Author: DW

EatWith- The Uber and Airbnb of food

Essentially, EatWith works just like popular alternative accommodations site Airbnb. But where Airbnb connects travelers with cheap rental rooms and homes, EatWith helps you connect with hosts and attend pre-arranged dinner parties, from San Francisco to Paris and dozens of cities in between. The idea is to allow travelers to experience new cultures and food in an intimate setting, far from the usual tourist traps.

Each host is carefully vetted, and according to founders Guy Michlin and Shemer Schwarz, only about four percent of those who apply to host meals actually make it onto the site.

http://www.eatwith.com/

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Forget ‘Whole Paycheck’?

The linked article below tells of Whole Foods’ campaign to let America know of their “cheaper” prices and is interesting news on a few fronts.
One, that the world’s leading natural and organic food store is sharing price comparisons and acknowledging the need to identify costs to their shoppers. Co-CEO Mackay says, “For a long time Whole Foods had the field to ourselves, pretty much. That was nice, but we don’t any longer,” he said on an earnings call with investors. “So we’re adapting to the reality of the marketplace.”

Secondly this: the chain is lowering its prices, particularly on produce.
This may be an indicator of the strength of the farmers market movement that has led WF to become more competitive on fresh produce. That may seem a far jump for some of my readers, but since it was not an issue when they competed only with other grocery stores, I am inclined to partly credit the energy of the increased number of farmers market outlets for fresh produce for one of the reasons for this.
Or, it may be that the chain feels that they can reduce their costs by reducing their waste in produce (reducing spoilage is an area that stores should always be working on to increase profits) or (sigh) maybe the chain feels it can ask for lower prices from farmers/producers more easily than companies from whom they buy value-added products.

I’d love to hear others thoughts on this news and how they think it affects farmers markets and other direct marketing outlets.

Forget ‘Whole Paycheck’—This Grocery Chain Now Beats Many Competitors’ Prices | TakePart” target=”_blank”>Whole Foods Story

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FoodTank launches collaborative project and wants your help

Food Tank is excited to announce that we are launching two collaborative efforts over the next year with support from the McKnight Foundation. These projects will marshal increased awareness and groundbreaking research on democratizing innovation and true cost accounting.

Food Tank will be collaborating with smallholder farmers, local researchers, development practitioners, academics, food and agriculture experts, policymakers, and YOU to explore solutions for sustainable local food systems.

As part of McKnight Foundation’s Collaborative Crop Research Program these partnerships will help significantly scale up, broaden, and deepen connections around global agriculture problems through research, strategic collaborations, events, webinars, videos, databases, and more.

Throughout the next year, Food Tank will assess how agricultural innovation spreads among communities and in rich and poor countries alike and the potential for those practices to be replicated, scaled up, and used around the world.

Farmers, scientists, researchers, NGOs, and others are currently creating innovative, on-the-ground solutions for a more nourished world. At the same time,the prices consumers pay for food rarely reflect the true cost of its ingredients, from fertilizer production and water use to land degradation and greenhouse gas emissions.

Food Tank is incredibly excited to collaborate with the McKnight Foundation on these issues. It’s more important than ever to find ways for farmers, businesses, and policymakers to replicate innovations and understand the true cost of food.

And now Food Tank is asking you to send suggestions and become involved in these discussions as well. We need your help to share groundbreaking innovations in agriculture and highlight the true cost of cheap food!

Food Tank invites you to send your answers, suggestions, and feedback on any or all of the following questions:

  • Is “democratizing innovation” the right term for how innovation spreads and is replicated and scaled up?
  • What are the most useful tools for true cost accounting?
  • How can we help consumers understand the real cost of the food they buy?
  • What organizations or individuals have created groundbreaking innovations in agriculture that should be replicated and scaled up?
  • How can the economic system reward methods of food production that deliver benefits rather than damaging the environment and human health?
  • How can we harness current innovations, knowledge, and evidence to improve food and nutrition security?
  • How can nutrition be equitable and affordable?
  • Where can policy intervene in true cost accounting?
  • What resources do you use to find solutions for local, sustainable food systems?

