"Farm to Table" is Backwards

by Billy Polansky

There’s been a lot of talk lately about “farm to table.” If you haven’t heard, the idea of farm to table celebrates the importance of local foods and brings us closer to the farm. The words bring attention to how the food is grown (farm), distributed (to), and prepared (table). It is a very linear, chronological description of the process that gets dinner on our Table.

However, if farm to table is a way to connect eaters to agriculture, shouldn’t it be called “table to farm?” I think we’ve got it all backwards.

If you were to close your eyes and conjure an image of farm to table, you might think of a seven-course dinner at long table next to a farmer’s field. Those types of dinners certainly are the hallmark of farm to table, but come on, use your imagination a little bit. Your farm to table experience is what you make of it. You can be connected to fresh, local food without being a full-time foodie. Farm to table can be snacking on cherry tomatoes in your backyard, volunteering at Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture’s urban farm or eating breakfast at a diner that serves up local eggs (many do). These are easy, fun, and low-cost ways to get involved. Urban agriculture is one of the great equalizers for Farm to Table. It gives opportunities for people from a diversity of backgrounds to be a part of the farm to table experience.

There are many variations such as “farm to fork” or “farm to school.” In fact, CCUA’s mission statement uses the phrase “seed to plate.” At CCUA, our lesson plans don’t start with seed and end with plate. We always start with the plate for a very important reason. For most city folks, the plate is all we know. We all eat, and if we’re lucky, we do it three times a day. The plate is what makes the seed relevant. The plate is a very comfortable place to start learning about agriculture.

When we have a field trip at our urban farm, we often start with the question: “What is your favorite vegetable?” In season, harvesting is always a part of the experience for our young visitors, and planting is usually reserved for a follow-up visit or more advanced lesson. We aren’t starting with the seed, we’re starting with the plate.

In CCUA’s Opportunity Gardens Program, we mentor families who want to be successful home gardeners. One of the first questions we ask the families we mentor is “What do you like to eat?” We start with foods that these future gardeners are already comfortable with on their plate. Radishes grow easily and quickly and is a good crop to build a new gardener’s confidence and hold their attention. However, radishes are often unpopular on the plate, so if you don’t enjoy the taste of what you grow, you’re missing the point. Instead we often start new gardeners with crowd favorites that are a little more complicated, like tomatoes or peppers.

Another example of why it should be plate to seed is plant spacing. It is easier to understand how far apart to plant your crops if you work backwards. Tomato plants need to be planted at least two or three feet apart, and to a new gardener that distance doesn’t seem right when your starter plants are only the size of your fist. The temptation is to cram them together. However, if you think in the direction of Plate to Seed, then you know what a full-grown tomato plant looks before you plant the baby, and the temptation to plant them too close goes away.

With spring finally here, it is time to get out in your backyard garden. If you’re wanting to start a garden or eat more local foods this year, my recommendation to you is to work backwards and start with the plate. What do you want on your plate? Perhaps more importantly, what do your kids want on their plate? From there, talk to your neighbors about their backyard gardens, glean some advice from farmers at the Columbia Farmers Market, or stop by CCUA’s urban rarm to see what we’re doing. Once you know what you want on your Plate and how you’re getting it to the plate, it is time to get your hands dirty and start caring for the Seeds.

originally published in the Columbia Daily Tribune on April 24, 2018.