Tag Archives: Community

Engaging with local food communities

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… from The Cord

Going local on food systems

Laurier professor urges students and locals to engage in their local food communities rather than getting food from abroad

James Shin  Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Behind the plates that get served at our tables every day, there are intricate infrastructures and economies that control how and where food is produced, processed and distributed. According to Alison Blay-Palmer, an associate professor of geography and environmental studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, this current food system may not be the most favourable for our local communities. Read more …

Fortnightly Feast vol. 3

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2nd Annual UVM Food Systems Summit – June 2013
This June, UVM’s Food Systems Summit will be the venue for intense examination and exchange of ideas, knowledge, and practical skills. A valuable part of the summit is the The Necessary [r]Evolution for Sustainable Food Systems Conference on June 27.
Read the full story…

5th AESOP Sustainable Food Planning Conference
The next AESOP Sustainable Food Planning Conference will be held October 28 and 29 in Montpellier France. The main theme of the 2013 conference is ‘Innovations in Urban Food Systems’.
Read the full story…

Regional Sustainable Food Systems Coordinator (Oxfam)
Climate change, lack of access to agricultural markets, and financial resources, high food prices, dispute for natural resources, and gender discrimination issues are just some of the factors preventing a fair and sustainable food system for the people of Latin America. And with the aim to find lasting solutions to poverty, Oxfam is working hard to make a difference. Shaping plans and putting them into action, you’ll help us to help people to help themselves. Read the full job posting…

Waterloo Region Food Charter
Vision: A healthy, just, and sustainable food system is one in which all residents have access to, and can afford to buy, safe, nutritious, and culturally acceptable food that has been produced in an environmentally sustainable way, and that supports our rural communities. Such a food system promotes social justice, population health, and profitable farms, reflects and sustains local culture, and supports ecological viability.
Read the full Charter…
Endorse the Waterloo Region Food Charter…

More Money For Food Hubs in New York State
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The state is making $3.6 million available for the creation of four new food distribution centers that link small farms and growers to large buyers.  New facilities are proposed for the North Country, the Mid-Hudson Valley, the Finger Lakes and Central New York.  So-called “food hubs” were a major topic of discussion at a recent Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group conference at Saratoga Springs City Center, with more than 400 people on hand from Maine to West Virginia.
Read the full story…

Cooperative Community Shops
Community-owned village shops continue to be one of the leading success stories of the UK co-operative and social enterprise movement. In 1992 there were just 33 community-owned shops; 20 years on there are 303, with a further 20 anticipated to open by the end of 2013. Read the full story…

Home-grown food part of a new vision of urban development
Cities feeding themselves is an idea that is gaining traction. In Burlington, Vermont, more than 8 per cent the food consumed by residents is grown within the city limits.
Read the full story…

USDA Releases Report on the Growing Importance of Food Hubs in Rural America
…”The dramatic increase in the number of food hubs since President Obama took office has been supported by state and federal efforts including USDA programs like Rural Business Enterprise Grant, Rural Business Opportunity Grant, Value-Added Producer Grant, and the Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program.”  Read the full story…

Exploring New Possibilities in Land Tenure
Partner wanted for new farm
We’re looking for a farm couple / farmer with experience in any of vegetables, berries, fruit, mushrooms, medicinal herbs and / or livestock to help re-create a farm, preferably using permaculture / biodynamic principles, on this 150-year-old former dairy farm. It ís 200 acres, about 50 acres pasture / meadow, most of the rest forest, in East Meredith, NY (Delaware County, near Delhi / Oneonta).
There ís plenty of water, sun and worms. The barn burned down. The land is organic (unofficially). Would like to develop a relationship beginning with rent or lease, leading to some kind of cooperative arrangement.
This is a unique opportunity for the right people to establish an operation from scratch. To discuss possibilities, please call Carl Arnold at 718 788 5944 or 607 278 5820, or e-mail resume and letter to carlarnold at mac.com

Metro Toronto Convention Centre and Local Food Procurement (YouTube video)

… and finally

Urban Food Strategies Webinar: Foodlinks European Research Project.
In Foodlinks we are analysing and engaging in knowledge brokerage activities and creating effective linkages between scientists, civil society actors and policy makers, to promote research and practice on sustainable food systems. To achieve this, Communities of Practice (CoP) were established in different themes, one of them revolving around Urban Food Strategies, where we are tackling the rise of municipalities and city-regions as food policy makers, pointing to new relations between the government and civil society.
In the framework of this work and jointly with Purefood European Project, we are holding a webinar on Urban Food Strategies to explore recent and ongoing research in this field.

