The Newton County Hometown Health Initiative continued investigating food insecurity issues facing the county during its January meeting. Guest speakers were Newton County Extension Service Chair Adam Willis and Family and Consumer Science Agent Joei Phillips.
The coalition of county organizations and individuals interested in improving the health and welfare of all residents of Newton County renewed exploring food security issues late last year after hearing continued reports of the growing number of clients seeking food and other resources from the Newton County Christian Food Room.
Past coalition members' efforts to improve availability of locally produced foods included starting the Jasper Community Garden, Newton County Farmers Market and working with the Newton County Extension Office to establish the UA Master Gardeners program in the county.
Willis said one of the most important things prospective gardeners should do is have their soil tested. This is a free service. "Just don't guess, soil test," is an adage Willis likes to say.
According to extension service literature, soil testing can be done anytime, but the best time is in the fall or in the spring before the lawn greens up.
To get started, first you need to take your own soil sample.
Use the following procedure in collecting your soil sample:
1. Rake aside mulch or surface litter like leaves.
2. Take soil with a soil probe or shovel from at least 12 spots in each area to obtain a representative sample. A zigzag sampling pattern is preferred. Fertilizer and lime recommendations are no better than the sample taken.
3. Take samples in gardens, lawns, and around shrubs to a depth of about 4 inches and for mature fruit trees at a depth of 12 inches.
4. Mix soil thoroughly from a sample area. Keep different areas separate. Discard rocks, gravels and roots.
5. Allow the soil sample to air dry. Spread the sample on newspapers or large paper bags for a couple of days. Do not heat the sample in an oven to speed drying.
6. Remove one pint for the laboratory sample and place in a clean container or zip top bag. Label each sample with a name that you would recognize.
7. Bring sample(s) to your local County Extension office. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Tips include:
Sample areas around shrubs separately from turf.
If you have a large lawn or garden, sample areas separately that have been managed differently or will be managed differently.
For Arkansas taxpayers, there is no fee for the agency to process and run your samples. Out of State samples will be charged $10 per sample.
Willis said the extension service wants food producers to be successful. He said it doesn't matter if the producer is totally organic, or not-so organic. Willis said he is available to help answer growers' questions. The answer might not be what they want to hear, but it will be an answer that's true. He said he is straightforward with everybody.
"What I see as food insecurity is lack of knowledge," Willis said. A lot of people aren't carrying on traditions. They get their food from big chain grocery stores. Even though Willis has been around gardening most of his life, he says he still has to stay current with research and updated growing practices.
A seed starting class with the Master Gardeners was scheduled for Jan. 14, at the extension service office. A specialist from Johnson County was to be the instructor. Starting plants from seed is a growing interest, Willis said, and the extension service has resources for any particular interests people in the county might have... if it's legal.
We do not provide information on medicinal marijuana. It's still a felony and we do receive federal funds, he laughed.
Phillips said she worked in public schools for about 22 years. She had been involved in the county 4-H program with her son.
Marsha Horton was the FCS agent presenting the program around the county at the time. She made it look amazing and easy, Phillips said.
Horton retired and after FCS Agent Chris Roofe was reassigned to Searcy County, Phillips said she was hired for the Newton County position. She said she has been on the job six months.
"I am still in that new stage of it," Phillips said of the job. "I'm thirsty to learn about things. It is so much larger than I thought."
As an FCS agent, Phillips has access to the schools, extension homemakers clubs and other organizations wanting programs from baby sitting training to food preservation. One program, "Fun, Food and Reading," is a program presented to second graders. Another class explains the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to students and how they can be involved by choosing healthy foods. "Any way I can help I am willing," she said.
Everyone is invited to attend Master Gardeners meetings held the second Tuesday of the month at the county extension office at 4:30 p.m. Anyone who is interested in gardening can attend, Willis said.
Tree pruning instructions will be featured in February.
Newton County agriculture is diverse. Farms are dedicated to both small and large operations, but mostly for personal consumption. Cattle and forages are the larger scale operations.
Sadly, the average age of Newton County farmers is getting older every year, willis noted.
There are more orchards and berry producers in the county than in the past. There are some hydroponic farms, some farmers are growing fish, there are more greenhouses and high tunnels, Willis added.
Due to soil and topographic differences in the county some areas are better suited for some crops than others. In days past farmers would sometimes swap some of their harvested crops for those that they were unable to produce.
There are a lot of untold heroes who anonymously donate food to the food pantry each year. There are people who donate eggs and things like that, Willis said. His office shares the same building with the Christian Food Room.
Willis and Phillips said they are planning to begin a small demonstration garden outside of the building where the public can see what a variety of foods can be grown locally.
During discussion it was suggested that there be an effort made to recruit more people who would like to share their knowledge on how to produce food with the wanting to learn. They may not have someone who share their knowledge with.
Phillips said she has a commodity newsletter that goes to schools and the food room whenever food is distributed. The letter goes into each box of food that is distributed. That message can be conveyed in the newsletter and maybe responses can be filtered back to the extension office.
