Webinars facilitate sharing of information learned at the local level from our work with Communities of Innovation and Communities of Opportunity with a broad audience of government leaders and other food system stakeholders.

Webinars are based on lessons learned from case studies in Communities of Innovation and Communities of Opportunity. The Growing Food Connections team is developing and launching a series of webinars for local elected officials, regional councils and other key stakeholders on how the case study communities developed and implemented a variety of partnerships, planning and policy strategies to strengthen their food systems.

Webinar 1: The Food Systems Planning Process: Understanding the Ups and Downs of the Journey

The webinar emphasizes stakeholder engagement and covers the impetus behind food systems plans, visioning and goal setting, assessments and the process of developing a plan to foster the visions and goals with diverse community stakeholders. Presenters share insights on how to ensure and fund implementation, and the timeline for completion.

Our presenters include Growing Food Connections Project Coordinator Jeanne Leccese of University at Buffalo and representatives from two Communities of Innovation: Cheryal Hills, Executive Director of the Region Five Development Commission (Minnesota); Helen Schnoes, Food Systems Coordinator for Douglas County (Kansas); and Eileen Horn, Sustainability Coordinator for Douglas County and the City of Lawrence (Kansas). Plans for each community are available: http://www.resilientregion.org/ (Region 5) and https://www.lawrenceks.org/pds/lr-H2020 (Douglas/Lawrence.)

Presentation Timeline:

• Julia Freedgood (0:00 start)
• Jeanne Leccese (3:06 start)
• Helen Schnoes and Eileen Horn (23:23 start)
• Cheryal Hills (1:04:15 start)

Webinar 2: Planning and Policy Techniques to Support Food Systems Planning

Developed especially for local government and community planners, the webinar will focus on planning and policy techniques that support the work of incorporating food systems into community planning. Presenters share insights incorporating food systems work into community planning and policy implementation.

Our presenters include Growing Food Connections Project Coordinator Jeanne Leccese of University at Buffalo, American Planning Association Managing Director of Research and Advisory Services David Rouse and a representative from a Community of Innovation: Tamara Downs Schwei, Homegrown Minneapolis Local Food Policy Coordinator.

Presentation Timeline:

• Julia Freedgood (0:00 start)
• Jeanne Leccese (1:46 start)
• David Rouse (17:30 start)
• Tamara Downs Schwei (40:55 start)

Webinar 3: Assessment  Tools and Metrics with Erica Campbell, Vermont Farm to Plate

Erica Campbell, Farm to Plate Network Director in Vermont, is our featured speaker on assessment tools and metrics for the third webinar in the GFC Communities of Opportunity webinar series. Vermont passed legislation in 2009 calling for increased economic development and jobs in the farm and food sector, and improved access to healthy local food for all Vermonters. Following the passing of this legislation, the Farm to Plate plan was developed to provide a roadmap and strategic plan for Vermont’s food system. To learn more about Erica and the Farm to Plate plan, please see the following websites: http://www.vtfarmtoplate.com/ and http://www.vsjf.org/who-we-are/staff.

Please note due to technical difficulties the first few minutes of the introduction by Julia Freedgood are not available in the recording.

Presentation Timeline:

• Julia Freedgood (0:00 start)
• Erica Campbell (1:28 start)

Webinar 4: A National Scan – Developing Support for Urban Farms

GFC co-hosted a webinar with the American Planning Association featuring new research from Dr. Anu Rangarajan and Molly Riordan of Cornell University on supporting the development of urban farms.

Abstract:

As urban and suburban farms have proliferated around the United States in the past decades, much attention has been paid to their youth engagement, community development, educational and other social impacts. Yet there have been few assessments of how these farm-based social enterprises, which face the narrow margins and high risks of growing produce, can thrive based on the sales of their products alone. Often strong relationships with nonprofit and philanthropic sources have helped urban farms survive. But what can be done to encourage their self-sufficiency for a promising future?

