The massive flooding in the Midwest is of such a scale that it can be difficult to imagine how to respond. There are now reports that the flooding will likely have a devastating impact on the Gulf of Mexico as well. As the flood waters travel down the Mississippi River, they carry nitrates from the fertilizers used across the Midwest’s now-flooded farmland. Upon entering the Gulf of Mexico, the nitrates will kill off fish in a wide area that is called a “dead zone.” While this dead zone is a recurring phenomenon, this summer it is expected to grow to an unprecedented size, probably over 10,000 square miles.

Given such wide-ranging effects, determining how to act is not easy. One Iowa resident, writing in Grist today, argues that part of our response should be a flood of support for local food businesses.

Kurt Michael Friese is the chef and owner of an Iowa City restaurant called Devotay, which takes pride in its use of locally grown ingredients. A section of his restaurant’s website highlights the community organizations it supports, including a women’s health clinic, a domestic violence intervention program, and the Slow Food movement. It advises:

“Remember that a community cannot thrive unless it supports its own, whether it is a commercial or a non-profit enterprise.”

In his posting on Grist today, Friese states that all of the downtown restaurants in Cedar Rapids were flooded, and around 32 restaurants in Iowa City were also affected. As he explains, the farms that supplied these restaurants will also be hurt from their disruption:

“The farmers who supply my restaurant and others have different dilemmas. Those who were directly affected are in recovery mode, cleaning up and hoping their fields dry out soon enough to get a last ditch crop in the ground. Those who escaped the floods are finding many of their customers out of business, homeless, or both. Any of the farmers markets that set up near any of the rivers, such as in Des Moines or Burlington, are closed — some for a week, some indefinitely.”

Friese advises that, in addition to donating to the Terra Madre Relief Fund set up by Slow Food USA, we concentrate our spending as much as possible on local establishments. By frequenting restaurants that survived the flooding in the Midwest, people can support their neighbors, including the restaurant employees as well as the farmers that supply their ingredients.

Friese’s words also apply to those of us outside the flood zone. When our communities face a crisis in the future, we will not be able to rely upon fast food chains or big box stores to revive our neighborhoods. The vitality of the places where we reside is maintained and expressed in part by our commitment to local businesses. To ensure the resilience of our communities, we should not only rally around local institutions when they are threatened by disasters such as floods, but also safeguard them today so that they will remain ongoing sources of strength.

Evan

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