By KATE FULLAM //
Morning traffic in front of my Hampton Bays home always signals late spring, as diesel engines, squeaking brakes and blaring car radios mingle with backyard birdsong.
Enjoying my coffee on the patio, a quick glance reveals mostly landscaping vehicles, dotted with personal cars and food-service trucks, making early deliveries to local restaurants.
To the casual observer, this morning commute might seem normal. But it actually signifies a regional cry for help, at a time when pressures for new development, critical infrastructure improvements and better solutions for basic human needs are at all-time highs.
Over the rim of my mug, the slithering parade of commuters seems to softly hiss what we’re all wondering: How much more can the East End handle?
As if disaster isn’t looming, the birds continue singing, just as we humans do. Due to its geographic isolation, seasonal tourist economy and skyrocketing cost of living, eastern Long Island has struggled for years with balancing the needs of part-time and year-round residents.
Now, many issues – housing, transportation, workforce and wages, food supply – have been punctuated by a pandemic that saw the most vulnerable members of our community pivoting for their livelihoods and their lives, while people of means migrated from the west to seek refuge here.
Kate Fullam: Breaking point for the East End?
The birds at my backyard feeder remind me that everyone has to eat. Some East End farms and food businesses pivoted quickly; some benefited from 2020’s early-season boom, and a continued demand for local nourishment that stretched throughout 2020. Food pantries saw an increase in demand and a donation spike, too, so critical at a time when children couldn’t rely on free school meals, and parents struggled to find work enough to provide basic necessities.
But what happens now? What happens next? Are we going to address the issues that got us here in the first place, or just keep singing?
The morning traffic on these residential streets is a reminder that the limits of our local food system are continually being tested. As a region, we must advocate for smart investments that incentivize local farmers to grow food, subsidize institutional purchasing of local food, enable more efficient local food processing and ensure equitable access for all stakeholders.
But how do we maximize food production while ensuring environmental protection? How can local businesses find the employees they need, and at what cost? What is a living wage for the local food workforce when housing is limited and too expensive? Is it even possible to incentivize food production while sharing the bounty with people in need?
And, yeah – what about all that East End traffic?
These are just a few of the questions that we’re asking people to consider. The East End Food Institute is working with the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute to gather feedback from a diverse set of food-system stakeholders, with the goal of ultimately presenting a shared vision to Long Island elected leaders and partners in New York City and the Hudson Valley.
Please learn more and attend upcoming one of our listening sessions. The more ideas we hear, the better.
Kate Fullam is the executive director of the East End Food Institute.