Through a study commissioned by the Local Food Research & Development Division of USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Dr. Anu Rangarajan and Molly Riordan both of Cornell University, have interviewed farmers, policy-makers, urban planners, funders, and nonprofit and community organizers engaged in local food systems and urban farming to uncover the policies, resources, and future research and development needed to support the development of urban farms. They will review examples from case study farms to present relevant farm models, planning policies, and partnerships that point the way toward fulfilling the promise of urban agriculture.

Speaker Bios:

Dr. Anu Rangarajan is a member of the Horticulture faculty at Cornell University and serves as the Statewide Fresh Market Vegetable Specialist for New York. She directs the Cornell Small Farms Program, with a mission to enhance the viability and sustainability of all small farms across the Northeast. Focal areas include local food systems, beginning farmer training, wholesale market readiness, renewable energy and conservation, livestock processing and small dairy innovation and management.  The program offers online and face-to-face training for beginning farmers and service providers. The Small Farm Program also hosts the Northeast Beginning Farmer Project (www.nebeginningfarmers.org).

Molly Riordan, MRP is the former Urban Agriculture Development Program Associate for the Cornell Small Farms Program at Cornell University.  Her research and previous work combined aspects of city planning, regenerative farming practices, farmer training, and local food distribution and market development. Currently, she is the Good Food Purchasing Coordinator for the City of Philadelphia, working between the departments of Public Health and Procurement to help city departments serve food that is better for individual health, the local economy, and the environment.

Growing Food Connections is using Podio (an online social networking forum) to link Communities of Opportunity and connect them with Communities of Innovation and members of the Growing Food Connections team.

The forum provides a venue for information sharing, learning and peer-to-peer dialogue, as well as an interactive database to share curriculum, support materials and other resources, including links to policies, plans, statistics and literature. The forum actively engages diverse stakeholders, including farmers, ranchers, planners, local governments, public health departments, regional councils, agricultural organizations, land grant universities and food policy councils by encouraging dialogue and the exchange of information, in order to create healthy, sustainable community-based food systems. Resources such as case studies, reports, policy briefs, planning documents and other publications related to policy and systems change strategies are available on the forum. The forum includes a networking work space, photography and video sharing, discussion forums and event listings.

Growing Food Connections assists and actively engages with Communities of Opportunity in strengthening their food systems.

Communities are increasingly looking for ways to improve access to healthy food, support farms and ranches, and stimulate local economies. However, local governments often do not have the resources to guide them to devise practical solutions that address these objectives. Growing Food Connections is actively engaging and partnering with representatives from Communities of Opportunities (COOs), both municipalities and counties, across the US to help them bridge the gap between food production and food security through public policy.

At the launch of the project, in 2012, the team began the process of selecting 8 Communities of Opportunity from across all four US Census regions. In March 2015, 8 Communities of Opportunity were announced. The American Farmland Trust provided technical support in the eight Communities of Opportunity.

GFC investigators continue to conduct research to better understand the various policy barriers faced by Communities of Opportunities and identifies innovative policy and planning strategies that can be adapted to meet each community’s unique food systems needs.

Chautauqua County, New York (Jamestown): Located on Lake Erie in western New York, Chautauqua County is a popular destination for wine, recreation, and culture enthusiasts. The county has a vibrant agricultural sector, which boasts the largest grape growing region east of the Rockies. Home to Lucille Ball, the beautiful Chautauqua Lake, and the widely renowned Chautauqua Institution—an intellectual, spiritual, and artistic summer retreat—residents value quality of life, community, learning, and tradition. [Community Profile | Community Overview | Case Study]

Cumberland County, Maine (Portland): On the striking coast of Maine, Cumberland County is home to the state’s most populous city of Portland. With a working waterfront and a U.S. Economic Development Administration Sustainable Food Production Cluster designation, Portland has built much of its economy around its food resources. Dubbed “Foodiest Small Town in America” by Bon Appétit magazine in 2009, Portland is a popular tourist destination not only for its food culture but also its arts, history, and spectacular landscape. [Community Profile | Community Overview]

