assessing demand of culturally appropriate local foods
DESCRIPTION
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.