2008 Essay Contest:
The Value of Locally Grown  Food

The Kerr Center invites all Junior and Senior High School students in the State of Oklahoma to participate in an essay contest. The subject of the contest is “The Value of Locally Grown Foods.”

The local foods movement is sweeping through our nation.  Local food systems are seen as a way to address food insecurity, failing economies, nutrition, obesity and community revitalization.  European countries have showed preference for local food purchasing throughout history and particularly since World War II. Oklahoma is making great strides in local food system development with such programs as Farm to School, farmers markets, “Buy Fresh, Buy Local,” and the Oklahoma Food Cooperative, but there is much room for growth.  Many questions arise, such as what is “local”?  Essayists may choose to define what a “local” purchase means to them.

Agriculture is Oklahoma’s second largest industry.  Essayists are invited to make a persuasive argument for growing local food systems in Oklahoma based upon their research. Essayist should discuss the benefits of local purchasing and compare and contrast those benefits with potential opposition to local food system development. Arguments may include such emerging issues as the economic sustainability of local food purchasing, the ecological benefits of preserving family farms and conserving fuels through reduction in transportation of product, or others.  Social impacts, such as increasing food security and improving nutritional intake and the health benefits thereof, may also be explored.

In their essays, contestants should compare and contrast the benefits and opposition to developing local food systems and develop a persuasive argument based upon their research.

This essay contest is designed to include young people in a thoughtful discussion of  solutions and current challenges facing our food system in Oklahoma.  The winning essays will focus on both sides of the issues with a strong conclusion.  The arguments and ideas in each essay should be well-developed.  Essayists will be asked to include their own ideas and convictions, as well as relevant research which could include personal interviews, print, media and website resources.

The contest will begin on January 30, 2008.  All essays must be addressed to the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture and received in the Kerr Center’s office by 5:00 p.m., March 28, 2008.  Winners will be announced on May 7, 2008.  GRAND PRIZE is a cash award of $750.00; 1st Runner up is a cash award of $500.00; and one award of $250.00 will be given for Honorable Mention.  Winning essays may be published in the Kerr Center’s newsletter, Field Notes, which is mailed to approximately 8,000 people quarterly .

For further information regarding the 2008 Essay Contest, you may contact Anita Poole at apoole@kerrcenter.com or by calling 918-647-9123.

RULES

All essays must address the stated target topic.

1. All contestants must attend or be affiliated with an Oklahoma high school to be eligible.
2. Maximum length of an essay is 1,000 words while minimum length of an accepted essay is 800 words.  Any essays that are submitted that do not conform to these requirements will result in disqualification without exception.  The Kerr Center reserves the right to edit the winning essays prior to publication in the Kerr Center’s newsletter.
3. All children and families of Kerr Center employees are excluded from the competition.
4. The essays will be evaluated by an independent committee and will be judged on specific criteria.  The criteria for judging will be: the development of ideas, overall use of good writing skills, attention to details and facts, the preciseness of presentation and the emotional responses evoked by the essays.
5. All essays should be typed and double spaced with a standard readable font.
6. All essays should include a title page which contains the participant’s name, address, school, grade, paper title and word count.
7. Each work must be original, and all quotes from other sources must be documented either in the body of the paper or in footnotes or endnotes.
8. You are not limited only to the resources provided, but remember, plagiarism will result in disqualification from the contest.
9. All essays become the property of the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture.
10. Recommended resources include books, magazines, news media, school personnel,  and personal contact with individuals either involved with agriculture or an interest therein.
11. Entries should be sent to Anita Poole, Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture, P. O. Box 588, Poteau, OK 74953.  Inquiries may be made to 918-647-9123.
12. Have fun, and remember that ideas you develop today may make a significant impact on the world of tomorrow.

Hints for Writing a Winning Essay

Persuasive writing is a style in which the writer is trying to convince the reader to agree about an issue that has more than one side. To write in the persuasive style, a writer must:

• acknowledge there are two sides to every controversial issue;
• list and arrange arguments in a logical manner; and
• refute the arguments of the opposing side.

Persuasive writing uses different techniques such as analogies, examples, definitions, compare/contrast, cause/effect and classification. If you have any questions about any of these techniques, please feel free to speak to your English teacher or other writing professionals.

Remember to write a balanced paper, organization is key. One way to organize your thoughts is to first develop an outline. Papers that are persuasive and well organized have a better chance at winning this contest.

Resources

"The Value of Locally Grown Foods"
2008 Essay Contest

The following list of potential resources is not intended to be exclusive.  Essay contest participants are encouraged to do further research to support the arguments presented in their papers.  The resources list provided was developed in part by executing searches on the internet for “food miles” and "renewable energy".           

RESOURCE LIST

Closer to Home: Healthier Food, Farms, and Families in Oklahoma          

Food Routes: Buy Fresh, Buy Local

Buy Fresh Buy Local Oklahoma

Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE)
(Access the SANET listserve and review archives.)

Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser.

AUC Researchers Find Farm-to-School Programs Shift Students’ Diets.
www.NOWFoods.com

More Colleges Buying Food From Local Farmers.
www.billingsgazette.com

A healthy partnership:  innovative farm to school programs address childhood nutrition.
www.goliath.ecnext.com

What is Farm to School?
Why Farm to School?
How Can You Get Involved in Farm to School?
How Can Farm to School Work in Different Climates?
www.farmtoschool.org

Food Miles
www.bbc.co.uk/food/food_matters/foodmiles.shtml 

Food Security: It Takes a Community
www.ecoliteracy.org/publications/rsl/mark-winne.html 

Buy Local
www.sustainabletable.org/issues/buylocal/    

Transforming Communities Through Locally Grown Food
www.energybulletin.net/39243.html

Oklahoma Food Cooperative
www.oklahomafood.coop/  
(Click on link for “About” for more information.)

Eating Locally Grown Foods can Bring Benefits (Oklahoman article)
newsok.com/article/3143474/1191893742

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