Doña Ana County, New Mexico (Las Cruces): A vast county of about 3,800 square miles, Doña Ana County, New Mexico, spans a large portion of the Mesilla Valley from the base of the Organ Mountains to the borders of Mexico and Texas. The treasured Rio Grande River runs through it, producing a fertile locale for the nation’s oldest wine-producing region, the world’s largest pecan orchard, and the birthplace of the highly coveted Hatch green chile. [Community Profile | Community Overview]

Dougherty County, Georgia (Albany): Historically part of the “Breadbasket of the Confederacy,” Dougherty County has a rich history tied to agriculture, America’s early Indian culture, and the Flint River. Led by the Albany Movement—a desegregation coalition formed in the county seat for which it was named—the county played an important role in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. [Community Profile | Community Overview]

Douglas County, Nebraska (Omaha):

Home to Omaha, which Forbes magazine identified as the nation’s number one “Best Bang-For-The-Buck City,” Douglas County is situated along the Missouri River in the heart of the Midwest. Renowned for TV dinners and Duncan Hines® cake mix, major food manufacturers— such as Kellogg’s and Tyson Foods—underpin the local economy. [Community Profile | Community Overview]

Luna County, New Mexico (Deming): Luna County is nearly 3,000 square miles of open space and striking natural features. Located in southwestern New Mexico, it shares a 54-mile border with Mexico, and its International Port of Entry provides round-the-clock service between Chihuahua and the United States for a variety of agricultural products. More than two-thirds of its land base is managed by the federal or state government, and the county receives payment in lieu of taxes on public land. [Community Profile | Community Overview]

Polk County, North Carolina (Columbus): Divided by the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west and the Piedmont plateau to the east, Polk County, North Carolina, is a transition zone. It has a steep rugged land­scape of mountains, gorges, and coves, as well as rolling pastures, cultivated fields, and orchards. A rural county with small town charm, it also boasts great restaurants, shops, and services. [Community Profile | Community Overview]

Wyandotte County, Kansas (Kansas City): Wyandotte County—or the “Dotte,” as it’s affectionately called—is the smallest county in Kansas by land area, but the fourth largest by population. Bordered by Missouri River on the north and Kansas River on the south, Wyandotte County is one of nine counties in a bi-state region surrounding Kansas City, Missouri metropolitan area. Despite being located in a metro area of more than 2 million people, much of the county has a rural character with large yards and wide expenses of open land. City of Kansas City and Wyandotte County consolidated in 1997 to create the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas (Unified Government), which closely collaborates with Mid-America Regional Council (MARC), the area’s designated metropolitan planning organization. [Community Profile | Community Overview | Case Study]

Growing Food Connections provides opportunities for networking for representatives across Communities of Opportunity representatives. Networking fosters communication, facilitates the development of partnerships, and encourages information sharing and cross learning within and between these communities.

Growing Food Connections works in partnership with urban and rural communities across the US to provide technical assistance and guidance on how to develop tools and policies that support local farms and improve food security.

Growing Food Connections aims to address the concerns of family farmers and underserved community residents by building the capacity of local governments and their partners to create, implement and sustain food system plans and policies that both promote food access and foster a healthy agricultural sector. 

The purpose of GFC’s Planning & Policy component is to facilitate a transfer of knowledge to local governments, Cooperative Extension and other food systems stakeholders regarding best practices for improving food security, while supporting small and underserved farmers and increasing the economic viability of food production. Recognizing there is no one-size-fits-all solution, lessons learned from case study research provide a better understanding of what works to inform tailored approaches that meet individual community conditions and needs.

 Growing Food Connections in  Communities of Opportunity

Communities of Opportunity

Communities of Opportunity

Building the capacity of local governments to improve community food systems to benefit small and mid-sized farmers and underserved community residents.

Growing Food Connections is actively partnering with local government staff, professional planners, Cooperative Extension, other agriculture and rural development experts and community food advocates in municipalities and counties that both have the need and potential to improve community food security. We are building connections with partners, identified as Communities of Opportunity, to:

• Create the partnerships and policy framework needed to sustain healthy food and agriculture system efforts over time.

• Foster the development and financing of infrastructure necessary to add value to agricultural production and ensure access to healthy, affordable and culturally acceptable food.

• Educate government staff on how to leverage public and private resources to create healthy, sustainable community-based food systems.

