The power of research to unveil large scale system issues and opportunities in the food value chain
“Just a huge majority of respondents, like over 90% said, they would be interested in creating a coordinated effort to improve the transportation capacity within New Mexico. That’s resounding. [...] Improving coordination and collaboration and communication, even if it starts with only one system of transportation, opens up an enormous world of interconnectivity across the state, and system. And this isn't just agriculture, it is food in general. And that is overarching: it is a $6 billion dollar industry in this state. That is great jobs, it's better nutrition, it's better health, it's more food security - there are so many things that it can touch, that starts with one thing, which is something that that clearly a lot of people really want to become engaged and involved with, which is the transportation piece. And I think that this is a really good starter for building that network.” - David Sundberg
“I've appreciated some of the information coming out of this survey because we now have validation. You know, I think Erin, you knew of some of these challenges. David, you probably knew of some of these challenges. I don't work on a farm or in a restaurant. So I took your word for those challenges. And then you went out to the people doing the work. And they validated some of these challenges and spoke to it. And they also spoke about the positive asset that they have, which is a willingness to collaborate. And so I think that is a very encouraging note to hear. And I think the survey was helpful, in my opinion, because it provided a sense of greater certainty that, you know, we're on the right track, we're trying to address the right things. So that these people, the growers, entrepreneurs, can get the support that they need. We could go out and develop all sorts of programming - I can think of a lot of wild ideas - but is it actually going to meet the entrepreneurs where they're at? Probably not. But this survey is one of the first steps I feel like to really help us understand what actually needs to be addressed, and what we need to work on. So yeah, I'm excited about it, I think it was a very fun project. And I'm excited to see the work we build off of it.” - Alex Fitzgerald