What Do We Know About MoCo’s Food System?

Compiled Data and Preliminary Mapping from the MoCo

Food Council and its Partners

April 17, 2013

Thank you to our Food Council volunteer intern, Liz Ducey, Amanda Behrens and her colleagues at the

Center for a Livable Future, and the Food Council’s many volunteers who have worked to compile and map this

information

Background Data

Land UseThe County has a unique landscape with well defined rural, suburban, and urban areasWe are 491+ square miles or about 316,800 acres

93,000 of these acres are in the County’s Agricultural Reserve

106,735 or 37.8% of the County is zoned for traditional agricultural activities

56% of the County’s land is zoned for rural, low, medium, and high density residential communities and neighborhoodsThe remainder is zoned for commercial, industrial, mixed use, and office development

Cash grains are the predominant agricultural land use covering 48,000 acres and farms

217 of these farms produce table crops

Farms21.3% of the County’s land (67,613 acres) is in farms according to the Department of Agricultural Services

There are a total of 561 farms and 350 horticultural enterprises in the County

Farms employ more than 10,000 residentsOver 174 farms have annual sales of $10,000 or more

Montgomery County was home to 4% of all Maryland farms in 2007

In 2007, Montgomery County was ahead of Howard and Prince George’s Counties in number of farms, farm size, and farm value by sales

87 of our 561 farms (15%) had direct farm sales in 2007

Per capita food expenditures in 2007 were $683 for fast food, $728 in restaurants and $3 for direct farm sales

In 2007, the County’s farms sold $33 million in total agricultural products. Direct farm sales were $3 million of total sales.

Market for Local Food

$1,579,940,288 of these dollars where captured by the County establishments for a capture rate of 81%

In 2011, Montgomery County residents spent $1,948,933,012 at “foodservice and drinking places”

Food Retail

On the other hand, food and beverage stores captured 127% of consumer spending during the same period

In 2011, 5.1% of the County’s adults had diabetes. Adults over 65, women, and African-Americans have higher rates29.6% of adults ate fruits and vegetables five or more times per day in 2010

56.1% of adults were considered overweight or obese adults in 2011 compared to 51.1% in 2007

Health and Wellness

52% of the County’s food insecure residents were eligible for SNAP benefits

In 2010, 70,510 or 7.9% of Montgomery County residents were considered food insecure. Almost 34,000 of them were children.

Food Security

Statewide 12.8% of residents were considered food insecure. Nationwide this figure is 16.1% or more than 48 million residents

For 2012 to 2013, 33.2 % of the County’s 148,593 school children eating school lunch qualified for free or reduced lunches

In Feb 2008, 26,231 residents were enrolled in the federal food supplement program. In Feb 2013, 67,799 were enrolled

Food Security

42.9% of children eating school lunch qualified for free or reduced lunches statewide over the same period

What do some of theseand other data points on the food system look like?

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Other components of MoCo’s Food System:

Liz Ducey’s Maps

Additional DataOther data points we’re mapping right now include commercial kitchen spaces

Coming up: MVG school garden survey results

We can think of things we’re missing - what do you think?

Next Steps and DiscussionWorking with the County to find a permanent, accessible home for much of this information

Aspirations for mobile apps

Want to dig deeper into analysis? Join us at a Working Group meeting!

Your thoughts and ideas about what you’ve seen today, including near and long term applications

Montgomery CountyFood Council

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