assessing demand of culturally appropriate local foods

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A SSESSING D EMAND OF C ULTURALLY A PPROPRIATE L OCAL F OODS FOR E AST A FRICANS IN K ING C OUNTY Carolyn Foster, Dani Gilmour, Matt Wildey, Schell Liu Community, Environment and Planning, Autumn 2014 Professors Jill Sterrett and Branden Born

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Assessing Demand of Culturally Appropriate Local Foods for King County in Washington State amongst East African residents- primarily Somali residents. Published in Runta News:http://www.runtanews.com/2015/01/10/a-study-on-somalieast-african-foods-in-king-county/

TRANSCRIPT

ASSESS ING DEMAND OF

CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE LOCAL

FOODS FOR EAST AFR ICANS IN

K ING COUNTY

Carolyn Foster, Dani Gilmour, Matt Wildey, Schell Liu

Community, Environment and Planning, Autumn 2014

Professors Jill Sterrett and Branden Born

2

Table of Contents

Executive Summary | 1

Introduction | 2

Purpose and Scope | 4

Client and Audience | 5

Methodology and Results | 6

Additional Information | 13

Conclusions | 15

Next Steps and Recommendations | 17

3

Acknowledgments

Thank you to the following individuals for their guidance, support, and collaboration without which this

project would not have been possible.

Abdi Aden

Fresh and Green Produce

Andrew Stout

Full Circle

Branden Born & Jill Sterrett

University of Washington

Devon Love

Center for Multicultural Health

Erick Haakenson

Jubilee Farm

Kate Selting

Columbia City Farmers Market

Micah Anderson

Seattle Tilth Farm Works

Mohamud Yussuf

OneAmerica

Nicole Capizzi

Washington State Department of Agriculture

Nimco Bulale

East African Community Services

1

This project is designed to determine the extent to which demand exists for culturally

appropriate foods in King County that local farmers can produce and provide. This is a study to

support the Local Food Initiative in examining how King County can expand its local food economy

to develop a sustainable and resilient local food system, as well as increase access to healthy

affordable foods. We worked to identify the demand of fresh fruits and vegetables for people of

East African descent in South King County, and the feasibility of meeting that demand with locally

grown King County produce- with special focus on Farmers Markets as a retail outlet.

We surveyed a selection of the East African population to determine fruit and vegetable

demand then interviewed community contacts and farmers. As a result, we were able to compile a

list of the top 10 demanded vegetables and fruits. We then related key information from farmers

about supply capabilities. We conclude that the current demand is likely being met for fruits and

vegetables within this subset of the population. Integrating local produce through import

substitution is a possibility to further explore, but meeting demand for local produce through

farmers markets might not be the most effective method. This research is the first step in

developing a model of future study on the topic of culturally appropriate food availability within

specific cultural groups. This research could be conducted further to aid the Local Food Initiative in

understanding demands of the diverse diets of King County.

Executive Summary

2

King County wants to know the extent to which demand exists for culturally appropriate

foods (CAFs) among its residents that its farmers can produce and provide. An increase in culturally

diverse populations is forecasted for King County, and these aspects of food consumption and

production had not been researched before this study. This project is looking to identify the

demand of culturally appropriate“healthy”foods1, and determine the feasibility of meeting this

demand with locally produced products. Farmers markets are identified as a specific pathway to

consider when looking to bridge this supply and demand. Our team addressed these goals in

designing and carrying out our project: Assessing Demand of Culturally Appropriate Local Foods for

East Africans in King County. We worked to identify the demanded CAFs for East Africans in King

County, and explored the strategy of import substitution based on the viability of growing these

products for farmers in King County. The purpose of pursuing these answers is based on a recent

initiative to increase access to local healthy food by boosting the local agricultural economy in King

County.

Every year, King County spends $6 billion purchasing food. Unfortunately, less than 2% of

this purchased food is grown in King County. King County Executive Dow Constantine recognized

this issue and addressed it in June of 2014 with his Local Food Economy Initiative2. This initiative is

working towards bridging the gap between the productive and valuable farmland in our region and

the plates of King County residents. The initiative is framed to address the current discrepancy by

expanding our local food economy and improving healthy food access. An increase of locally

produced food will greatly bolster King County’s economy. With increased focus on affordable

access, this increase could also benefit lower-income communities of King County.

