Featured Board Member: Catherine Girves

Local Matters is fortunate to have a diverse, talented and passionate board membership. Each month I am going to highlight a board member and ask them some questions. Catherine Girves is a long time community organizer and passionate about improving the quality of life for citizens in Columbus,Ohio. She is the Executive Director of The University Area Enrichment Association. UAEA is involved with a long list of high impact programming: Community Gardening, Urban Farmers Market, Women's Leadership Committee(Women's Fund), Mentoring, Safety and Transportation initiatives, Bicycling Promotion, Litter and Graffiti Clean-up/Education/Mentoring with Offenders and ongoing partnering with community agencies, civic associations and events. Her work in our city is invaluable, inspiring and infectious.
I asked Catherine why she has decided to join the Local Matters Board? "I have many reasons, should I just list them? Ok, protecting the Local Food Shed spurs economic development and is good for the environment. We're taking fossil fuels out of the equation, because food doesn't have to be shipped so far. Safety. We are increasing the safety in our community by making us all less dependent on external sources. By increasing the access to healthy, locally grown foods and educating people on how to grown it, we're taking care of ourselves locally. This is empowering and benefits our city on many layers. Given all of these reasons, why wouldn't someone feel privileged to be a part of Local Matters? Access to healthy foods is essential to our collective wellness here in Columbus. That is the work that Local Matters is taking on and I'm fortunate to join in the movement.
I then asked, "How has your work with Local Matters and the healthy food movement effected you personally?" When I was 2 months old my parents moved to Columbus to manage The Jai-Lai Restaurant. I grew up surrounded by food, but my entire relationship was to serve it to others. When I did eat, it was quick and for utility. I remember seeing a Sci-Fi movie once that had tiny tablets that the characters took instead of eating. I remember thinking that would be fantastic! Many years later I worked at Alana's working with her catering business. This was where my understanding and appreciation of food changed dramatically. Alana is passionate about food and believes that if it is "prepared with love" it will taste delicious. She also strongly believes in buying and preparing foods grown locally. I was able to taste, smell and see a richness to locally grown foods. The flavor and color is much more intense when the food hasn't been shipped from across the world. I have learned to have an incredible appreciation and commitment to locally grown foods, not just for myself, but for the overall wellness of my community. Food is powerful and trans formative in all of our lives.