NOTE: Doña Ana County (City of Las Cruces), New Mexico is one of the eight Growing Food Connections Communities of Opportunity.

On Monday, June 6, the Las Cruces City Council passed a resolution adopting the Las Cruces Urban Agriculture and Food Policy Plan. The urban ag plan is the first of its kind in New Mexico. Las Cruces is now poised to be an innovator in urban agriculture initiatives in the state, making good use of the rich agricultural, culinary, and cultural heritage of the area. The plan’s recommendations and actions focus on the local level and what the City of Las Cruces can achieve within its jurisdiction together with a range of public, private, and community partners.

By supporting, prioritizing, and incentivizing urban ag activities such as community gardens, community kitchens, farm stands and more, the city can realize the vision of the plan, that “Las Cruces has a resilient food system that fosters healthy communities & residents and contributes to the overall economic, social, cultural, and environmental vitality of the city.”

The plan is driven by the three following goals:
1) A healthy & food-secure community: All residents should have enough to eat and access to affordable, local, healthy, sustainable, and culturally appropriate food.
2) A stronger, more vibrant local economy with more food growing and processing opportunities: Businesses and entrepreneurs that produce, process, distribute, and sell local and healthy food are a key component of a vibrant local economy.
3) Healthier ecosystems and smart environmental resources stewardship: Food related waste should be prevented, reused, or recycled, and natural resources should be used wisely.

The community-driven plan was prepared by the Urban Ag working group of the Mesilla Valley Food Policy Council (MVFPC) with support from Las Cruces city staff in Community Development. This plan would not have been possible without the amazing community support and the expressed support from every member of the Las Cruces City Council, including former District 4 City Councilor Nathan Small, whose voice and vision helped make this plan a reality.

The MVFPC and Urban Ag working group will now begin the implementation phase of the plan, along with the creation of a short community guide on urban ag activities within the city detailing relevant ordinance, necessary permits, and other pertinent information. The plan can be viewed in its entirety on the City of Las Cruces website. If you would like more information or to be involved with the food policy council or working group, please email krysten@lasemillafoodcenter.org.

Growing Food Connections and University at Buffalo Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab is pleased to share the release of a new article “Beneficial but Constrained: Role of Urban Agriculture Programs in Supporting Healthy Eating Among Youth” published in the Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition. The article, led by Subhashni Raj, Kaufman fellow at the University at Buffalo and Growing Food Connections team member, explores how youth engagement in urban agriculture affects their fruit and vegetable consumption, controlling for neighborhood level influences.The authors use a pre-post research design and advanced regression analysis to analyze the efficacy of urban agriculture programming in improving fruit and vegetable consumption among urban youth in Buffalo, NY. The findings suggest that efficacy of urban agriculture programming has some effect on youth food behavior but its effect is moderated by economic and systemic constraints prevalent in neighborhoods the youth come from. To make urban agriculture efficacious as a healthy eating tool, public policy supports must simultaneously address economic and systemic constraints in society. The paper concludes with suggestions of how local governments can help make urban agriculture programs efficacious.

See link to access to article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19320248.2015.1128865

Abstract:
A number of efforts to alleviate low rates of fruit and vegetable consumption among youth in the United States have emerged in recent years. This study examines how engagement in urban agriculture (UA) programming influences fruit and vegetable consumption among urban youth in Buffalo, New York. Results indicate change in some food behaviors—youth are willing to try new foods—but not others. Results suggest that fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with gender and the median household income of neighborhoods where youth live. The study demonstrates that UA programming is beneficial but not sufficient in engendering healthy eating behavior in youth.

The Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab is pleased to announce the release of a new article in the Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition.  By Maryam Khojasteh and Samina Raja, ‘Agents of Change: How Immigrant-Run Ethnic Food Retailers Improve Food Environments’ documents the factors that enable immigrant entrepreneurs to operate healthy food stores in urban neighborhoods. The authors use in-depth interviews to highlight how Middle Eastern food entrepreneurs are changing the healthy food landscape in Buffalo, NY.  Findings suggest that ethnic food retail entrepreneurs are positively deviant in the urban food system, becoming positive agents of change by successfully provided fresh fruits and vegetables to neighborhoods with low food access.  Although ethnic food entrepreneurs overcome numerous documented barriers, they have significant potential to improve neighborhoods who are not served by other healthy food retail. The article concludes with suggestions for how local government policy makers, planners, and public health practitioners can better support immigrant ethnic food entrepreneurs. With the right policy supports, healthy ethnic food stores can be a source of economic and community development for both immigrant and non-immigrant neighborhoods. Click on the link below to read the full article.

