An extensive collaborative effort is under way in the Lehigh Valley to resolve the growing hunger crisis by strengthening the local food economy, increasing access to fresh foods and supporting local farming. Spearheading the initiative is the newly organized Lehigh Valley Food Policy Council, which was launched last September and held its second semi-annual meeting recently at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Bethlehem.

An estimated 75 persons attended the meeting as individuals or representatives of the 19 organized groups that are working together to reduce food insecurity by following the principles of Collective Impact. The participating organizations include Buy Fresh Buy Local of the Greater Lehigh Valley, the Second Harvest Food Bank, the Rodale Institute, United Way of the Lehigh Valley, New Bethany Ministries and Sodexo.

According to its operational guidelines adopted in March, any resident or person whose employment is in the Lehigh Valley may join the policy council, which is governed by a steering committee chosen by the membership. Coordination and day-to-day operations are overseen by the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley.

During the recent meeting, three new at-large members of the steering committee were elected: Dan Lieber, Stardust Farms; Ben Scholl, Scholl Orchards; and Chris West, Bethlehem’s Bounty.

Lieber is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, and owner of a five-acre farm in Pen Argyl. He has experience sourcing local food for colleges and universities, connecting farmers to distributors and lecturing on sustainable agriculture.

Scholl is a third-generation farmer involved in all aspects of growing fruits and vegetables. He says, “This is not my hobby, this is my life. I take pride in what I do.”

West completed an internship with the Rodale Institute, and currently runs a small Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Bethlehem to encourage healthy eating habits.

Most of the meeting involved break-out sessions and reports of the council’s nine working groups: food access, consumer education, organic agriculture and community gardens, food recovery and respect, land use, farm to school, farming, infrastructure and logistics, and entrepreneurship.

One of the efforts being undertaken by these groups includes developing a pilot project to create gleaning teams to collect surplus or less-than-perfect produce from farms and distributors that normally would go to waste. Other initiatives include compiling community and home gardening information to determine how to better support them, helping new farmers and providing workshops to help farmers adjust to climate change.

During group reports, the idea of urban farms was floated as a way to bring food and people closer together. Jon Middleton of Sodexo suggested a brick-and-mortar facility where locally grown food could be brought for distribution. So, he explained, you could tell farmers “grow as much as you want and can. This could evolve to frozen foods. Then what about a soup company as another use?”

Joyce Marin, executive director of Renew Lehigh Valley, reported that some 300 persons are involved already in the working groups.

“The idea that we can change things is so exciting,” she said.