An advisory group of local stakeholders was created to address these goals and construct

the plan of action for this initiative. This group is called the “Kitchen Cabinet” and consists of

leaders in King County’s: agricultural community, grocery retail, restaurant sector, produce

distribution, farmland preservation, human service non-governmental organizations, academia,

local and state partner organizations, and community. This group began meeting in June 2014 and

concluded in November 2014. Their targets, strategies and action items are now published online in

draft form3. Overarching tactics to expand the local food economy include: increasing procurement

1 fruits, vegetables, meat/poultry, and dairy products 2 Local Food Initiative,” Last Modified October 30, 2014, http://www.kingcounty.gov/exec/local-food.aspx

3 DRAFT Targets, Strategies, and Action Items for the Food Economy Goal”, “DRAFT Targets, Strategies, and Action Items

for the Food Access Goal

Introduction

3

of local foods based on burgeoning interest from residents, tourists and food-related businesses,

reducing barriers for farmers to sell products locally, and preserving farmland from development as

the region grows. To increase access to healthy foods, the initiative seeks to increase local food

procurement via institutions such as schools, hospitals and jails; strengthen connections between

producers and food retailers; and partner with community organizations to promote health and

wellness.

Our project bridges both of these initiatives by investigating current demand and potential

increase in supply of locally grown healthy CAFs. Our project is also a baseline for future research for

East Africans in King County and other King County residents with identifiable CAFs.

4

Given the context of the Local Food Initiative, our group was specifically tasked with

focusing on expansion of the production and sales of CAFs that are demanded by the diverse

residents of King County. To make this task more manageable, we focused on one area of South

Seattle, one ethnic group, and two types of local healthy CAFs.

Since farmers markets are a selling space for locally produced foods, we wanted to focus on

an area of King County that had a farmers market nearby. This way, we could potentially meet the

demand with locally grown produce. We chose Columbia City because it is home to the furthest

south farmers market in Seattle, and is an area with well-known ethnic and racial diversity. Using

2010 Census Data (Appendix A) it was determined that percent Foreign Born Black or African

American was the highest ethnic percentage of nonwhite individuals in Columbia City. From there,

our client suggested that we further narrow our ethnic group to East Africans. We decided to

specifically look at CAFs that were fruits and vegetables because those items are most frequently

sold at farmers markets.

With this scope, our main objective was to determine the top 10 CAFs, specifically fruits and

vegetables, for residents of East African descent living in Columbia City. We later changed this to

include residents of East African descent living in South Seattle, as our connections led us beyond

Columbia City, and it became apparent that it was not significant for the study if individuals lived

specifically in Columbia City.

In addition to identifying the top ten culturally appropriate fruits and vegetables, we also

wanted to know if and where these residents purchase the determined fruits and vegetables. We

also sought to understand the feasibility of King County farmers to grow these fruits and

vegetables, and the feasibility of expanding the production if already being grown.

Purpose and Scope

5

Our client is Lilly Simmering, manager of the King County Department of Natural Resources

and Parks, which launched the Local Food Economy Initiative program. This program aims to

expand our local food economy, and improve healthy food access in low-income communities. We

were in regular contact with Lilly to keep her updated on our progress. We received detailed

information from Lilly during our first meeting, in addition to connections for us to collaborate with.

Our audience is the Kitchen Cabinet, which was appointed by Executive Constantine to

collect advice from private sector food economy leaders, farmers, and policy makers on developing

a local food economy agenda. Other stakeholders include King County farmers, King County food

policy makers, and relevant decision makers. The process of our project provides a methodology

framework for how to work with ethnic communities in the future. Our results and conclusion show

what East African communities living in Columbia City like to eat and give a sense as to where they

primarily obtain such foods. With this information, King County may look into assisting farmers on

growing or expanding production of the identified CAFs.

