Food & Faith: A Values-Based Approach for Community Food Security

Food & Faith: A Values-Based Approach for Community

Food Security

Pleasant Hope Baptist ChurchA pretty exciting greenhouse for God

Agenda

4:15 Welcome and Introductions

4:20 Presentations by Panelists

5:05 Q & A

5:20 Small Group Discussions

5:35 Return to Large Group and Last Thoughts

Pleasant Hope Baptist ChurchCommunity Garden

Baltimore, MDOctober 17, 2010

Story of Pleasant Hope

• Founded in 1933 after two historic African American congregations merged in North Baltimore City

• Today the congregation of Pleasant Hope is made up of roughly 200 individuals

• Economic range from below the poverty line to the working poor with some financially stable "middle class" families

• The largest age group of the congregation is 60 years and older.  The fastest growing group is the 19 to 25 year olds.

• Being a majority elderly congregation means, in part, a greater number of health challenges

What Can We Do?

• Promote culturally appropriate, incremental lifestyle changes

• Church theme for 2010 is "Sustainability"

• This year, we've considered what it means to be holistically healthy - mind, body, and spirit

• Leadership had to lead the way if it was to take root in the congregation

Healthy Food Right Across The Street

Since we can't afford your healthy food, we'll grow our own

Interfaith Network

Environmental

Stewardship

Hunger and

Community Food

Security

Health and

Nutrition

Animal Welfare

Social and

Economic Justice

How do we work to address How do we work to address these issues?these issues?

Community Food Security is…Community Food Security is…

… … a condition in which all community a condition in which all community residents obtain a safe, culturally residents obtain a safe, culturally acceptable, nutritionally adequate diet acceptable, nutritionally adequate diet through a sustainable food system that through a sustainable food system that maximizes community self-reliance and maximizes community self-reliance and social justice" (Hamm, 2001)social justice" (Hamm, 2001)

In Baltimore…In Baltimore…

CLF Community Food Assessment in SW Baltimore

• 76% - NO fruit for sale

• 69% - NO vegetables for sale

• 35% - “sometimes” were unable to buy healthy food due to lack of resources

• 17% - “often” were unable to buy healthy food due to lack of resources

.

Episcopal Church of the Messiah

Brown Memorial- Park Avenue

St. Pius X Roman Catholic Church

Congregation Supported Congregation Supported Agriculture (CSA)Agriculture (CSA)

Cardinal Shehan School

St. Ambrose Catholic School

Towson Presbyterian Church

Baltimore Hebrew Congregation

GardensGardens

St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church

Food with Dignity Food with Dignity InitiativeInitiative

Knox Presbyterian Farm StandKnox Presbyterian Farm Stand

Knox Organic Farm StandKnox Organic Farm Stand

Photos courtesy of Aron Fay

Contact UsContact Us

Project Director: Angela Smith, angsmith@jhsph.edu

Website:www.tinyurl.com/baltimorefoodandfaith

Phone: (410) 502-5069

Re/Storing NashvilleMaking the healthy choice the easy choice

Community Food Advocates

• Community Food Advocates mission is to end hunger and create a healthy, just, and sustainable food system.

• We are a movement of farmers, parents, students, persons of faith, community gardeners, and health advocates united by a commitment to the idea that all members of our community should have access to food grown in a way that promotes the health of people, planet, and community.

Re/Storing Nashville

• Restoring Nashville is a faith-based movement for food justice in Nashville, advocating for increased access to affordable healthy food for all of Nashville.

What is a food desert?

• A food desert is a neighborhood that has little or no access to nutritious foods needed to maintain a healthy diet.

• While lacking full-service grocery stores, food deserts have a surplus of convenience stores and fast food restaurants.

• More than 23 million Americans, including 6.5 million children, live in urban and rural neighborhoods that are more than a mile from a supermarket.

Edgehill

North Nashville

• 3.5 square mile area

East Nashville

Transportation Access

• High prices, long trips, infrequent service and carrying purchases home from the store are all barriers for food desert residents.

• Taxis often charge between $10 - $40 per trip.

What do we want?

• Change the conversation•Policy change: Tax and Zoning Incentives

• Direct Public Transportation Access

Advocacy

Leadership Team

Food-transit assessment

Partnership with Food Trust

Food Desert Relief Act

Breaking Bread Leadership Institute

Outreach

• Interfaith worship toolkit

• Partnerships with congregations and faith organizations

• Grocery Stories

Why work with the faith community?

