Here’s some great insights from Mike Biltonen (my darling husband), about South Florida food choices and production. Mike is a passionate fruit farmer and serious about local food security.

For the first 37 years of my life, I visited Florida a grand total of one time. And that was back in 1974 or so, right after Disney World first opened. Ever since I met Debbie in 2000, however, I’ve been going back to Florida at least once or twice a year. My early perceptions of Florida food were fueled by my images of Anita Bryant pushing Florida orange juice and were later augmented by everything I heard or read about how important agriculture was to that state’s economy. When I first got into consulting, I spent a bit of time down south working with growers and learning as much as I could about the Sunshine state’s farming culture. I was interested for a lot of reasons, but mostly I was dismayed by what I’d learned about the quality and variety of food you could actually find in Florida grocery stores. It belied the image the state pushed on the rest of the country. The fact is that much of Florida is a food desert. It is so hard if not impossible to find decent food in grocery stores or especially restaurants. And given the healthy image the state likes to promote nutritional wellness is certainly not one of their strong points.

My first Thanksgiving there, back when I was really into cooking and hell bent on serving meals made with the only best ingredients, was completely mind bending. Simple ingredients, like some basic herbs or even fresh apple cider, couldn’t be found. The fruit and vegetables were obviously industrially produced and/or shipped in from long distances – there was always a small, lonely, half-forgotten organic section, but that was it. God forbid trying to find a locally raised, organic, fresh turkey. Now, it is no secret that there are food deserts across America, including some in the food mecca of the Universe, New York City. However, in a state with such a strong agricultural tradition as Florida, it defies all rational thought how they don’t have more progressive food and farming communities. Whenever I am in south Florida, it is illogical that with all the outdoor recreation opportunities that people have, that there are so many fat, sick, and dying people. Until you look at the food they have to eat and the lifestyle that is marketed to them.

Food deserts mapped from coast to coast, plus Alaska and Hawaii.

I haven’t done all the research, but what I do know is this. Much of Florida’s agriculture is quite diverse. Yet, it is based on commodity products that are then exported out of state and/or used in processed products. The food that does make its way back into the communities, and I am not even talking about poor communities, is sparse and nutritionally poor because of all the food miles it traveled.  There are more fast food joints than Whole Foods or salad bars – or even decent grocery stores.

It is no secret that much of south Florida’s population is made up of retirees and snowbirds. These are the folks that are getting up there in years and likely have a number of health issues to deal with anyway. And, unfortunately, they spend way too much time in hospitals and doctors’ offices getting another prescription for something other than good food and exercise. For many older people, they’ve lived their lives by their doctor’s advice and the USDA food pyramid – and what food companies put in front of them. This should be the time of their life and yet many are struggling from day to day. These struggles could be abated quite simply by better nutrition and some exercise – they’ve got the sunshine. And this applies to people of all ages, many of these people have an opportunity to get healthy and stay that way as they get older, no matter how old they are or (generally speaking) what their physical condition.

Right now, my parents and in-laws are getting older (aren’t we all?) and faced with many questionably unavoidable issue of aging. They are also being presented daily with changes they could make in their lives in order to live happier healthier lives. My father-in-law will turn 87 in January. And though he hasn’t lived a particularly physically active life or eaten as well as he could have over the years, he is now embracing much of what his daughter, my wife, Debbie is telling him he needs to do in order to be healthier and feel better. A year ago, right after I started making my daily smoothie, her parents joined right in. Since they said they felt better after a little spirulina and chia seed in their morning juice, we made them a month’s supply in the form of ice cubes for them to use after we’d left. Since then Debbie has created tea blends and a cabinet full of holistic remedies for each of them. All of which they have embraced in an effort to get healthy.

But all of the teas, tinctures, vitamins, and supplements can’t ever replace a good balanced diet, made with good, local, organic produce. In the thirteen years, since I started going to Florida on a regular basis things have improved. The local Publix has a better supply of fruits and vegetables. Herbs and supplements are easier to find. Eating out is still a challenge. And since many Floridians would rather eat out, than stay home and cook, they still fall into the trap of eating a poor diet. (Let’s face it, most restaurants have a Sysco truck deliver ingredients from god knows where. They make it “taste good” by adding a lot of salt and bad fats.)

I believe strongly that there is a huge opportunity for some enterprising young farmer, restaurateur, or grocery store (are you listening Whole Foods) to make a huge impact not only on the food that is available in south Florida, but how it is prepared and served in restaurants.  Even a home delivery service that focused on healthy, delicious meals or even just a wellness-focused grocery delivery service could thrive. But for me the biggest thing is to get people closer to their food source. The potential for urban or community farms is huge. Even if they aren’t large enough to feed everyone, at least they get the conversation going. They get people thinking about their food, asking the local produce manager where the broccoli came from, starting or patronizing a local farmers market, maybe even starting a small garden in their backyard. Either way, something has to change because south Florida food options are killing people. Today. As you read this. Now. Go affect some change!