Client & Audience

6

Methodologies Explained

To determine the CAFs demanded by the East African community, we decided to directly

talk with community members. We surveyed a small sample of these community members to better

understand the community as a whole.

Next, we connected with contacts of multiple community organizations and conducted

interviews with them. These organizations work with the East African population as well as minority

and disadvantaged populations in Seattle. Our purpose of interviewing individuals at these

organizations was to give more context to the situation that exists within King County for the East

African community. Because we had more direct questions depending on each organization, an

interview was the proper method. This gave us an opportunity to discuss the results from the

surveys with community members and use information gleaned from both approaches to make

conclusions.

Finally, to match the demand found in the results of the community surveys to the local food

supply, we interviewed farmers in King County ranging from small to large scale. Based on their

agricultural experience based in Western Washington, these farmers generally represent agricultural

possibilities in the region accurately. We sent each farmer the same set of questions (shown in

section D), expecting relative replicability between each respondent.

For the most part, contacting these different groups happened on a step by step basis. Our

first step was contacting the community to assess their food demands, with this preliminary data we

triangulated our conclusions with anecdotal evidence from our key informants, and we then

interviewed farmers about these identified foods to understand the feasibility for local agriculture to

meet these demands. Through this entire process, we gleaned information beyond our original

questions which will be presented in the section titled: Additional Information. For the purpose of

this study, we focused solely on fruits and vegetables. In the next subsection, we will go more in

depth into our specific methodologies to address this need.

Intercept Surveys

We went through several iterations of our survey based on feedback from our client and

Nimco at East African Community Services. Input from Nimco provided insight into word choice, as

she speaks Somali. We conducted the survey in an intercept method- asking East African folks to

take a few minutes out of their activities to answer questions for us. Because of this, we knew that

the survey needed to be short, so that participants would be more enticed to engage. We also knew

Methodology and Results

7

that many of the respondents do not speak English as a first language, so assuring the questions

were simple allowed for greater comprehension. Our final survey is listed in Table 1.

Table 1. Survey of Food Demand by East Africans

1. What fresh fruits and vegetables do you eat often? Please name 10

2. Where do you typically purchase these fresh fruits and vegetables?

3. Do you shop at the Columbia City Farmers Market? Yes No

a. Why or why not?

4. What fresh fruits or vegetables do you want to be sold that are not sold?

5. If these fresh fruits and vegetables were available at the Columbia City Farmers Market would you

purchase them?

a. Why or why not?

6. Additional comments:

Survey Questions Explained

Our first question asked respondents to list vegetable and fruits that they eat. This opening

question has the highest value because it helped determine the demand. Question two was asked

where these fruits and vegetables were being purchased. This could potentially help us connect

demand to supply. Since the overall goal is for this supply to be grown within King County, it was

identified that a possible location of purchasing local produce was at the Columbia City Farmers

Market. Question three delves deeper into understanding the respondent’s relationship with the

Columbia City Farmers Market. Question four is designed to determine potential demand that is not

being met and where production could be increased. Finally, question five was asked to develop

one possible connection of local supply to demand at the Columbia City Farmers Market.

Locations

We conducted our intercept surveys at two different locations. Both of these locations were

chosen because of previous personal connections, proximity to our defined area, and direct work

with our population subset. The first location was East African Community Services. This

organization works with East African immigrants and refugees to provide support with their

transition to Seattle. One of the services they offer is after school tutoring. We set up an evening

where our team traded a few hours of tutoring children for the opportunity to survey their parents

when they came to pick their kids up. In this way, we were able to help respond to the needs of the

8

organization while also getting survey results. We tutored elementary aged children and when their

mothers came to pick them up, we spent five minutes talking through the survey with them. We also

surveyed some of the children and some of the East African tutors. Overall, we surveyed 13 adults

and 8 children at East African Community Services.

