Category: Farmers Markets

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

5/1/2023

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.

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.

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Fueling Education through Food Future WNY: Meet Chris Hartman

3/1/2023

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You would be hard pressed to find a more "up-beet" person in the Western New York Food Regional Food System Initiative work than Chris Hartman. Yes, beets are his favorite food because of their underdog status in the food world, but his passion for educating people about the importance of how our food is grown and consumed is infectious.

Chris says he was always interested in teaching but not in a traditional classroom. During his senior year at Vassar College in the Hudson Valley, he landed the only internship he could find doing community-based education and it was at a farm run by three nuns. They allowed him to live there and learn the art of farming alongside them. He graduated, traveled a bit but was drawn right back to that farm to help it grow.

"Those were super formative years for me. Learning from the nuns how to feed the community in need around you while engaging youth in that process was such a privilege," said Chris.

After a few years on the farm, Chris was a newlywed looking to earn a master's degree and start a family with his new wife closer to home in Rochester, NY, all while keeping education and farming his north star. During grad school, he started a farmers market in his neighborhood. On opening day, he hoped for 60 people but 500 showed up. He knew there was an appetite for better understanding where your food came from and access to locally grown food. That led to another project where he created workplace-based delivery of fresh, local grown produce in downtown Rochester and he included local high school students in developing it. All of this eventually led to him starting Headwater, which sources food from over 200 regional family farms and businesses to distribute to individuals, families, chefs and institutional food service throughout New York State.

Chris' understanding of the interconnectivity of the food system made him an excellent candidate for the Regional Advisory Council (RAC) for Food Future WNY. A 9-county planning effort, led by the SCALE consultant team, to strengthen the region's food system to achieve resilience, equity, strong economic performance, and reduced food insecurity.

"I knew I wanted to participate in this effort right when I was asked because the SCALE team was made up of some of the most interesting national thinkers right now in the food system space," said Chris. "As I got into the work, I was impressed with the plan and the approach, it was methodical and disciplined and I appreciated that we made some adjustments at the halfway point."

Now that the plan is finished and the work is about to begin, Chris is cautiously optimistic for what may come next.

"The two working groups that I have been part of, Market & Buyers and Infrastructure, generated a lot of really great ideas and created some exciting networks that have been built on. My hope is that we continue to sustain this important work."

For more information on Headwater Food Hub:
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This storytelling project was made possible through funding from the WNY Foundation

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

Fueling Education through Food Future WNY: Meet Chris Hartman

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