April 10, 2015

By Jimmy McCarthy, Jamestown Post Journal

Chautauqua County is one of eight communities across the nation receiving designation as a “Community of Opportunity” in the Growing Food Connections initiative, and the program took a step forward Thursday.

April 23, 2015

By Jimmy McCarthy, Westfield Republican

Pictured, from left are: Ann Abdella, executive director of the Chautauqua County Health Network; Julia Freedgood, assistant vice president for programs for the American Farmland Trust; County Executive Vince Horrigan; Emily Reynolds, interim operations manager for Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County; and Samina Raja, principal investigator and associate professor at the University of Buffalo.

Chautauqua County is one of eight communities across the nation receiving designation as a “Community of Opportunity” in the Growing Food Connections initiative, and the program took a step forward Thursday.

County Executive Vince Horrigan joined GFC team members and partners to announce the program’s kickoff at the Frank W. Bratt Agricultural Center. The county was the only community in New York state selected. The goal is to strengthen nutrition while helping farmers thrive.

“That’s exactly where I want to see us go as county executive,” Horrigan said. “I want to see us as the best of the best. This opportunity is huge.”

The initiative is funded through a U.S Department of Agriculture grant, and is designed to assist local governments create plans, policies, partnerships and public investments to enhance food systems from the farm to the consumer. The initiative also aims to support underserved residents.

The GFC initiative is led by the Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab at the University of Buffalo in partnership with the American Farmland Trust. Samina Raja, principal investigator and associate professor at the University of Buffalo, said the GFC is committed to the county’s stakeholders.

A 15-member steering committee the county established holds the duty to guide the initiative. The committee will have responsibilities of building strong collaboration, providing insights to local coordinators and ensuring work is sustained beyond the life of the initiative.

Raja said the county will also be a part of a national network of other counties trying new and innovative ideas.

“With its strong agricultural base, resilient workforce and collaborative ethos, Chautauqua County has all the ingredients to emerge as a model county in the state and country,” she said.

Julia Freedgood, assistant vice president of programs for American Farmland Trust, said the initiative begins with understanding what is happening in the county. From there, she said GFC officials will work with the steering committee and local government to build off assets and opportunities.

“Broadly, that’s to connect local agriculture to make it viable and thrive with all consumers, especially those underserved,” Freedgood said. “It could be building a bigger and better farmers market system. It could be building a food hub.”

The local initiative is led by the county and Cornell Cooperative Extension with assistance from the Chautauqua County Health Network and the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation.

“We have a lot of potential to tap into the resources from Cornell University and what we do at the cooperative extension,” said Emily Reynolds, interim operations manager for Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County. “It’s a wonderful collaboration, and I’m excited about the possibilities.”

Raja commended all stakeholders who made sure the application rose to a competitive level at the national stage.

The GFC initiative throughout the U.S. is a five-year, $3.96 million research initiative, award #2012-68004-1894, that’s funded by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, a federal agency within the USDA.

For more information about the Growing Food Connections project, visit www.growingfoodconnections.org. For more information about Chautauqua County’s Growing Food Connections initiative, contact the Cornell Cooperative Extension at 664-9502 ext. 202 or ext. 212.

March 2, 2015

By Carlton Fletcher (carlton.fletcher@albanyherald.com), Albany Herald

ALBANY — Dougherty County has been selected as one of eight communities across the country to receive training and assistance to link family farmers and local residents who lack access to healthy food.

County Extension Agent/Coordinator James Morgan told the Dougherty County Commission at its business meeting Monday morning that the county had been selected by the Growing Food Connections collaborative to take part in the five-year, $3.96 million U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded research initiative.

“Primarily, the project will allow experts in the field to work with local governments and show them ways that they can help sustain the food system,” Morgan told commissioners. “We will receive, primarily, technical assistance. They’ll look at the policies in place to see if there are changes needed.”

Along with Dougherty County, the other communities selected for the collaborative, which is under the direction of the American Farmland Trust conservation organization, are Chautauqua County, N.Y.; Cumberland County, Maine; Dona Ana County, N.M.; Douglas County, Neb.; Luna County, N.M.; Polk County, N.C.; and Wyandotte County, Kan.