Agents of Change How Immigrant Run Ethnic Food Retailers Improve Food Environments

Article Abstract:

Immigrant-run ethnic food retail stores, which are often located in urban neighborhoods, are reported to provide healthy foods. Yet, there is little research on how these stores manage to operate successfully in low-resource environments, which are reported to have poor access to healthy foods, and the challenges they must overcome in a broken food system. Based on a qualitative pilot case study of Middle Eastern stores in Buffalo, New York, the authors report factors that enable immigrant entrepreneurs to operate healthy food retail stores in low-income urban neighborhoods and the challenges they must overcome in the process. Factors for success include store owners’ membership in ethnic networks, prior business experience, and understanding of niche market opportunities. This article reports policy suggestions for how local governments can help ethnic food retailers to create healthier food environments and foster economic and community development.

Growing Food Connections is excited to announce the addition of 5 free publications to the Exploring Stories of Innovation series, a series of short articles that explore how local governments from across the United States are strengthening their community’s food system through planning and policy. These include:

• City of Burlington and Chittenden County, Vermont
• City of Cleveland, Ohio
• City of Minneapolis, Minnesota
• City of Lawrence and Douglas County, Kansas
• City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Beginning in 2012, Growing Food Connections (GFC) conducted a national scan and identified 299 local governments across the United States that are developing and implementing a range of innovative plans, public programs, regulations, laws, financial investments and other policies to strengthen the food system. GFC conducted exploratory telephone interviews with 20 of these local governments. This series highlights some of the unique planning and policy strategies used by some of these urban and rural local governments to enhance community food security while ensuring sustainable and economically viable agriculture and food production. The first four articles in the series featured:

• City of Seattle, Washington
• Baltimore City, Maryland
• Cabarrus County, North Carolina
• Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

For more information and to download these free publications, visit http://growingfoodconnections.org/research/communities-of-innovation/.

American Farmland Trust (AFT) seeks an energetic self-starter to coordinate extension and outreach to help local governments build capacity to plan for food and agriculture and develop public policies to strengthen community food systems.

AFT is the nation’s leading national organization dedicated to protecting farmland, promoting sound stewardship and keeping farmers on the land. The Community Outreach Coordinator will support AFT’s partnership in a USDA-funded integrated research, education and extension project called Growing Food Connections (GFC). The Coordinator’s primary responsibilities will be to coordinate and deliver training and technical assistance to eight counties across the United States.

The ideal candidate will have a background in land use or community planning, sustainable agriculture, food systems and public policy at the local government level. S/he will have a passion for community engagement, excellent listening, communication and interpersonal skills, experience working with diverse populations, and demonstrated ability to work both independently and collaboratively as part of closely knit team. Strong computer skills and an ability to coordinate multiple people, partners and deliverables is essential.

The Coordinator will report directly to AFT’s Assistant Vice President of Programs and work closely with other project staff within AFT and with GFC partner organizations. The position is full time and based out of AFT’s Northampton, Mass. Office. Extensive travel is required.

For more information and details on how to apply, click here.

From Growing Food Connections’ partner, Healthy Communities Wyandotte: Kansas City, Kansas Ordinance Change Keeps Farmers Markets Flourishing
Wyandotte County is home to numerous farmers markets and the demand for their presence continues to grow. Farmers markets provide access to healthy and fresh food, support local producers and business, and provide a space for community engagement. The benefits and importance of producing and consuming food locally is quickly being recognized as a priority by community members and local government alike.

The KCK Farmers Market board recognized the need for a simpler and less costly process for establishing a farmer’s market in KCK and advocated strongly for a policy change to address these concerns.On December 10, 2015, the Unified Government Board of Commissioners passed an amendment that makes the establishment of farmers markets less costly and less confusing. “Farmers markets increase access to fresh, healthy food while providing support for local growers in Wyandotte County” states Ashley Jones Wisner, State Policy Manager for KC Healthy Kids and Chair of KCK Farmers Market Board. “We are pleased to see the Unified Government Board of Commissioners recognize their importance and pass an ordinance that ensures access to development, growth and success of farmers markets in Wyandotte County.”

