My previous posting presented ideas for a local food system in the Worthington Hills area. Ideas are necessary, but insufficient to drive the development and execution of a sound business plans. Vision gives ideas purpose, energy, and persistence over time. Vision is what's possible when assumed conditions are met, yet it remains responsive to the unexpected along the way toward fruition.

Questions are used to add clarity to the vision, provide a certain adaptive quality as stakeholders transform the vision into reality, and garner widespread support for the subsequent business plan as it is developed and executed. The vision for Worthington Hills appears as a series of six questions:

• What if 10% of the homeowners in Worthington Hills area each dedicated 400 sq. ft. of their current urban agriculture operation to food production (this would equal approximately one acre of land)?
• What if the demand for fresh food from local residents, the Worthington Hills Market, and local restaurants was met in large degree by food production in the Worthington Hills area?
• What if a sufficient number of one-acre increments are added to the production mix so that more residents become local food producers and consumers and at least 10% of retail food sales--goal designated by the Food and Society program initiated by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation--among Worthington Hills residents is for neighborhood-supplied food?
• What if the distribution of inputs, delivery of harvested goods to point of sale, and conveying of operations personnel were done by electric-drive vehicles so that there was NO emissions and the carbon footprint for logistics was zero?
• What if all food production operations, including recharging the batteries on electric-drive vehicles, was powered by renewable energy sources such as wind and solar?
• What if by 2015, Worthington Hills became the first neighborhood in central Ohio to achieve the 10% local food goal, AND exceeded the 12.5% renewable energy goal established by the newly-enacted Senate Bill 221 on Ohio Renewable Portfolio Standards AND retrofit 1% of the homes to meet LEED-certification?

Now, THAT'S a vision!

In a previous posting, "Business Plans and Grant Proposals for Local Food Systems" I mentioned that the role of the OLFSC is "to help members develop plans for local food systems that engender widespread participation, integrated modules, start at zero, and consider that competition is not a factor, and get them in play." Does this vision for the Worthington Hills area pass the test? It is about local food systems, it engenders widespread participation, it integrates modules for green building, renewable energy and local food production, it pushes for zero in critical metrics for carbon emissions, and the opportunity to cooperate and collaborate is open for all. Meets the criteria; but...

Is it doable?

I don't know. So, let's find out. This is the where the business planning comes into play. The next postings will focus on developing such a plan. Your input, perspective, and questions are greatly appreciated. And, you are more than welcome to posit your ideas. Together, we will make significant strides in the implementation of local food systems. Thanks in advance for your collaboration with me and the opportunity for me to collaborate with you!