Mapping the Future of Niagara Falls' Food System: Meet Tom Lowe

If you ask where to find the region’s best shepherd’s pie, Tom Lowe will point you straight toward the kitchen of his childhood home in Niagara County--where his mother serves as executive chef. And if you need someone to point you toward where to buy all the ingredients from vendors local to the City of Niagara Falls, Lowe also happens to be the one in the know.  

Lowe, Project Director of the Niagara Falls Local Food Action Plan (NFLFAP) at Field & Fork Network, has a love for Niagara Falls and the greater Niagara County region that runs deep. Raised on a two-acre property surrounded by farmland in Northern Niagara County, Lowe grew up surrounded by access to bountiful farm stands and markets. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts in English at SUNY Fredonia, he returned to his roots and served as an AmeriCorps VISTA for Niagara University’s ReNU program. 

It was during this time that Lowe—a fundraiser for a community garden that supported an under-resourced elementary school in the city—began to ponder his own upbringing and further understand that the area’s food system in its current state is fundamentally flawed.  

​“This made me realize that I had a different experience growing up. I had access, and the kids I worked with didn't know that the tomato that they're using for meat sauce came in from the dirt—not just the corner store.” Lowe shared. ​

One year after his time with AmeriCorps, Lowe returned to ReNU as a Program Coordinator. He later became the program’s director, which led him to his current work heading up the Niagara Falls Local Food Action Plan.  ​

According to Field & Fork Network, the Niagara Falls Local Food Action Plan is the product of a one-year, resident-driven process grounded in the belief that all residents of Niagara Falls should have access to nutritious and affordable food. Further, this plan provides a framework of common goals and actions that serve to bring together residents, schools, community organizations, businesses, and local government in supporting a healthy, strong, and resilient food system. ​

Lowe asserts that identifying policy weaknesses and gaps, as well as recommending change at a local and municipal level, is the most sustainable way to address food system failures and improvements. “Our ultimate goal is to create ownership of the local food system to allow for residents to enter this space of owning their own food system,” he said. 
 
The NFLFAP became the official food plan of Niagara Falls in 2018. “I always joked that there wasn’t a whole lot of competition for that title. But it’s ours, and we’re proud of it.” Lowe noted with a smile. 

​For his expertise in the Niagara Falls and greater Niagara County food system and his gift of community building, Lowe was asked to participate on the Regional Advisory Council the WNY Regional Food System Initiative, now known as Food Future WNY.

​“I think it’s a great initiative, and the sky’s the limit with what we can accomplish,” Lowe said. “The right people are around the table.”  

At the core of what guides his work both in the NFLFAP and for Food Future WNY is the crucial focus on grassroots representation and leadership by those who are a part of the community it affects—especially those who face systemic exclusion and oppression.  
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He shared, “If [the food system] doesn’t represent the people it’s supposed to serve, it’s going to start prioritizing profits over people. Then, there’s no difference between the current food system and the one we’re working toward.” 

Select quotes have been edited for clarity.