Farm Alchemy: When $500 in Straw Becomes Food for 50 Families || with Kelli Foreman of the Last Small Farm in Kodiak, Alaska
When you think of farming, Alaska isn’t the first place that comes to mind. However our guest on today’s episode is an Alaskan dairy farmer on Kodiak island, who is an advocate for small farms staying small, especially in Alaska where most of the food that is consumed is grown elsewhere and shipped in.
Kelli Foreman grew up on a small farm in Nebraska, so she has always been familiar with the benefits of small family farms, but it wasn’t until she started a small farm herself, on a remote island in Alaska, where she realized the immediate importance of small farms feeding the local community. Kelli also emphasizes the lost art of character building when children are involved in family farming through the daily grunt work, as well as helping to make tough decisions about life or death of an animal.
In this episode, you will hear why small family farms are the backbone of a thriving society, how small farming is the answer to a lot of the world's questions like that of climate change, how Kelli ended up in Alaska as a micro dairy farmer, how her children are involved in the farming process, and how she serves her community through farming.
This episode is eye-opening and inspirational as it sheds light on the fragility of our food supply system and how we can overcome that on a micro, local level.
Make sure to tune in!
Topics discussed in this episode:
- Why small family farms are important
- Why small family farms are disappearing and the problems associated with it
- Why small farms are important to the health of our soil and the health of our food
- Kelli’s children’s involvement on the farm and the benefits of that
- Food scarcity in the small community on Kodiak Island
- How Kelli became a small dairy farmer in Alaska
- How Kelli juggles a full time job along with farming
- How the For Farmers grant helped Kelli feed 50 low income families
- How to vote with your dollar and make a difference in your community
- The types of animals Kelli has on her farm
Connect with Kelli Foreman
Website: https://www.thelastsmallfarm.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kodiakgoatdairy
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/p/Kodiak-Baptist-Missions-Heritage-House-100057517836538/
One Bite is Everything is the podcast formerly known as Talk Farm to Me (2019 to 2024)
One Bite is Everything Resources
Connect with Host, Dana DiPrima
Learn more about the For Farmers Movement
Other Resources
One Bite is Everything Production Credits
Production: Dana DiPrima and Sonia Dhillon
Sound Design & Original Music: Russell Chapa www.chapamusic.com