The webinar will take place on 12th of March 2013, 15:00 – 16:00 (GMT)

After a brief introduction by Professor Kevin Morgan, Jessica Jane Spayde and Jess Halliday will present different structures and governance approaches that urban food strategies (UFS) and food policy councils (FPC) use in working toward sustainable urban and peri-urban food systems.
Jessica Jane Spayde will discuss the key roles UFSs and FPCs play in urban food systems. She will also discuss the ways in which UFSs and FPCs are focusing on integrating and facilitating between civil society, government, and the private sector. They also are using their positions to raise awareness of the problems in the food system, which helps create a culture where people are more likely to demand sustainability changes from governments and private food companies.
Jess Halliday will explore how each urban food strategy is enabled and/or constrained by its multi-level governance context. Using examples from her own research on UFSs in England she will set out a framework consisting of factors that can affect the ability of a strategy to meet its own objectives. She will explain how it can be used to draw comparisons between strategies in very different governance settings, and can be used to help cities formulate strategies that are context appropriate.
After the presentations, there will be an interactive Q&A session moderated by Dr. Ana Moragues Faus.  Please join us for this exciting event.
Register here:   http://www.anymeeting.com/PIID=E953DA83824931
If you have any queries about the webinar or the Foodlinks project please get in touch: MoraguesFausA1 at cardiff.ac.uk
For more information visit: http://purefoodlinks.eu
https://knowledgehub.local.gov.uk/web/foodlinksurbanfoodstrategies

 

Fortnightly Feast

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3 Upcoming Webinars:

Food Hubs – The Missing Link for Farm to Cafeteria

Farm to Cafeteria Canada‘s “Dig In” webinar series, in cooperation with the Ontario Farm to School Challenge, are pleased to bring you an exciting opportunity to learn about local food hubs serving the needs of school food programs. Julia Erlbaum, Founder and Principal Consultant at Real Food Colorado, will discuss her experience with existing food hub models and programs that support schools’ ability to access and use more locally-grown food.

This webinar will be held Tuesday, February 19, 2013 at 3pm and will be 30 minutes long. To register, please go to Sustain Ontario‘s webex site

 

Land and Site Management

Join the National Incubator Farm Training Initiative (NIFTI) for a webinar on managing shared infrastructure and incubator sites. Partners from the Intervale Center, the New American Sustainable Agriculture Project, the International Rescue Committee and the Minnesota Food Association will discuss a wide variety of topics including leasing land, soil fertility management, infrastructure development, urban farming initiatives and general site maintenance (budget, staffing, etc.).

This webinar is designed for those interested in or already operating land-based beginning farmer training programs. We will include ample time at the end for participant questions.

Please note, a recording of this webinar will be available online afterwards at https://nifti.wikispaces.com/Webinars.
Title: NIFTI Webinar 5 – Land and Site Management
Date: Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Time: 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM EST

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now

 

Webinars on Social Enterprise for Nonprofits

February 27: Intro to Social Enterprise and Earned Revenue Strategies for Nonprofits
(presented in English at 10:30am and French at 1:00pm)

Is your nonprofit interested in generating funds that aren’t designated to a particular project?  Is your organization already exploring business ideas?
Are you a social entrepreneur with an idea for a community enterprise?
Are you wondering if your business idea is feasible?

The Rural Social Enterprise Constellation (RSEC) is pleased to present our Social Enterprise Webinar Series, beginning on February 27.  This series is sponsored by the Rural Social Enterprise Constellation (RSEC) of the Ontario Nonprofit Network and will be of particular interest to rural nonprofit leaders and social entrepreneurs.  For more information about the RSEC Project visit Rural Social Enterprise Constellation

Registration will open on February 1

 

Abbey Gardens: the Haliburton County Food Hub

“The Food Hub will retail local food products from our Gardens and from local partner growers, bringing Convenience to local food shopping and increasing the distribution capacity of our local food supply systems.”