Send your responses directly to  Danielle@foodtank.com

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Urban Quality of Life and Green Placemaking | Sustainable Cities Collective

Perhaps the most striking finding of the study is the fact that happiness was more strongly correlated to green space than socioeconomic status. Participants living on blocks with 10% fewer green areas than the average were more likely to report stress and depression. Following this logic, a ‘poor’ resident living in an area with more trees and open space would report being happier than a ‘rich’ resident living in an area without access to green space.

Another study, this one by the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, uses 18 years of survey data from over 10,000 participants across the United Kingdom. Its analysis shows a strong correlation between access to green space, self-reported well-being, and even physical health. The researchers even found that the sensations associated with living close to green space yield similar feelings and levels of satisfaction to getting a new job or getting married.

Urban Quality of Life and Green Placemaking | Sustainable Cities Collective.

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Harvest of Change

An engaging interactive story on today’s agribusiness sector from the Des Moines Register and USA Today.

Amid all the challenges, farmers find lucrative markets shaped by shifting consumer tastes. Farmers markets, where consumers can interact directly with the growers of their food, expanded steadily in the USA from 1994 to 2014, almost quintupling to 8,268, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In 2012, fresh fruits and vegetables sold directly to consumers were a $1.3 billion industry, up 8% since 2007, the census found. That same year, organic food sales reached about $27 billion, according to the USDA, up from $11 billion in 2004.

link to the 5-part story in The Register

Harvest of Change.

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Sterling Farms grocery, co-owned by Wendell Pierce, closes after just one year | NOLA.com

A sobering reality for underserved areas.

Sterling Farms grocery, co-owned by Wendell Pierce, closes after just one year | NOLA.com.

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Farmers Market Coalition: Discover You Can 2014 Farmers Markets

Congratulations to Farmers Market Coalition and to all of the farmers markets that will be supporting communities across the country LEARN ways to MAKE and SHARE farm-to-table meals all year long. The 2014 Discover You Can: Learn, Make, Share℠ farmers markets participating in this summer’s food preservation program:

Northway Mall Wednesday Farmer’s Market Anchorage AK
Rural Mountain Producers Exchange dba Fayetteville Farmers’ Market Fayetteville AR
Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles Hollywood CA
Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association San Francisco CA
The Ecology Center Berkeley CA
Orange Home Grown, Inc. (Old Towne Orange Farmers and Artisans Market) Orange CA
Larimer County Farmers’ Market Fort Collins CO
Florida Certified Organic Growers and Consumers Gainesville FL
Green Market Co-op Pinecrest FL
Forsyth Farmers’ Market Savannah GA
Statesboro Mainstreet Farmers Market Statesboro GA
East Lake Farmers Market Atlanta GA
Farm Lovers Farmers Markets Kailua,Honolulu,Haleiwa,Pearlridge HI
Moscow Farmers Market Moscow ID
Aurora’s Farmers Market Aurora IL
Logan Square Farmers Market Chicago IL
Downtown Evanston Farmers Market Evanston IL
Minnetrista Muncie IN
Carmel Farmers Market Carmel IN
Spin Markket Fort Dodge IA
Community Farmers Market Bowling Green KY
Portland Maine Farmers’ Market Portland ME
FRESHFARM Markets St. Michaels MD
Corey Street Farmers Market Boston MA
Texas Township Farmers’ Market Kalamazoo MI
Rochester Downtown Farmers Market Assoc Rochester MN
Minnesota Farmers Market Association Albert Lea MN
Oxford City Market Oxford MS
The City Market Kansas City MO
Greater Springfield Farmers’ Market Springfield MO
The Webb City Farmers Market Webb City MO
Omaha Farmers Market Omaha NE
Lancaster Market Lancaster NY
GrowNYC Brooklyn Borough Hall Greenmarket Brooklyn NY
Carrboro Farmers’ Market Carrboro NC
Columbus-Tryon Tailgate Markets Columbus NC
Farmers Market Association of Toledo Toledo OH
Countryside Conservancy Peninsula OH
Oregon City Farmers Market Oregon City OR
Phoenixville Farmers’ Market Phoenixville PA
The Food Trust Philadelphia PA
Hub City Farmers’ Marklet Spartanburg SC
Downtown Farmers Market Salt Lake City UT
ChiknEGG Productions, LLC Manakin-Sabot VA
Tacoma Farmers Market Tacoma WA
Kitsap Regional Farmers Market Port Orchard WA
Downtown Fond du Lac Farmers Market Fond du Lac WI
Thiensville Village Market Thiensville WI
Wyoming Food for Thought Project Casper WY

