Well this is interesting. Using a subway system, it shows chefs (and one or two activists) who are changing food at the present time and have influenced this current crop (Julia Child, Ruth Reichl). I can believe that this will stir some debate-for example, I know that the one New Orleans chef mentioned here John Besh is probably deserved, but I would say that Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewlski do too for Cochon, Herbsaint and Butcher. And if you are trying to get at the heart of it the local/simple ingredient movement in my city, then Jamie Shannon and/or Susan Spicer need to be mentioned. I am also not sure why Joel Salatin and Will Allen are the only 2 growers that I noticed in here.
Civil Eats talks about Food Policy
Messages from Food Policy Conference: From Neighborhood to Nation.
I love it when other people make my blogging job easier: here is a very good overview of the Portland conference from Jen Dalton, the editor of Local Eats about what she got out of the conference. Seems right to me…
Portland Food Policy Conference and Market visit
I’ll upload some content from the CFSC Food Policy Conference attendees later this week; it was a great conference with loads of good ideas flowing. I am sure CFSC will release some data from the sessions, especially from the voting session.
Portland hosted beautifully; the regional food community was gracious and inspiring.
– City 145.4 sq mi (376.5 km2)
– Land 134.3 sq mi (347.9 km2)
– Water 11.1 sq mi (28.6 km2)
Elevation 50 ft (15.2 m)
Population (2010)
– City 583,776
– Density 4,288.38/sq mi (1,655.31/km2)
– Metro 2,226,009
Seating at Portland Saturday Market
Portland Saturday Market display
CFSC Food Policy Conf-South/Southeast Networking Session
States in South/Southeast networking session at CFSC’s Food Policy Conf
Willamette River
Mkt Mgr tent-Portland
Display-Portland Mkt
Bamboo stand at Portland Market
Map of Portland Farmers Markets
Pink Umbrella-Portland vendor
Like many markets, Portland ensures they leave only memories for their hosts.
Map of flooding effect on farmland
The Mississippi delta and Cajun country of Louisiana are two areas where farmland will be affected quite significantly, but already some Missouri farmers have been flooded in order to save some populated areas. I would think the rural/urban divide is being tested with this crisis and once again, farmers markets may be one of the few bridges that help in the months ahead.
Certifications
The Chicago Green Market is adding a level of transparency to their markets. Starting this month, vendors will show their farm names, where they are located and what certification process they currently have passed. As many of you know, there is a wide selection of programs besides the USDA organic label that farmers can use. The Beyond Organic movement is growing, and it is quite possible that market vendors are more likely than industrial sector farmers to look for alternatives to organic; they have the ability to tell their own story to their shoppers which reduces the need for the complicated long work to get the USDA label.
And here are two points of view from the article that bolster my theory:
“GCM farm forager Dave Rand notes that it’s incredibly difficult, for example, to grow organic peaches in the Midwest because of pest and climate challenges. So a peach grower might opt for Food Alliance certification, which requires integrated pest management strategies that minimize pesticide use but allow it when necessary.”
“Three Sisters farmer Tracey Vowell said that she prefers the Certified Naturally Grown program because inspections are carried out by fellow farmers rather than certification inspectors. She finds this process fosters community and best-practices sharing rather than just requiring farmers to fill out paperwork.”
Calendar Intern needed
The National Young Farmers’ Coalition seeks a “Calendar Intern!”
They seek a “reliable, enthusiastic person to help fill the NYFC events calendar full of young farmer events, from coast-to-coast. It would require probably a few hours to start, and then no more than an hour a week after that. This is a super low-key and extremely helpful way to pitch in.”
Email lindsey@youngfarmers.org, if you’re interested.
Food Policy Conference
Although this post is unlikely to encourage you to register and attend the Community Food Security Coalition’s Food Policy conference at this very last minute, it might. And of course, it might just get you to the CFSC’s fall conference that will be held in Oakland CA this year.
In any case, if you are in driving or biking distance of Portland, do your best to attend and or to start to connect to your peers working on policy issues. Even if you simply download the workshop list and do your best to follow or reach out to the speakers and conveners at a later date, you’ll be doing your organization a world of good.
More data on social capital
As many of you know, the organization that I have been associated for the last 9 years, marketumbrella.org has been doing some very interesting data collection and measurement on markets in this area. Using trust as a proxy, NEED (Neighborhood Exchange Evaluation Device) has been measuring the quantity and quality of transactions and hopes to get an online tool (like the free SEED tool) up very soon.
When we started this project almost 4 years ago, only a handful of stakeholders understood why we were interested in this. Now of course, interest in bridging and bonding has grown exponentially, as has the interest in markets ability to manage that effort.
This article is another in a long line of studies of social cohesion, but is a good primer for anyone in your world who needs to understand how this can be seen as healthy behavior.
In a now-classic study of 6,928 adults living in Alameda County, Calif., conducted by Harvard researcher Lisa Berkman, PhD, and University of California, Berkeley, researcher S. Leonard Syme, PhD., people with few social ties were two to three times more likely to die of all causes than people with wider and closer relationships.
Food Stamp use soaring in these states
“Recent statistics from the USDA indicate that 14.2 percent of the U.S. population was using food stamps in February 2011, or around 44.2 million total, up from 33 million just two years before in 2009.”
Balle Conference
The New Economy is being shaped at the grassroots level. Connect, share and learn from 700 pioneering business owners and investors, elected officials, philanthropists, economic development professionals and BALLE (Business Alliance for Local Living Economies) network leaders as we spotlight the most innovative and entrepreneurial approaches to growing healthy, resilient local economies.