The second location that we surveyed was Fresh and Green Produce, an East African market

in Tukwila. We had a connection to the owner, Abdi, through our professor Branden Born. We were

able to come into his store and talk with him as well as conduct the surveys. Fresh and Green

Produce is located much further away from the Columbia City Farmers Market than is East African

Community Services. Because of this, we focused mostly on the first survey question. We were able

to stand in the store and ask customers if they would like to participate in the survey. Overall, we

surveyed 12 adults bringing our participants to 25 total. We recognize that this does not fully

represent the East African population in South King County, but there were enough similarities in

results to draw out some conclusions. The results of these surveys will be presented before moving

on to the rest of the methodologies for increased readability.

Intercept Survey Results

We surveyed 25 adults and 8 children (approximately under 12 years old) total. However, we

excluded the child data in our final analysis because of lack of decision making power and full

understanding of family purchases. However, it is still interesting to see how this data affects the

results, so they are included in Figure 1.

Fruit and Vegetable Demand

After removing the children, the total number of fruits and vegetables mentioned was 35.

However, since we surveyed at two different locations, we chose to represent only those fruits and

vegetables that had at least 4 listings. Appendix B lists the additional fruits and vegetables not

included in the figures. We believe that this gave ample room for at least one person from each

location to list that fruit or vegetable, giving more legitimacy to the result. We then limited the list to

the fruits and vegetables that we knew could be grown in King County’s climate in some capacity

(Figure 2). The top 10 demanded fruits and vegetables are: apple, carrot, grape, strawberry, broccoli,

potato, tomato, onion, spinach, and watermelon. When asked if there were any fruits or vegetables

that they did not have access to and would be interested in purchasing, none of the respondents

noted any fruits or vegetables that had not already been mentioned.

9

23 21 19 19 15 14 13 10 9 8 7 7 7 6 5 5 5 50

5

10

15

20

25

FR

EQ

UEN

CY

LIS

TED

FRUIT OR VEGETABLE LISTED

DEMAND OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES BY EAST AFRICANS IN K ING COUNTY :

ADULTS AND CHILDREN

F I G U R E 1

10 8 6 8 4 4 6 3 4 3

5

5

41

43 1

3 2

1

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

FR

EQ

UEN

CY L

ISTED

FRUIT OR VEGETABLE LISTED

Fresh and Green

Grocery

East African

Community Services

TOP TEN FRUITS AND VEGETABLES DEMANDED BY EAST AFRICANS IN KING COUNTY

F I G U R E 2

10

Retail Locations

We were able to ask all of the mothers at East African Community Services the questions

regarding purchasing locations of the foods listed in question one of the survey. We did not find

this question as insightful for the respondents at Fresh and Green, because we were at a potential

location. The mothers at EACS did list a variety of places (Figure 3) where they purchase their food. It

was clear that large supermarkets are the primary source of fruit and vegetable purchases for those

families. When asked directly if they shop at the Columbia City Farmers Market, two-thirds of the

women said they did during the summer when it was open.

Key Informant Interviews

We used purposeful sampling methods when interviewing community organization

contacts and farmers. We started by conducting interviews with key members of the community

who we believed to have insight into our research (Table 2).

Table 2: Key Informants

Contact Affiliation Action

Nimco Bulale Executive Director, East African

Community Services

In-person interview

Safeway

CostcoSam's Club

WincoFred Meyer

Walmart

Small Grocers

Farmers Market

FIGURE 3: RETAIL LOCATIONS FOR FOOD

PURCHASING TOP TEN

11

Abdi Aden Owner, Fresh and Green Grocery,

Tukwila

In-person interview

Mohamud Yussuf East African Organizer, OneAmerica In-person interview

These three key informants were able to bolster and further refine the information we

received in the surveys. All three were Somali and discussed their experiences with Somali diets. We

did not have a set of questions for these interviews beyond the same survey questions, but within a

half hour-hour conversation with each informant, we were able to expand on the subject.

Information from these interviews will be included in later sections of this report.

