Thanks to voices like those of nationally known authors Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser, and Barbara Kingsolver, along with film producers Robert Kenner and Curt Ellis, among others, consciousness of t
Thanks to voices like those of nationally known authors Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser, and Barbara Kingsolver, along with film producers Robert Kenner and Curt Ellis, among others, consciousness of the food we eat, where it comes from, what has been done to it, and what it does to us is growing. Granville, Ohio, journalist, writer, educator, and business owner Evelyn Frolking has written a new book which puts a "pin on the map" to look at a small section of the country where the food movement has come to life through the voices of those who are growing and producing real food, the farmers. Issues like distribution, seasonal expansion, capital investment, land ownership, labor, and many others are revealed through the voices of these ordinary people who find themselves caught up in a movement they don't necessarily realize they had a part in starting, but one they embrace. The book is a collection of six stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things within a lively growing local food movement in Ohio. Evelyn explores why they do it: what drives them to farm in a culture that, until recently, has almost totally dismissed them as little more than hobbyists, or worse. And are they making a difference to their communities and themselves, each in their own personal way and collectively as a growing constituency? This is the overarching story told against the backdrop of the efficient, but flawed, industrial food business that is proving itself unethical, unhealthful, and unsustainable. The six subjects of the book include: Ann and Tom Bird and their family of Bird’s Haven Farms, Granville, OH; Tom and Emma Stout of Osage Lane Creamery, Pataskala, OH; Erin Harvey of The Kale Yard, Granville, OH; Kathy and Rich Harrison of Skipping Stone Farm, Utica, OH; Mike and Laura Laughlin of North-ridge Organic Farm, Johnstown, OH; and Warren and Victoria Taylor of Snowville Creamery, Pomeroy, OH. A side bar written by Tod Frolking, accompanies each story adding historical, geologic, and economic depth. Professional photographer Gary Chisolm worked with Evelyn to develop photographic illustrations. Maps will also be included, along with appendixes and references.
When just a young girl, Evelyn Hoyt Frolking's parents moved their family from the suburbs of Columbus to a 120-acre farm just outside of Granville, Ohio, where farmers around them were growing and producing food. During those years, she remembers drinking fresh-from-the-cow milk and eating her first brown egg. Although her parents weren’t farmers, she grew to cherish rural land and the lifestyle it offered. Today, she lives in Granville on six acres where a large garden and her small flock of chickens provides fresh healthy food. Evelyn is an educator, writer, and small business owner. She received a master’s degree in journalism from The Ohio State University and after a career of teaching English and Journalism in area schools and eventually directing Granville’s independent school, she became an instructor at Denison University where she currently teaches writing to first year students. During her career in education, Evelyn received many awards for her work, most notably a William Fulbright award to teach English in Maastricht, the Netherlands. She also writes for college alumni magazines, and local newspapers and magazines. While living in the Netherlands, Evelyn became fascinated with their floral industry and returned to study European floral design. In 2003, she opened Artiflora, (www.artifloragranville.com) her own home-based design studio. She continues to study floral design abroad. Tod Frolking, Evelyn’s husband, is a professor of Geography in the Department of Geosciences at Denison University. He received a joint Ph.D. in Geography and Soil Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Tod’s research interests include late glacial and river environments of central Ohio, geoarchaeology, and more recently the study of agricultural ecosystems linked to soil carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. He has traveled widely, often to rural areas with an interest in how people use the land. A former board member of the Licking Land Trust, Tod remains active in the preservation of rural landscapes.
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