Oysters suffer too

In 2009, I went to Puget Sound to film sustainable oyster farming at Taylor Shellfish. Those short videos are to be found on the You Tube channel of marketumbrella.org. The company works with small oyster growers like the amazing Evan and John Adams of Sound Fresh Oysters who have varieties that they only bring to the Olympia Farmers Market.
Taylor also grows their own and encourage home growers with a waterfront oyster garden kit that they sell one day a month, to help people understand how oysters develop. (Go to the Go Fish chapter and look for the oyster videos.)
YouTube channel
I have never forgotten how the Taylors (and Oyster Bill!) build the future of their ecosystem with their techniques and can only hope that some of their innovation can rub off on my own oystermen of Southeastern Louisiana so we can save our dying oyster industry here.
However, the issues are constant, and one grave threat is explained in the article link. When will environmental destruction finally hit home for humans? What amount of food will we have to lose before we address it?

Acidification

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Case studies on governance

I am beginning some independent research on market types and would love to hear from a few markets that:

1. Have existed for more than 5 years and are their own independent farmers market organization started by community members.
2.Have existed for more than 5 years and are their own independent farmers market organization started by farmers.
3. Have existed more than 5 years and run their farmers market under another organization’s fiscal agency and were started by farmers.
4. Have existed more than 5 years and run their farmers market under another organization’s fiscal agency and were started by community members.
5. Have existed more than 5 years and run their farmers market as a for profit business and have an advisory board of farmers and/or shoppers.
This research is to assist state, regional and national market organizations with designing their resources and will lead to more research on typology of markets. Typology of markets can help individual markets with comparing and contrasting data and can also assist investors in understanding the capacity and potential of markets in the future. This is work that I began while with marketumbrella.org in New Orleans and have continued while doing some other research for the Farmers Market Coalition and will be shared with both organizations.
I will offer the finished case study to you as a report you can use for your organization and also link your site to the website I create for this data.
Please email me at Dar Wolnik at gmail to schedule 20-30 minutes for the research questions.

I am also attaching a link a quick (less than 10 minute) survey if that is better. I’ll follow up with markets that complete the survey.
Survey

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National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Announces Introduction of Local Foods Bill

Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Representative Chellie Pingree of Maine and 35 original co-sponsors introduced the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act (S. 1773, H.R. 3286), a comprehensive bill intended for inclusion in the 2012 Farm Bill. The legislation helps farmers and ranchers by addressing production, aggregation, processing, marketing, and distribution needs to access growing local and regional food markets. The bill also assists consumers by improving access to healthy food. The measure provides secure farm bill funding for critically important programs that support family farms, expand new farming opportunities, create rural jobs, and invest in the local food and agriculture economy.
“We applaud Senator Brown and Congresswoman Pingree for introducing this legislation,” said Helen Dombalis, a Policy Associate with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. “The Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act revises and expands existing federal farm programs to ensure that they effectively foster local and regional food system development. The bill invests in communities—when consumers are connected to and invested in where their food comes from and agricultural producers meet this demand, local economies reap the benefits.”

The bill includes provisions that cut across ten titles of the Farm Bill, including proposals that address conservation, credit, nutrition, rural development, research and extension, food safety, livestock, and crop insurance. Some of the specific proposals within the bill include:

Local Marketing Promotion Program

The legislation will establish $30 million a year in mandatory farm bill direct funding for what is now the Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP). The newly refashioned Local Marketing Promotion Program will do everything FMPP does, but also will provide grants to scale up local and regional food enterprises, including processing, distribution, aggregation, storage, and marketing.

School Meals

The bill will improve institutional access to local and regional foods through a series of provisions regarding school meal procurement. For example, through a “local food credit program,” originally championed by Representative Pingree in her Eat Local Foods Act introduced earlier this year, School Food Authorities could opt to use up to 15 percent of their school lunch commodity dollars for making purchases of foods in their own communities, from their own farmers and ranchers, instead of through USDA’s nationalized commodity food program.

Rural Development

Funding for Rural Development programs has declined significantly in recent agriculture appropriation bills, and these programs are at risk during the farm bill reauthorization. The Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act boosts rural investment by increasing the Business & Industry Loan funding set-aside for local and regionally produced agriculture products and food enterprises from five to ten percent. The legislation will also provide authority for specific types of local and regional food system funding under Rural Business Opportunity Grants (RBOG), Rural Business Enterprise Grants (RBEG), and Community Facility Grants and Loans.

Specialty Crop Block Grant Program

Within the Specialty Crop Block Grant program, the bill proposes an annual allocation for local and regional specialty crop market development. Although the program is already in place to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops, which include fruits, vegetables, and tree nuts, there is no explicit focus on specialty crops marketed in their local and regional areas. This legislation would change that.

For more information on the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act, see the entire press release
HERE
Posted on: December 2nd, 2011

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Random pictures only a market manager might love…

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Wholesome Wave data circa 2010

An excellent reference for all farmers markets. This link will take you to Wholesome Wave’s program page, where a pdf of their survey is available. This will tell you the impact of their double value coupon projects and also give some very helpful demographics.
Wholesome Wave

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The Sourlands

Another film from the director of “The Farmer and The Horse” to back:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1480255348/sourlands-stories-from-the-fight-for-sustainabilit/widget/video.html

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Hospitals take on local

From NCAT newsletter: A survey of hospitals was conducted in June 2011 to gather data on advances made in 2010. Eighty-nine facilities completed the survey including many that have signed the HCWH Healthy Food in Health Care Pledge, a commitment to work in a stepwise fashion to source more local and sustainably produced food among other activities. Facilities ranged in size from 11 to 1200 beds with an average size of 300. They served an average of 731 patient meals and 1650 cafeteria meals per day in 2010 and spent approximately $291 million dollars total on food and beverages.

