Our History

The roots of Local Matters started as The Greater Columbus Foodshed Project (TGCFSP) in 2002, with a $200,000 food security grant from the USDA. It was part of a collaboration between Ohio Citizen Action, Innovative Farmers of Ohio, Stratford Ecological Center, Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, and Denison University, Franklin Park Conservatory and The Ohio State University. TGCFSP created over 20 community gardens for Head Start families and developed nutrition materials and cooking classes around locally grown food for inner city neighborhoods.

Two years later, the program moved under the umbrella of Simply Living, a Columbus-area 501(c)3 nonprofit. And this is where it stayed until 2007. Early in 2007, TGCFSP and The Central Ohio Chef-Grower Network merged and the name changed to Local Matters, for simplification and to expand the reach of the program. That summer, Local Matters was spun-off from Simply Living and applied for separate 501(c)3 status, which it received in April 2008.

Today, the Local Matters staff of thirteen drives its mission: to transform the food system to be more secure, prosperous, just and delicious! We believe the choice to grow and to consume local food has the power to affect social, economic and environmental change in our community. Local Matters offers three, synergistic programs to succeed in their mission: Farm to Fork, Urban Agriculture and Local Food to School which brings nutrition education to pre-school and early-elementary students.