Farmer Interviews

King County has a number of farmers that are producing for the local economy. We were

able to interview three current farmers and one past farmer (Table 3) about the feasibility of

expanding the production of the desired fruits and vegetables. We contacted Micah Anderson,

Andrew Stout, Erick Haakenson, and Nicole Capizzi because of their current (or past) ownership of a

King County farm. Their combined experience represents small to large scale commercial organic

agriculture. We asked three questions prefaced with the list of the top 10 fruits and vegetables that

had growth potential in the county: apples, grapes, strawberries, tomatoes, watermelons, carrots,

broccoli, potatoes, spinach, and onions. Our questions were:

Can each of these crops be grown in an economically viable way?

Could we expand their production- are there particular challenges to doing this?

Do you market to diverse populations?

Our interview with Micah Anderson included additional questions pertaining to his direct work with

East African farmers at Seattle Tilth’s farm incubator program, Farm Works.

Table 3: Farmer Informants

Contact Affiliation Action

Micah Anderson Education Manager and Farmer,

Seattle Tilth Farm Works

Phone Interview

Andrew Stout Farmer, Full Circle Phone Interview

12

Erick Haakenson Farmer, Jubilee Farm Email Interview

Nicole Capizzi Organic Inspector, Washington

State Department of Agriculture

Email Interview

Farmer Interview Results

Through talking with these farmers, it was clear that all of the fruits and vegetables in

question were able to be grown in King County in some capacity. Whether this production is

economically viable proves more complicated. Carrots, broccoli, lettuce, and spinach are very well

suited for the climate of King County. Potatoes, strawberries, and onions can be grown but generally

prefer soils that are different than what exists in the majority of King County. Tomatoes and melons

can be grown with more infrastructural inputs like greenhouses. Finally, apples and grapes are

possible to grow, but tend to do much better in the climate of Eastern Washington. In terms of the

economic viability of producing these crops, it seems that the easier they are to grow, the more

viable they are. However, some types of produce like tomatoes, are crops that customers demand

despite the difficulty of growing in the area.

Supplemental Interviews

Beyond contacting the key informants and the farmers, we also talked to two other Seattle

community members who gave us valuable insight into the local food economy (Table 4). The

information from these interviews is supplemental to our results will be discussed in the following

sections. The questions asked in these interviews were free form depending on their organization

and affiliation with farmers and East African communities.

Table 4: Supplemental Interviews

Contact Affiliation Action

Devon Love Project Manager, Center for

Multicultural Health

In-person interview

Kate Selting Manager, Columbia City Farmers

Market

In-person interview

13

While all methodologies were conducted to further understand the fruits and vegetables

demanded by East Africans, where they are obtained, and their potential for local production, other

prevalent information was gathered throughout this project. It is important to note that while we

attempted to survey and interview a representative sample of the East African community in Seattle,

we ended up interacting with mostly Somali individuals. All three key informants interviewed were

Somali, and both locations where intercept surveys were conducted are popular locations for

Somali families. According to King County’s African Immigrant Project, the largest number of

African born immigrants who live in King County come from Ethiopia and Somalia4.

Key Informant Interviews

All three key informants emphasized the value of Halal meats to the East African community.

Nimco, of East African Community Services, mentioned that Somalis in general enjoy eating hearty

stews made with meats, rice, tomatoes, and onion. Mohamud, of One America and RuntaNews,

reiterated the popularity of making stews and also stated: “Vegetables are not valued in Somali

culture. It is all about meat and milk5”. Somali culture particularly values large animals--it is

considered strange to eat oysters and chickens because the entire body of those animals is eaten.

Somalis generally purchase Halal meat at Middle Eastern or Pakistani stores. Mohamud said he

wishes the US would import meat from Somalia, but he recognizes the possibility of that is slight

due to trade agreements. While Somalis are willing to travel and pay more for imported Halal meat,

they will not generally make a special shopping trip for fruits and vegetables, such as to a farmers

market, because vegetables are never the main ingredient of their dishes.

Abdi Aden, owner of Fresh and Green Grocery, mentioned that his most popular items are

Halal meat, particularly goat. When we visited his store, there was a sign advertising that every

Tuesday he has fresh goat meat to sell. The freezer in the back of the store had Halal meats shipped

all the way from New Zealand. While he had fruits and vegetables in his store, they did not seem

particularly fresh, and many customers were observed walking right past these choices to the frozen

section and other aisles.