“Growing Food Connections is a landmark collaborative effort bringing national expertise in food policy and planning to assist citizens and their communities,” AFT President Andrew McElwaine said in a release. “American Farmland Trust and our partners will help create and strengthen local policies to better serve residents.

“We are proud to lead outreach, technical assistance and education in our eight communities of opportunity.”

Morgan said he will receive training through the initiative that will allow him to introduce best practices that will help local governments, planners, family farmers and consumers work together to strengthen their food systems. He said he has formed a steering committee that includes representatives of the Albany-Dougherty Planning Commission, the Southwest Georgia Project, the Water Planning and Policy Center, the Economic Development Commission, Tift Park Community Market, Phoebe Health System’s Network of Trust, Albany Technical College and the Dougherty Commission.

“That group will provide direction based on the opportunities presented by the project,” Morgan said.

Over the three years of the Growing Food Connections project, the collaborative will help local governments create their own plans, policies and partnerships, as well as make public investment to support family farmers and enhance food security. AFT will lead outreach efforts in partnership with the Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab at the University of Buffalo, the State University of New York and Ohio State University.

“We have found that local leaders want tools and resources, not handouts,” AFT Assistant Vice President for Programs Julia Freedgood said. “That’s what GFC will do — help local governments develop a vision and game plan to benefit farmers, ranchers and community residents who are under served by our current food system.”

County Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas praised Morgan for his efforts to include Dougherty County in the Growing Food Connections program.

“This is a great program for our community, which has a strong agricultural base,” Cohilas said. “Anytime a body has an opportunity to support agriculture, that’s very important.”

March 3, 2015

By Dennis Phillips (dphillps@post-journal.com), Jamestown Post-Journal

Jamestown has been included among a select group of communities nationwide to receive the designation of “Community of Opportunity.”

Eight communities – including Jamestown – across the country were recently selected to receive training and assistance in linking family farmers with local residents who lack access to healthy food. The Communities of Opportunity program is a part of the Growing Food Connections organization that helps local governments, planners, family farmers and consumers work together to strengthen their food systems.

During a three-year period, Growing Food Connections officials will help local governments create their own plans, policies, partnerships and make public investment to support family farmers and enhance food security. The Communities of Opportunity will also serve as models for other communities nationwide that face similar challenges.

Chautauqua County is the lead agency for the local initiative, with assistance from the Chautauqua County Health Network and the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation. Shelly Wells, Chautauqua County Health Network Creating Health Places project coordinator, said Jamestown is an ideal location for this program.

”We have the agriculture and, unfortunately, we have room to improve how people access food,” Wells said. ”The goal is to help communities that have the opportunity and the initiative to make changes to their food system to provide access to food and to support the agriculture behind the food.”

Chautauqua County’s rural population of 133,539 has a poverty rate of 18.8 percent, ranking it amongst the poorest counties in the state. The county has high rates of adult overweight/obesity at 62 percent, low daily consumption of fruits and vegetables at 25 percent, and 94 percent of school districts qualifying for free or reduced lunches.

Wells said the next step for the county is for County Executive Vince Horrigan to create a steering committee of local partners to work with the Growing Food Connections team. In April, Growing Food Connections officials will be traveling to Chautauqua County to tour the area. Wells said possible future benefits from the program include seeing policy changes to increase access to locally grown food for underprivileged community residents.

”This will be more advantageous for the farmers and the consumers,” she said.

Peter Lombardi, Jamestown Renaissance Corporation deputy director, said the county was selected because of the major presence of agriculture in Chautauqua County and the identified food deserts like the east side of Jamestown.

”We have the capacity to do something about it. The Chautauqua County Health Network in 2013 did a study with the University of Buffalo to help access for the east side of Jamestown,” he said. ”A lot of people are thinking about this problem in Jamestown, and we can use the technical support this program offers.”

Lombardi said there is no money from the program to support projects. However, he said being a part of the program can help with receiving grants to implement changes.

”It is a good thing that we are a Community of Opportunity. It will give us a leg up when requesting grants from the (U.S. Department of Agriculture),” he said. ”It is a good recognition. Chautauqua County has an interest in connecting local farmers with communities in need.”

The Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab at the University at Buffalo is the Growing Food Connections project lead agency. Samina Raja, University at Buffalo principal investigator and associate professor, said these Communities of Opportunity were selected from a competitive nationwide search and application process.

”The selected local governments will blaze a path for more than 30,000 local governments in the United States that have traditionally overlooked the problems and opportunities in their communities’ food systems,” she said.

The seven other Communities of Opportunity include Portland in Cumberland County, Maine; Albany in Dougherty County, Ga.; Las Cruces in Dona Ana County, N.M.; Omaha in Douglas County, Neb.; Deming in Luna County, N.M.; Columbus in Polk County, N.C.; and Kansas City in Wyandotte County, Kan.

Washington, D.C., March 2, 2015 – Eight communities across the country will receive training and assistance to link family farmers and local residents who lack access to healthy food. Growing Food Connections (GFC) will help local governments, planners, family farmers, and consumers work together to strengthen their food systems.

“Growing Food Connections is a landmark, collaborative effort bringing national expertise in food policy and planning to assist citizens and their communities. American Farmland Trust (AFT) and our partners will help create and strengthen local policies to better serve residents,” said AFT President Andrew McElwaine. “We are proud to lead outreach, technical assistance and education in our eight Communities of Opportunity.”

The eight Communities of Opportunity (COOs) are:

Chautauqua County, New York (Jamestown)

Cumberland County, Maine (Portland)

Dougherty County, Georgia (Albany)

Doña Ana County, New Mexico (Las Cruces)

Douglas County, Nebraska (Omaha)

Luna County, New Mexico (Deming)

Polk County, North Carolina (Columbus)

Wyandotte County, Kansas (Kansas City)

“We have found that local leaders want tools and resources, not handouts,” said AFT Assistant Vice President for Programs, Julia Freedgood. “And, that’s what GFC will do – help local governments develop a vision and a game plan to benefit farmers and ranchers and community residents who are underserved by our current food system.”

Over a three-year period, GFC will help local governments create their own plans, policies, partnerships, and make public investment to support family farmers and enhance food security. The COOs will also serve as models for other communities nationwide that face similar challenges.

Samina Raja, PhD, GFC Principal Investigator and Associate Professor at the University at Buffalo, notes that “these COOs were selected from a competitive nationwide search and application process. The selected local governments will blaze a path for more than 30,000 local governments in the United States that have traditionally overlooked the problems and opportunities in their communities’ food systems.”

AFT will lead outreach efforts in partnership with the Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York (GFC project lead), Ohio State University, and Cultivating Healthy Places. The American Planning Association and the Growing Food Connections National Advisory Committee also advise the project.

Learn more about GFC at growingfoodconnections.org.

GFC is a five-year, $3.96 million research initiative funded by award #2012-68004-19894, Agriculture and Food Research Initiative of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The American Farmland Trust held its national conference on Farmland, Food and Livable Communities in Lexington, KY in October 2014. The conference highlighted the current challenges faced by American agriculture and encouraged greater collaboration to support agricultural viability and vibrant community food systems.

Growing Food Connections sponsored the food systems planning track at the conference which included a food systems policy training as well as 10 other sessions of interest. The conference was also attended by the representatives of 15 communities under consideration to partner with GFC as a Community of Opportunity (COOs). COO finalists shared, learned, and networked with conference participants. An announcement of the selected 8 Communities of Opportunity will be forthcoming

APA Food Systems Planning Interest Group (FIG) is excited to announce the launch of the redesigned FIG website.

The purpose of the FIG website is to enhance communication among FIG members and share information about the field of North American food systems planning. This new website will provide frequent updates, information about upcoming events, news and announcements, job listings, information onFIG working groups, and more.

The Food Systems Planning Jobs List is a new feature to the website and includes a form to submit jobs for posting. The website is a work in progress and will continue to evolve over the next year. We want the new blog to be an open and collaborative forum for our members to share their knowledge, if you are interested in contributing to the website by writing a blog post, please visit https://apafig.wordpress.com/about/blog/.

Please do not hesitate to comment on the website or email us at foodsystemsplanning@gmail.com.

Not a member of FIG? Join here.