly processed
crap which is where people spend most of their money, and not on the food along
the sides. At the farmers market it’s all the outside stuff everywhere, it’s
interesting to think about.
6. How much do you feel has the push for supporting local farms
and farmer's markets grown in the past decade or so? Do you feel it was always
there or it has gotten more attention in past years?
It’s like
jumping up the little scale going up and up and it’s great because more young
people are getting involved with it which is why it is such a hot topic. I don’t
think it’s a fad I think it is a part of our lives. We are frustrated with the
way our world is beginning to turn and food is one of those things we can
really control. This is one of the things I love studying especially at grad
school (Green Mountain State actually!) and seeing students here at Saint Mike's getting
involved in the topic. If it wasn't for the interest we wouldn't be getting the
new organic garden space. Having a community such as the one at Saint Mike’s
and even Vermont we wouldn't have as much of a push and support for the garden’s
expansion.
More Possible Questions:
1. At Saint Mike’s does the farm stand on campus source from
just the organic garden or from local farms too?
The farm
stand is 100 % us and the organic garden! I hope with the new garden we will be
getting food into the dining hall which is already into the works. Also we want
to try to supply locally to those in need. CSA – Community Supported Agriculture intervail which is a multiform
CSA which sources multiple produce such as meats, veggies, berries, even
dressings! There are 15 to 20 farms in the area that aggregate their products
to one area, it helps the farmers get their produce out along with farmers
markets. It is year round and we started doing baskets which are shares that
students or faculty/staff can buy. Obviously the student shares are aimed to be
on the cheaper end. It’s been great to see the number of students participating
in it! There are different packages with different baskets and they get dropped
off every Monday to campus. There’s 20 different options so you can get a big
share for a whole townhouse and a smaller share for 1 or 2 people. The content
of the baskets varies too.
2. Do you think the farmers' markets locally are effective? Burlington
and Montpelier?
I have been to the Burlington one but it’s neat because it’s
a community forming around local food. You connect and build relationships with
people. My husband and I when we go to the farmers' market in Montpelier but
our neighbor goes there so we always get to go and check in with him every
couple weeks when we are there. I have run into Saint Mike's staff there who frequently
check out the market and get to talk with them. Just the relationships you
build, and everyone is there for the same reason it’s great it’s such, a happy
place! I don’t eat meat but my husband does from Ray and Janet of Great Highland
Beef and they are hilarious. And they always look for us and if we missed one
week the next time we see them we catch up. Every time still Ray always asks, “Are
you eating meat yet?” but its just neat to get those relationships and you can’t
get those relationships at a grocery store. And the farmers need that as much
as the consumers do because they have one of the hardest jobs but one of the
most important jobs. That support is important and helps keep them going.
3. How beneficial do you feel that it is having an organization
such as a farmer’s market in the community?
I think its just going to get bigger and bigger the
response. There are younger farmers coming out on the scene looking to get
their produce on the market. I did a project for grad school on a local young
couple who in the past few years have established themselves and are working on
getting in touch with markets and CSA programs. They are looking to get
themselves out there and not so much in grocery stores but since there is such
a high demand they are going to probably do well. There are so many gateways
for people like them here in Vermont and a lot of alternative markets. And who
knows how it will evolve!