4 Drs. Longondo Eteni and Robert Wood, 2003. “African Immigrant Project” Seattle King County Public Health 5 Mohamud Yussuf, interview by Carolyn Foster, Dani Gilmour, Schell Lu, and Matt Wildey, Seattle, WA, Nov 19, 2014

Additional Information

14

Surveys and Observations

During the intercept interviews, some participants who did not understand that we were

specifically inquiring about fruits and vegetables said meat and bread as foods they most often

consume. When the question was better understood, respondents mentioned fruits first, and

frequently had to be prompted to discuss vegetables.

We quickly learned how important Halal meat is to East African culture, particularly Somalis,

through interviews, observations, and surveys. While none of this information is necessarily

representative of the entire community, they still present important information for understanding

what foods are important to the East African immigrants in King County.

Social Components of Grocery Stores

At Fresh and Green Grocery, we also learned that there is a strong social component that

dictates where East Africans obtain food. In addition to being a grocery store, Fresh and Green

Grocery also offers a barber shop and a bank for electronically transferring funds to family members

in Africa. Many customers in the store were not rushing through in attempts to get in and out as

quickly as possible, as is so typical of American grocery stores; rather, many customers were taking

their time and chatting with one another.

Additional Information from Farmers

Interviews with farmers brought up additional information that was not necessarily pertinent

to our questions regarding economic feasibility of expanding production of demanded fruits and

vegetables. It was expressed that there are general barriers to scaling up the agricultural industry in

King County including a lack of pre-existing industry, infrastructure, and agricultural services

support. Specifically, there is a lack of farm labor supply; research support and seed accessibility; the

climate is challenging for growing certain warm weather crops, and there are high land prices and

building restrictions. The farmers who we interviewed had organic operations. Because of the

premium that accompanies organic production, none of the farmers made specific attempts to

market their produce to diverse populations or populations with lower-incomes. Some solutions for

these issues are discussed in the “Next Steps and Recommendations” section of this report.

15

Demanded Vegetable and Fruit Types and Availability

Our results did not reveal demand for any exceptionally unique culturally appropriate

vegetables and/or fruits that are not currently grown in King County. The top 10 demanded fruits

and vegetables identified were: apple, carrot, grape, strawberry, broccoli, potato, tomato, onion,

spinach, and watermelon. Some of these CAFs, however, might be more economically viable to

expand production in this region than others, including broccoli, spinach, and lettuce.

We also found that the demanded CAFs are generally available through traditional

supermarket outlets. When discussing supermarket shopping, we noticed that a minor concern is

quality and freshness. For example, Nimco Bulale described the Columbia City Safeway produce

section as poor quality. This was echoed by several mothers at East African Community Services who

participated in our survey. Based on our collected information, we concluded that the current

vegetable and fruit CAF demand is mostly being met, but may not necessarily be with high quality

produce.

Farmers Markets as Retail Outlets

When initially asked where they purchase their top 10 consumed fruits and vegetables, none

of the mothers who participated in our survey at EACS mentioned the Columbia City Farmers

Market off hand. They identified supermarkets as the primary point of sale for fruits and vegetables.

However, when prompted with the following questions, most participants knew of the Columbia

City Farmers Market, and 8 out of the 12 surveyed said that they shop at the market during the

season. We saw this as a possible opportunity for bridging the demanded CAFs of East Africans

residing in the Columbia City area with local produce. Inquiring why they did not shop at the

Columbia City Farmers Market more often was a difficult question to communicate because of

language barriers, and we did not feel that we received a concrete answer to base a

recommendation off of.

When we interviewed Mohamud Yussuf, we gained anecdotal insight into a possible answer

to this question. Mohamud told us that in general, traditional Somali cuisine does not incorporate

many vegetables. He said that it is a cultural attitude not to value vegetables or incorporate them

into meals. When it comes to fruit, the only highly consumed fruit is the banana. Bananas are

present at virtually every Somali meal. Based on previous knowledge of tropical fruit cultivation, we

assume this fruit cannot be provided through the Columbia City Farmers Market. In addition,

Mohamud said that convenience is highly valued- especially in modern Somali culture. For busy

Conclusions

16

families it is preferred to make a one stop shopping trip at a grocery store, as opposed to a farmers

market run for only vegetables and fruit. He also stated that modern Somali culture is shifting to

incorporate more vegetables- in an attempt to assimilate.

