In regional news, Kansas is having trouble feeding itself. That’s deeply ironic, considering the state has long been seen as the nation’s breadbasket. A grassroots campaign is underway to prevent rural Kansans from going hungry. But state lawmakers aren’t doing much to solve the issue,reports The Hutchinson News.
Two bills that would have helped the problem succumbed to powerful ag lobbies last session. Meanwhile, a recent report from the Rural Center shows that Kansas consumers spend 90 percent of their budget on products grown outside this state. Kansas has millions of acres in farmland. The trouble lies in the fact that much of that land has gone to agribusiness and commercial crops. And these businesses don’t do much to feed everyday Kansans.
One answer involves promoting locally produced food. Access to local food is important because many western Kansas residents live in rural areas and small towns. And these citizens often don’t have a grocery store nearby.