Jones who heads Local Matters said food is something that can bring people together to address tough issues.

As for a definition for ‘local food’, he said “ the best working definition that I can give you from Local Matters’ perspective would be to eat food grown as closely (as possible) to the place where you live. For some people that’s their backyard. For some other people, it’s a farmers’ market.”

Jones suggests not using a definition based only on geography or mileage.

“We used to talk about local as being food from Ohio…But if you only talk about food in Ohio and you live in northeast Ohio, local food for you may be right across the border in Pennsylvania.”

Jones said he and his colleagues with Local Matters have found that people in communities in need--where there are 'food deserts'-- often are more focused on getting more healthful food for themselves and their families than they are focused on whether or not the food is local.

Jones said for people in such communities, it makes sense to bring in food that is healthier than fast food, even if the food is not local.

“Then what we can do is try to make as much of that food as local as possible.” Jones said there needs to be many strategies for improving access to healthful food for communities in need.

“In some cases, that’s people growing there own food. In some cases that’s community gardening. In some cases, in might be larger food production opportunities within a community itself. It might be a subsidized farmer’s market.”

A couple of years ago, Local Matters began using its Veggie Van as a mobile farmer’s market in various locations in communities in need of access to fresh, healthful food.

Local Matters sells the food as close to the cost they paid to local farmers. When people buy produce through the Veggie Van or through the Greener Grocer, the Ohio DIRECTION card can be used.

In this episode we interview local street artist Malcolm J. He has received wide recognition for his political drawings and Columbus city scapes.

On December 21st Simply Living officially transferred its license to operate WCRS-LP 102.1 and 98.3 FM to The Neighborhood Network, an assignment approved by the FCC in early November. “The commitment and contributions of our volunteer personnel have been powerful testimony to the importance of community radio. It is a miracle that our station has reached this point, and it is also a testament to the tenacity, hutzpah, and perseverance of everyone involved,” said Marilyn Welker, director of Simply Living.

For community radio to serve its listenership, broad community support is needed. We especially honor and thank the following agencies and people for their outstanding contributions:

City of Columbus and the Community Relations Commission;
Java Kitrick and the Puffin Foundation
Mark Kitrick and the law firm of Kitrick, Lewis & Harris
Comfest and their Grants Committee;
Used Kids Records;
Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism;
Peter Doyle and the Audio Division staff at the FCC for their due diligence in wading through reams of paper related to our timeshare agreement and their unswerving commitment to see low power community radio reach its potential.

Photo by Ness Mayker

featuring the smash hit remake of "Laàyoun Aynia" by Jil Jilala ft. Douzi & David Picollo from Morocco

For Zouk, Kompa, Kizomba, and Semba Lovers Only!