Community Webinars & Trainings

Beyond working directly with Communities of Opportunity, Growing Food Connections is providing a range of Community Webinars & Training Courses to other communities across North America interested in developing policies and implementation strategies for connecting the food production and food security needs of farmers and residents. GFC is developing and launching a series of webinars for local elected officials, regional councils and other key stakeholders on how to develop and implement a variety of partnerships, planning and policy strategies to strengthen their food systems.

These webinars are based on lessons learned from case studies in Communities of Innovation and Communities of Opportunity.

In collaboration with community partners, the Growing Food Connections team is conducting targeted regional “results” workshops to facilitate the adoption of promising planning processes and policies, in order to improve outcomes in the selected 8 Communities of Opportunity. These targeted workshops are specifically designed to reflect regional histories of food systems planning and projects, regional conditions (such as growing systems and levels of food security) and regional culture.

Upcoming Workshops:

October 27, 2017 – Douglas County, Nebraska: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Local Food Economics Toolkit Workshops.

Past Workshops:

June 29, 2017 –Dougherty County, GA: Food Systems and Economic Development

In support of the Albany-Dougherty Planning Department, GFC  hosted a workshop for the county commissioners, economic development professionals, planners, GFC steering committee members and local organizations working on asset based economic development focused on food system-based economic development strategies.  Speakers shared insights, tools and experiences on the importance of and how to incorporate and foster food system-based economic development strategies. Speakers included:

• Paul Forgey, Director of Planning, Albany-Dougherty County
• Justin Strickland, President, Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission
• Kent Wolfe, Director, University of Georgia Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development
• Theresa Zawacki, Senior Policy Advisor, Louisville Forward
• Shirley Sherrod, Director, Southwest Georgia Project

Directly following the workshop, GFC and University of Georgia Extension hosted a local foods mixer featuring farmers and food artisans from the Dougherty County region.

Dougherty Regional Workshop Agenda June 29th

Dougherty Regional Workshop Flyer June 29th

___________________________________________________________________________

May 15, 2017 – Chautauqua County, NY: A Food Assessment and Path Forward

In collaboration with the University of Buffalo Graduate Planning Studio, GFC hosted a workshop focused on a county-wide food assessment and path forward for food system planning in Chautauqua County, New York for the GFC steering committee and food assessment participants. In the morning, students in the University of Buffalo Graduate Planning Studio presented the results of their recently completed Chautauqua County food assessment.  The afternoon featured speaker Helen Schnoes, Food Systems Coordinator for Douglas County Kansas, who shared her experiences developing a county-wide food plan in Douglas County, and her insights on next steps following a food assessment.  Workshops participants discussed next steps to further food system planning in the community following the University of Buffalo’s food assessment. The agenda and workshop materials are available below.

GFC Chautauqua Regional Workshop Agenda

February 14, 2017 –Doña Ana County and Luna County, NM: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Local Food Economics Toolkit Training

On February 14, 2017 Growing Food Connections collaborated with the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Local Food Economics Toolkit Team and Community of Opportunity stakeholders, Doña Ana County, Luna County and La Semilla Food Center to bring over forty food system planning community members together to learn how to measure the economic impacts of local food investments. The Toolkit team shared best practices, applied research, data resources and community case studies while also facilitating group learning exercises to help participants brainstorm long term community food system visions and goals. For more information, please visit: https://localfoodeconomics.com/toolkit-new-mexico/

Here you can access the workshop agenda, powerpoint slides, and Developing a Community-Driven Assessment resource:

Toolkit_smallgroup_visioning_scenarios

GFC_USDA_LocalFoodEconToolkit_2017_0214

GFC_DonaAna_Luna_RegionalWorkshopAGENDA

At this time, the Communities of Opportunity Application Process is closed.

Growing Food Connections selected 8 local governments in urban and rural communities across the US to receive free technical assistance and guidance on how to develop tools and policies that support local farms and improve food security.

Although we selected only a limited number of communities, the Growing Food Connections website has free resources available to all communities.

If you have additional questions, please contact growingfoodconnections@ap.buffalo.edu.