For many districts, farmers markets are now permitted upon submitting an annual agreement with the Department of Urban Planning and Land Use. To complete this annual agreement, the farmers market need only renew basic information. There is no cost associated with this annual agreement. In addition, in districts where a special use permit is required to establish a farmers market, the special use permit fee has dramatically been reduced to $75.00. Below is a complete list of districts and what method they require for establishing a farmers market:

See here for the full ordinance change. See here for more information on districts.

These changes are another step towards reducing regulatory barriers to local, healthy food access. Farmers markets are now easier than ever to establish in Wyandotte County, so start planning for 2016!

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) is excited to share Cultivating Camden: The City’s Food Economy Strategy.  Cultivating Camden is based on the ongoing work of DVRPC, the Campbell Healthy Communities program, and The Reinvestment Fund.  It grew out of a desire to better understand Camden’s food system so that food system actors, stakeholders, and funders could be more strategic, coordinated, and effective in their work.   We encourage you to visit DVRPC’s website for a PDF version of Cultivating Camden, and share the report with your partners.

Cultivating Camden seeks to build off of Camden’s existing assets by identifying opportunities to increase food access and economic opportunities within the city.  It analyzes the city’s current food system and food economy, acknowledging the challenges that residents face in accessing healthy food, while at the same time making recommendations to grow food as an economic sector; increase opportunities for food entrepreneurs; engage Camden’s institutions; and support organizations already working to increase access to healthy food, healthcare, and job opportunities.

The following are the strategy’s Top Recommendations for Camden City, as prioritized by numerous stakeholders.  They are organized by implementer group (but not in ranking order):

• Institutions: Implement FreshRx Programs with vouchers for healthy food and integrate nutrition education at each hospital in Camden.
• Government: Work with alternative models of grocery stores to locate in Camden City at prime or transit-accessible spots, such as near the universities or at the redesigned Rand Transportation Center.
• Community Organizations: Create a community gardeners’ cooperative to distribute surplus food and sell food at rotating farmers’ markets.
• Economic Development Organizations: Expand the Heart Bucks Program for healthy purchases at Camden’s corner stores.

Implementing the recommendations included in Cultivating Camden will take the dedicated efforts of many actors working in Camden City.  Many of these efforts are already underway thanks to the work of a number of outstanding individuals, organizations, businesses, and institutions; however there is much more work to do.  To help facilitate the implementation of these recommendations, we encourage anyone working to support Camden’s food system to explore this funding opportunity: The Camden Food Innovation Grant Fund.  The Camden Food Innovation Grant Fund is a pooled fund that aims to seed innovative projects that create economic opportunity and foster healthy eating habits in Camden.  Additionally, DVRPC will host a series of technical assistance workshops for Camden stakeholders throughout 2016 to help build local organizations’ capacity to implement many of the recommendations put forth in Cultivating Camden.  We’d love to see you there, so please stay tuned for more information.

Last, but definitely not least, DVRPC is very grateful to the stakeholders and advisors who contributed their time, support, and expertise to help make this report possible.  Over 80 people representing more than 50 organizations, agencies, and businesses supported the development of Cultivating Camden.  We are extremely thankful for our partners and supporters who participated in stakeholder interviews, attended Advisory and Work Group meetings, contributed recommendations and ideas, and provided feedback on the report.  This report would not have been possible without their contributions.  Thank You!

Please contact Amy Verbofsky, Planner with the Office of Environmental Planning at (215) 238-2857 or averbofsky@dvrpc.org if you would like more information about Cultivating Camden or any of DVRPC’s Food System Planning efforts.

The Prince George’s County Food System Study report, Healthy Food for All Prince Georgians: An assessment of access to healthy food in Prince George’s County, Maryland, is now available online for reading or free downloading:

http://www.pgplanning.org/Resources/Publications/Prince_George_s_County_Food_System_Study.htm

This research study is an assessment of access to healthy food in Prince George’s County. It identifies issues affecting access to healthy and adequate food through surveys of food retailers, and surveys and focus group discussions with consumers. It explains why despite having more supermarkets than the market could support, there is still inadequate access to healthy food for a significant number of residents.

It discusses the shortcomings of national studies on areas with limited access to healthy food, and includes research findings on food-health connection, school meals, and food insecurity in the County. Based on the study findings and national and international promising practices, policy recommendations are provided for creating a healthy, equitable, and sustainable food system that ensures everybody has access to nutritious, affordable, sustainably grown, safe, and culturally appropriate food.

Postdoctoral Scholar Position Available Immediately

DEADLINE has been extended to January 30, 2016