Mapping the Minnesota Food Industry Crossroads Resource Center
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Crossroads Resource Center 7415 Humboldt Ave S/ Minneapolis, Minnesota 55423 / 612.869.8664 <[email protected]> <www.crcworks.org/> Tools for Community Self-determination Mapping the Minnesota Food Industry Prepared for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Center for Prevention By Kenneth A. Meter, MPA Crossroads Resource Center October 7, 2009 Mapping the Minnesota Food Industry — Ken Meter, Crossroads Resource Center — October, 2009 Mapping the Minnesota Food Industry Table of Contents I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................................3 II. SNAPSHOTS ..................................................................................................................................................................9 DAIRY..............................................................................................................................................................................9 VEGETABLES...............................................................................................................................................................12 BEEF...............................................................................................................................................................................17 APPLES ..........................................................................................................................................................................20 III. ECONOMIC CONDITIONS ....................................................................................................................................23 IV. HOW THE MINNESOTA FOOD SYSTEM WORKS .........................................................................................47 LEADERS IN THE EMERGENT MARKET...............................................................................................................49 Coastal Seafoods .......................................................................................................................................................49 Cooperative food trade..............................................................................................................................................51 Sodexho Minnesota....................................................................................................................................................55 Sysco...........................................................................................................................................................................56 V. APPENDICES..............................................................................................................................................................68 APPENDIX A: GROCERS SUPPLIED...............................................................................................................................68 APPENDIX B: COOP SOURCES......................................................................................................................................70 APPENDIX C: LUNDS & BYERLY’S SOURCES..............................................................................................................73 APPENDIX D: GROWERS..............................................................................................................................................74 APPENDIX E: SEASONS................................................................................................................................................75 APPENDIX F: DOMESTIC MARKETS & IMPORTED PRODUCE......................................................................................76 APPENDIX G: INTERVIEWS ..........................................................................................................................................80 SPECIFIC MINNESOTA FOOD FIRMS .................................................................................................................80 PRODUCERS ............................................................................................................................................................80 PROCESSORS ...........................................................................................................................................................86 DISTRIBUTORS ........................................................................................................................................................90 DINING ESTABLISHMENTS ...................................................................................................................................95 RETAIL GROCERS ...................................................................................................................................................98 — 2 — Mapping the Minnesota Food Industry — Ken Meter, Crossroads Resource Center — October, 2009 Mapping the Minnesota Food Industry I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Healthy eating has economic implications, and is also limited by economics. It is shaped by historical trends, and by the physical, knowledge and policy infrastructures that uphold our food systems. This paper is an effort to provide a road map that can guide the reader through the complexity of these overlapping arenas. It is informed by systems thinking, financial summaries, and historical insights — yet at its core it draws closely on the comments of “wise practitioners” who know the food industry from direct day-to-day experience. As a systems view, this analysis depends upon several key insights: (1) that different understandings of the same system will be constructed from diverse viewpoints. It is necessary to adopt several points of view to have any satisfactory notion of the system’s workings; (2) that important lessons are, in particular, to be learned at the margins of the system; (3) that time-series data is a potent tool in identifying trends over time that show how the system is adapting, and what it exchanges with its environment; and (4) that wise practitioners will often have the best insights into deeper system dynamics. This analysis also assumes that system “levers” exist at which significant shifts in the system can be made. It would be most accurate to state that Minnesota has multiple, overlapping food systems — that interact with local, regional, national and global systems encompassing ecology, climate, geography, populations, commerce, finance, trade, and a multitude of other issues. To draw a boundary around these, and to call this the “Minnesota food system,” is fairly arbitrary. Yet this choice of boundaries does allow us to simplify our discussion of food in Minnesota. From an economic perspective, this statewide analysis shows that by any measure, food is important to the Minnesota economy. State households buy more than $12 billion of food each year, supporting a variety of farms, processing, and distribution firms, though not necessarily firms inside state boundaries. Minnesota’s 80,000 farms, and 17,000 food-related businesses, support 101,000 farm operators, and hire a combined 316,000 employees who earn $7.8 billion of wage and farm income. Of the state’s top 20 manufacturing firms, seven are food manufacturers and distributors. These seven earn $114 billion of revenue each year — 65 percent of all sales made by the state’s leading firms. The seventh largest farm state in the U.S., with $13 billion in farm sales, Minnesota has an ideal growing climate for a variety of farm products, and holds an enviable position in global trade due to its financial prowess and access to transportation. Harsh winters do limit the growing season, and prevent many delicate crops from being commercially viable. Yet these same winters also reduce the number of potential pests, since many pathogens and insects do not survive the cold months. Most vegetables and animals can be raised here, along with many grains and fruits. Yet with all of this prowess, food also poses critical dilemmas to the state. Two of every three Minnesotans are overweight. Nearly a third of all residents are obese. The Centers for Disease — 3 — Mapping the Minnesota Food Industry — Ken Meter, Crossroads Resource Center — October, 2009 Control estimates the costs of treating obesity-related diseases in the state to be $1.3 billion — and other researchers report twice those costs. Food-related medical conditions have become a leading cause of death. Although mortality rates for diet-related diseases in the Twin Cities are among the lowest for metro areas in the U.S., only 24% of adults eat the recommended five servings of fruit and vegetables per day. Moreover, many Minnesotans do not experience “average” health rates. This is particularly true among populations the Center for Prevention has slated for priority attention. Death rates for African-Americans with cancer or heart disease in the metro area are 20% higher than for Whites, as the Big City Health Inventory shows. Low birthweight babies are 80% more likely in African- American households than in White homes. Hispanic homes, on the other hand, have the lowest rates. Mortality from diabetes is also higher among priority populations. Simultaneously, hunger is pervasive. Over 929,000 residents (19% of the population) earn less than 185% of the federal poverty level — barely a living wage — and the level at which public school students qualify for free or reduced-price school lunch. Although these low-income