To conclude, we found that while demand for fruits and vegetables are being met by the

mainstream food economy, there may be concerns about freshness or quality of the offered

produce. Therefore, high quality local produce could improve quality if it is incorporated into

supermarkets in South Seattle. Also, through our project we learned of another need that might not

be being met: Halal meat.

17

Process

Our research methods can be summarized into a replicable process that can be used to understand

the dietary needs of other ethnic groups in King County. The steps for these methods include:

We met all participants at locations that were comfortable and convenient for them--we came to

their spaces to enhance our understanding of their needs and experiences.

We spoke with both community leaders and community members to obtain as complete a narrative

as possible.

We gave back to the communities we visited when applicable. For example, we tutored at East

African Community Services before we administered the surveys to students’ mothers.

We guaranteed follow up with our report so people who gave us their time to interview them can

see what they contributed to and our conclusions.

To determine where to survey and who to interview, we utilized existing relationships and

connections as a key entry point.

While we used a viable model that can be used with other groups, there are some

recommendations to be considered if this research is to be conducted again. These

recommendations were informed by our interview with Devon Love and our own reflections. They

include:

Conduct a deeper analysis of the community you are interested in before beginning field work.

There are many countries that constitute East Africa that have differing cuisine traditions.

Conduct the key informant interviews prior to the surveys to aid in survey design and to understand

the larger context. If our key informant interviews had been conducted before the surveys, we

probably would not have asked specifically about fruits and vegetables, and maybe could have

focused on Halal meat.

Consider methods other than intercept surveys such as focus groups. We were trying to speak with

people when they were busy with another task such as picking up their child or shopping which

limited the amount of attention and thought given to our survey.

If language barriers exist, establish a relationship with a member of the community who can work

with you throughout the project as a translator and interpreter. This might result in more honest

and better understood results.

Next Steps and Recommendations

18

Results

Halal meat production

Drawing from our results and other information collected, we recommend that King County

investigate raising, processing, storing, and selling Halal meats. This would require investment in

farmland, slaughter infrastructure and/or mobile slaughter units, and cold storage facilities. This

infrastructure could be collectively owned and function as an incubator for those who are interested

in learning skills related to food production. These investments would create jobs and protect land

from development. The produced meats could be sold at existing small local ethnic grocers that are

already main destinations for East African populations. The community interaction and additional

services offered at grocers such as Fresh and Green Produce may be difficult to replicate at another

selling venue. These meats could also be sold at farmers markets. In addition to selling Halal meats

at farmers markets, Kate Selting stated that another helpful addition would be providing vegetable

labels in Somali or other East African languages. This would be extremely helpful for those

populations to navigate the market.

Connections between local farmers and ethnic grocers

While the demanded fruits and vegetables are already largely available, the freshness of this

produce is of concern. It would be great to connect local fruit and vegetable growers to these small

ethnic grocers particularly in South Seattle. With this, an increase in farm industry infrastructure in

King County would ensure a fair market price for these goods. While Fresh and Green Produce

obtains their fruits and vegetables from Charlie’s Produce which is Washington State local, Charlie’s

minimum purchase requirements are often larger than the demand. Connection to local King

County fruit and vegetable suppliers that require a smaller minimum purchase would be a

worthwhile endeavor to ensure consistent freshness of the produce offered to consumers.

19

Appendix A

Appendix B

Additional Fruits and Vegetables

Lemon, Lettuce, Green Beans, Kiwi, Pears, Pepper, Pineapple, Sweet, Potato, Beans , Bell Pepper,

Cantaloupe, Cauliflower, Cilantro, Cucumber, Garlic, Lime, Papaya, Peach, Peas, Zucchini