The conference will feature:
• 80 speakers
• 16 plenary sessions and off-site celebrations
• 24 interactive sessions
• 4 local living economy tours
• Living Economies Expo
• 3 pre-conference workshop intensives:
Accelerating Community Capital
How to Build a BALLE Network
Network Leaders Exchange
Proper procurement
One of my “go-to” organizations to learn from and to pass along ideas to others is the New Economics Institute which was formerly known as the E.F. Schumacher Society. The Society is housed on a hilltop in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, in the middle of one of the many land trusts that the society has helped build.
Taking labor, currency and land out of commodity thinking and practice is the fulcrum of their work and may I say they do it beautifully. Or to say it in a positive way, ” to promote the building of strong local economies that link people, land, and community.”
This audio is one of their excellent lectures and is something to listen to while typing, while sipping that morning coffee before diving into the pile of work. I say that after you read it, gift it to your local colleges and universities to hear on their own. In my mind, this is the way to tackle behavior changes everywhere- thinking about the responsibility of use of any and all resources in each small world. And, if you want to understand what a campus goes through to make changes, this might help you.
And if these ideas sound right, go procure a copy of ‘Small is Beautiful”, Schumacher’s landmark book. Then go back for many of their publications because I think, you might find they add to your perspective.
Carbon T.A.P. project
“So we ask the question of, ‘What if we can imagine the end of infrastructure as we’re designing infrastructure?”
Nashville food system work
Went to the 2011 Food Summit in Nashville this weekend, convened by Community Food Advocates. I drove there from New Orleans (just about the same amount of time to drive as to fly-about 9 hours each way) and so I was able to view some of the damage from the tornado destruction and to hear from folks along the way about the flooding of Memphis from the Mississippi and its tributaries.
The one day summit is the follow up from their 2008 Summit and shows just how much can be done in less than 3 years in one area. Over 300 people registered for this event and the breadth of the projects represented was impressive.
What is working is the deep commitment to social justice issues, such as racial equity and cultural barriers. The universities are involved, the neighborhood activists are involved and the food system fulcrums that already existed (like the Nashville Farmers Market) are there.
I am looking through their handout book “From Charity to Justice” which outlines the food insecurity in the Nashville area. Seems like a textbook example of using Mark Winne and CFSC’s Food Policy training, which means they will be successful.
I think the highlight for me was the taped video message from Mark to the Nashville folks (who he clearly has worked closely with):
“For God’s sake, don’t blow it.”
Community Food Advocates
Opening for Coordinator
Baltimore Food Policy Initiative Program Coordinator
Job Description
GENERAL FUNCTION: The Baltimore Food Policy Initiative (BFPI)
establishes Baltimore as a leader in a local and sustainable food system
while increasing access to healthy affordable food in Baltimore City’s
Food Deserts. BFPI works in collaboration with the Baltimore Office of
Sustainability, Department of Planning and the Health Department. The
program coordinator will support the efforts of BFPI.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include but are not limited to:
* Coordinate and schedule Food Policy Advisory Committee (Food
PAC) and other BFPI meetings
* Support farmers markets through responding to requests
concerning establishing new farmers markets along with co-coordinating
the Baltimore City Farmers Market Manager Coalition
* Coordinate the Neighborhood Food Advocate pilot which will build
community and utilize social marketing strategies to encourage neighbor
to neighbor healthy food purchasing habits
* Increase access to healthy affordable food through implementing
the healthy food assessment for the Public Markets (e.g. Lexington and
Northeast Markets)
* Create and compile resources to support urban farming in
Baltimore City’s food deserts
* Organize quarterly food desert and solution tours for policy
makers
* Compile data for food system/grant related evaluations and
reports
* Review and analyze food related policies and draft policy briefs
* Supervise interns
Qualifications: Successful candidate should have a Master’s degree in
food systems, nutrition, public health, environmental studies or
sustainable agriculture or a minimum of three years experience in
coordinating community food system projects.
* Excellent organizational skills and ability to prioritize and
multi-task
* Social Marketing skills- facebook, twitter, and updating copy
for website
* Strong technical writing skills
* Competent in Outlook, Excel, Publisher, PowerPoint and Microsoft
word
* Experience reviewing and analyzing food related policies and
writing policy briefs
* Need to work effectively with members of city government,
for-profit and non-profit organizations, community leaders, and members
of the public
* Strong community organizing skills and experience working with
low income neighborhoods
The Baltimore Food Policy Initiative is seeking a full-time, 1099
contractual employee to serve as the Baltimore Food Policy Program
Coordinator, renewed annually dependent on grant funding. Depending on
qualifications, the compensation for this contractual position is
$45,000-$55,000, based on a 40 hour week, benefits not included. This
position is supervised by Holly Freishtat, the Baltimore City Food
Policy Director. The office location is Baltimore Office of
Sustainability, a standard workweek with some flexibility for evening
and weekend meetings. The expected start date is June 2011.
Application Instructions:
* All applications must be submitted electronically. Submit one
PDF that includes a cover letter and resume/CV. Email your application
to Holly.freishtat@baltimorecity.gov and title the subject of the email
as “Program Coordinator Application [your name].”
* No phone calls will be accepted
* All applicants must submit APPLICATION BY 5pm on Monday May
23rd, 2011
Helping Farmers Markets Grow 