Some survey results:

Many facilities are choosing to purchase and serve more locally sourced and sustainably produced food and beverages—
• 94.1 percent purchased and served local food or beverages
• 80 percent purchased sustainable dairy products
• 45 percent purchased sustainable beef
• 36 percent purchased sustainable chicken

Build direct relationships with local farms
• 81.8 percent of respondents host a farmers’ market, farm stand or community-supported agriculture (CSA program on-site)
• 60 percent purchased directly from a farm, ranch or farm cooperative

Waste Reduction
• 66.2 percent of respondents used bio-based non-reusable food service ware and takeout containers
• 50 percent use a room service model for patient food delivery
• 39.5 percent had a program in place to compost organic materials (food waste and compostable paper and plastic food ware items)
• 37.7 percent had a usable food donation program in place

“This Menu of Change report is an excellent introduction for anyone seeking to begin a sustainable foods program at their hospital,” said Marie Kulick, MSEL, HFHC Sustainable Procurement advisor and report co-author. “In addition to the survey data which can be used to set goals, the report includes lively, informative anecdotes from peers, cost cutting strategies, profiles of leading institutions and more.”

The 2011 Menu of Change report also summarizes major HFHC activities taking place in nine states; and describes the HFHC initiatives, including Balanced Menus, Non-Therapeutic Use of Antibiotics Prevention, the HFHC Pledge, the Green Guide for Health Care Food Service Toolkit, and recent efforts to reduce or eliminate Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, among other initiatives promoted by the HCWH. It also contains a listing of contacts for hospital and food service directors or activists to reach out to HFHC program staff for assistance.

“Hospitals are increasingly being seen as anchor institutions that are needed to support healthier communities and a healthier local economy,” stated Gary Cohen, President of HCWH. “If we are to solve the epidemic and escalating costs of obesity in American society, hospitals need to be critical partners in redesigning sustainable food systems and modeling the kind of food choices that the rest of us need to adopt. The Healthy Food Program is creating these models and pointing the way toward this systemic transformation.”

The 2011 Menu of Change report was co-written by Sirois, Kulick and Alyssa Nathanson, MD, RD, HFHC Vermont coordinator. Results of the survey were used to determine the HCWH HFHC awards given at the organization’s 2011 FoodMed. And award winners are profiled in the report.

The HFHC Program is a national initiative of HCWH, developed in conjunction with its member organizations, which mobilizes advocates to work with hospitals across the country to help improve the sustainability of their food services. For more information about the HCWH Healthy Food in Health Care Program, visit http://www.healthyfoodinhealthcare.org.
Report Press release

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Food Swap

Another way for small markets to grow their social time might be to encourage a small (member-only) food swap once a month. If controlled well, it could be a boon to community markets that lack the critical mass of shoppers so far.
Food Swap Network

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Heavy shopping bags weigh on your psyche

Turns out, those people who have wheels for their food are the smart, happy ones.

Heavy shopping bags weigh on your psyche.

Maybe this explains Josh’s Slow Food missive over the summer…
heavy bags

So maybe this is a benefit that markets can handle happily and with some flair?
Hollywood wagons

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FMC December webinar: Measuring the Mob

Farmers Market Coalition continues their monthly webinar series with the first one devoted to a deeper understanding of measurement. Two stalwarts of the farmers market movement, Garry Stephenson and Richard McCarthy present their clicking or dot methods and take questions on the challenges found. As always, free for FMC members, which includes access to the archives.
Register

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Acclerating Community Capital-BALLE

We all seek to make our capital work effectively for our home communities, and moving our money is an important step. But after we move our money, what happens to it? And how can we influence what that money does in our communities?

In this timely webinar, we’ll hear straight from the source:

What motivates these institutions to actively advance community capital;
What the differences are between credit unions and local banks, and their respective motivations and strengths;
What services each uses to build more equitable and sustainable local economies;
How businesses and network leaders can partner more deeply with these institutions to support the development of local living economies;
And how communities can replicate some of their successful programs and community partnerships.

Come learn how to make your money work for your community by partnering with local banks and credit unions.
more on topic and registration here

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Food app for kids

Taggie, a smartphone app developed by recent Dutch design school graduate Niels van Hoof, allows users to direct a smartphone camera at the barcode of food items to learn about their origin, growth process, and different varieties. After recognizing the scanned barcode, Taggie launches a 3D augmented reality animation to engage children with a short, fun lesson about the food.Van Hoof developed the app as a graduation project for the Design Academy in Eindhoven, Netherlands after being inspired by Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. “He went to schools and tried to find out if kids know where food comes from,” van Hoof says. Perhaps needless to say, most of them didn’t—which set van Hoof’s wheels in motion. Van Hoof hopes that by using the app, children will “discover more about fruits and vegetables and [will not be] afraid of the product anymore, which results in living healthier.”

Untitled from Niels van hoof on Vimeo.

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Food organizers march in support

Another way that Community Food Security Coalition supports the movement. When the conference can link and throw attention to worker rights or immigrant issues or food sovereignty issues.
In our market context, I believe we need to consider these issues more often and think of how we can support other parts of the movement that are not clearly tied yet to farmers markets.

Trader Joe’s March

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