Homegrown ― Stories from the Farm

Throughout the United States, the raising and consuming of locally grown foods is increasing as more and more informed and discriminating consumers avail themselves of the fresh, flavorful, nutritious foods that are once again being raised and produced on local, usually small farms. This interdependence allows consumers and growers to share improved health and financial benefits of quality local production, and for community bonds overall to be strengthened.Homegrown explores this rapidly accelerating phenomenon of local food production and marketing through the eyes, minds, and actions of six small-farm families who have committed themselves to producing locally grown food in Ohio. Why have these families chosen to enter the local-food production economy, what risks and challenges do they face, what satisfactions are they realizing from their participation in local markets and other locally produced food-distribution efforts, and what are the future prospects of their endeavors? Accompanying each of these six chapters is a sidebar that describes an important aspect Ohio's environmental and agricultural history and its suitability for continued agricultural productivity and participation in the locally grown foods phenomenon. Collectively, the essays in Homegrown provide a snapshot of the present status of a fast-moving process as revealed by six active participants in one small geographic region of the country.

When she was just a young girl, Evelyn Hoyt Frolking's parents moved their family from the rural suburbs of Columbus to a 120-acre farm just outside of Granville, Ohio. She received her BA in Education, with a major in English and Journalism, in 1970, and her Masters degree in Journalism in 1983 — both degrees from The Ohio State University.From 1972 to 1989, she taught English, Composition, and Journalism at high schools in Johnstown and Newark, Ohio, and taught for one year as a William Fulbright Teacher in Maastricht, The Netherlands. In 1989, she became head of the independent Welsh Hills School in Granville and remained there until 2003. During her career in education, Evelyn received many awards for her work. Outside of education, Evelyn's curious mind led her into freelance writing. She also has studied European floral design and, in 2003, she opened her own home-based floral design studio, aptly named Artiflora, in Granville.Tod Frolking, Evelyn's husband, is a professor of Geosciences and the sole Geographer at Denison University. He received his BA in Geography from the University of New Hampshire in 1973, and a joint Ph.D. in Geography and Soil Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1985.Evelyn and Tod live in Granville, Ohio, where they are active in the vibrant and growing local foods phenomenon