 

“Sustainable Foods Summit Calls for Greater Supply Chain Efficiencies”

…offering large and small-scale adaptations to improve sustainable outcomes

 

The rise of Generation Y in the sustainable marketplace

Often considered to be “born green” because they grew up in a society where eco-consciousness was becoming a norm, and often to baby boomer parents who founded the environmental movement, it is only recently that Generation Y has begun to show leadership in the sustainable marketplace.

 

Althaea Herb Farm Barter and Volunteer Positions for 2013

Althaea Herb Farm is located 1/2 km. outside of Guelph, ON and is accessable by bus, walking or car-pool.
There are 2 positions on offer this year:
# 1 – Barter positions – 5 hrs. / wk. commitment. Trade your labor for plants, fresh herbs, dried herbs, tinctures, etc.
# 2 – General Volunteers – agree to be on phone / e-mail list and they’ll call / e-mail when they need help.
Get in touch for more details.

 

Greenbelt Fund Green Papers — Volume 4

Access: Identifying Processed Food Origin

 

FarmOn: A Community of Social Learning

“Some say you can’t make a living faming: we respectfully disagree.”

 

… and for something completely different:

Horse meat – the hardest thing to digest is that it’s your fault

Fortnightly Feast

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Our biweekly roundup -from across the internet- of the interesting, the relevant, and the merely peculiar.

Try My Maccas: A short film
This Aussie marketing campaign from MacDonald’s has sparked a prolonged discussion on the Sustainable Foods Network: “…what i find really interesting is the admission, the acceptance, the demonstration by ‘Maccas’ marketeers that the gold standard in food safety, environmental responsibility, sustainable production -and the story they know their consumers want to see- is 1) small farm; 2) local; 3) ecologically sensitive agricultural production (wind and solar, trees and butterflies)…”

Power grows from Motor City soil
Waging Nonviolence | January 29, 2013
“We have lost the ability to think collectively about our own interests in the public political sphere…”

Sustain UK |  Growing Success: The impact of Capital Growth on community food growing in London

USDA  |   Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Signs Regulation Confirming “Government to Government” Consultation with Tribes
“…since 2009 the Department has worked with more than 270 Tribal governments to provide healthier food for more than 250,000 low-income Tribal citizens. Additionally, USDA has partnered with Tribal colleges to enhance community gardening efforts and improve nutrition education.”

Al Jazeera (English)  |  Resolving the food crisis: The need for decisive action
Global leaders squandered 2012, but prospects for resolving the food crisis in 2013 seem better – Sophia Murphy and Timothy Wise

The Atlantic | The Agricultural Fulcrum: Better Food, Better Climate
The National Climate Assessment, released this week, predicted increasingly negative impact of weather extremes on crops. But with industrialized farming as a key player in greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, the vicious cycle needs breaking.

Sustainable Cities Collective  |  How Physical Places Define Local Economies
“Human capital and creative talent increasingly goes where it likes; talent increasingly goes to great places; but talented people become most attached to places that they help create.”

Farm Foundation: Ag Challenge 2050 | Sustainable Health of the Food Supply
Another lens on sustainability…

Eastern Ontario Development Program

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The Prince Edward / Lennox & Addington Community Futures Development Corporation (PELA CFDC) administers the Eastern Ontario Development Program for their region. Applications are now available, and due February 15, 2013. Community food initiatives that are planning feasibility studies, research and development initiatives, strategic plans, or need support for ongoing innovations should consider applying.

Northumberland – Due January 20, 2013
Grenville – Due January 25, 2013
Haliburton – multiple dates starting January 31, 2013
Frontenac – Due February 1, 2013

Renfrew – Due March 1, 2013
Peterborough – Due March 31, 2013

Already closed: SDG; Prescott-Russell; Valley Heartland

Community Food Project Funding

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While the scale of this program is tiny, it’s interesting to see the direction that “local food” funding is taking, south of the border. The USDA / National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s COMMUNITY FOOD PROJECTS COMPETITIVE GRANTS PROGRAM was recently announced,  keep reading