href=”https://www.facebook.com/discover.youcan”>DYC Facebook site

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Farmers Market Legal Toolkit Project

As a member of this team, I’m pleased to share the news of this project being funded:
The Vermont Law School’s Center for Agriculture and Food Systems received funding to develop a Farmers Market Legal Toolkit (FMLT) and educate market leaders on various legal topics that affect them. The project will be conducted in partnership with NOFA- VT, who will assist them in collecting data on area farmer’s markets. The legal toolkit will include resources in three major areas: governance structure of farmer’s markets, liabilities related to use of EBT/SNAP systems, and general risk management.

Research Awards to Support Rural Communities | National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

(USDA Editor’s Note: The USDA press release mistakenly identified this project as the University of Vermont and the USDA research summary system mistakenly identified it as the University of Arizona, but it is in fact Vermont Law School.)

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2012 Agriculture Census Released | National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

“In releasing the Census, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack called particular attention to beginning farmer highlights, including that 22 percent of all farmers are beginning farmers who have operated a farm for less than ten years and that the number of younger beginning farmers (35 and under) who report farming as their principal occupation has increased by 11 percent since the 2007 Census, to 40,499.

The Secretary also noted that 30 percent of all farm operators are women and that Latino farm operators have increased 21 percent since the last Census to 99,734. He also noted that organic sales from farms increased by 82 percent since 2007 to $3.1 billion in 2012.

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, the agency which conducts the Census, highlighted in their release that 2012 set records for both the value of farm sales and the costs of production, with farmers and ranchers selling $395 billion worth of products at a cost of $329 billion, such that an average less than 17 percent of sales became actual income.

.. .They also pointed out the 144,530 farms sold directly to consumers, with total direct sales of $1.3 billion, up 8 percent from 2007.
2012 Ag Census
Census home page

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Below, find the announcement of the 3-year project to develop Farmers Market Metrics; get used to hearing us talk about all of this work, and feel free to email me or FMC Project Manager Sara Padilla with questions and comments.

Farmers Market Metrics Project to Enhance Evaluation Efforts of Farmers Markets | Farmers Market Coalition.

The first part of this project was announced a few months ago:

FMM Knight Foundation grant

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Just listened to a very informative annual member meeting presented by the leadership of our national farmers market advocate, the Farmers Market Coalition as they shared the work done over the last year, outlined priorities for 2014/2015 and answered questions from the membership.

Here is the link to the recording of the meeting:
LINK

If you are not a member of this excellent organization, do consider it: everyone can be members, not just farmers market organizations:
Join here

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Turkey Creek

In case some of us forget from time to time that what we are fighting for is local sovereignty in order to save, rebuild or create our own healthy systems, and that environmental justice MUST be included into our scope of work, this may help:

COME HELL OR HIGH WATER: The Battle for Turkey Creek – TRAILER (1 MIN.) from Leah on Vimeo.

Derrick often recites a warning that his mother gave him when he began fighting to protect his community of Turkey Creek: “There might not be any bottom to this.” A dozen years later, her words hold special meaning for both of us. My film documents what seems like an unrelenting assault on this historic African American community on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, and it continues to this day. When I began filming, the precious place of Derrick’s childhood memories and family oral history was being overrun by urban sprawl, and then came Hurricane Katrina, and then the BP oil disaster.

SIGN UP to host a screening on April 29th or within 30 days following the premiere broadcast.
ACCESS THE FILM by finding your broadcast on a local station, or watch when it streams for free online through American ReFramed. If you are streaming it online, be sure to test your connection.

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