• Leveraging existing partnerships with the faith community

• Recognizing critical role of faith community in social movements

• Building on health ministries

• Shifting food work from charity to justice

Challenges

• Saturation of issues

• Balancing short-term versus long-term outcomes

• Multi-faith versus inter-faith

THANK YOU!• Cassi Johnson, Executive Director• Community Food Advocates• www.communityfoodadvocates.org• 615-385-2286

Interfaith Food and Farms Partnership

Mission Statement

To empower faith communities, farmers and neighborhoods to build rural-urban

alliances and create innovative partnerships for just and sustainable food systems that promote community health.

Food & Faith-The Connections

• Food is a profoundly spiritual and ethical concern.

• Communities of faith can play a vital role in creating a just and sustainable food system.

Interfaith Food and Farms Partnership Projects

• Farm to Congregation Partnerships

• Community Kitchens

• Cooking and Food Preservation Classes

• Micro-enterprise

• Community Gardens

• Congregational Wellness Project

• That’s My Farmer! FM Coupon Project

Farm to Congregation Partnerships

• Farm Stands

• Community Supported Agriculture

• Buying Club

Farm Stands

• Farmer sells goods in a faith community setting.

• Generally before or after the service.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

• Participants pay an upfront cost for a weekly delivery of produce.

• Faith communities can serve as a weekly drop off site for produce.

Buying Club• Combining collective purchasing power to get wholesale prices for local produce.

Building Relationships

Benefits of Farm to Congregation Partnerships

• New access points for fresh, local food.

• Greater understanding of the challenges that farmers face.

• Opportunity to deepen understanding of relationship to the earth and of justice issues.

• Opportunity to try new foods.

• Community building.

• Opportunity to learn about another culture.

• New marketing opportunity for farmers.

Cooking Classes• We partner with community organizations

and congregations to offer cooking classes for low-income families and individuals.

Canning Classes

Micro-enterprise

Congregational Wellness Project• Congregational Health Index—to assess where

changes can be made in congregation environment and practices to support health.

• Help congregations create lasting changes to improve health and reduce childhood obesity.

• Moving from congregation to the community to advocate for policy change together.

• Resources at www.faithandwellness.org

Community Gardens• Underutilized land put to

use by the community

• Community-building space,’

espec for recent immigrants

• Food education centers

That’s My Farmer FM Coupon Program

• Started in 2005 in one Corvallis congregation• IFFP expanded to multiple congregations in

2006 with USDA grant. • Purpose: Support local farmers and build

relationships with them, improve food access, increase awareness/support for farmers’ market

• Spun off in 2008. Provide AmeriCorps member. • Congregation and community members buy the

$20 booklets with 10% going to fund to purchase booklets for people with low-incomes.

Challenges

• Congregations of different faiths operate very differently. Be a cultural anthropologist.

• Congregations can take a long time to make decisions, need to be very patient.

• May already have a lot of their plates.• Getting the whole congregation behind it. • Volunteers can get burned out if you don’t

constantly recruit new folks to share in the work. • Many don’t understand the difference between

charitable food ministry and community food sec.

Just a Few Learnings

• It’s important to bring resources to the table (staff, funds, etc)-make it a mutually beneficial relationship.

• Find an internal champion for the project, this can really help with cautious trustees.  

• A Request for Proposal (RFP) for a project can help congregations be more intentional and committed and can lead to greater cooperation among congregations.

Reaching out to Congregations

• Identify congregations in the neighborhood or serving the demographic that you want to serve.

• Approach your local interfaith or ecumenical organizations, or ministerial assoc. Is there a community ministry organization already doing related work on food?  

• Research who is the best person, or committee in the congregation to approach first. Be aware that congregations are very different in how leadership works and decisions are made.

• Be respectful at all times.

Reaching out to congregations• Find the right entry point for the congregation. What

are their goals for outreach, improving health, hunger, social justice, and education?

• Identify and build on assets-land, kitchens, food and cultural knowledge, people with skills and community leadership and influence.

• What does the congregation’s denomination or teachings say about food and justice?

• What are the food traditions of congregation?• Celebrate together through food to build relationships.

Many congregations know how to do this well!

Contact us

Website: www.emoregon.org/food_farms.php

Phone: 503-221-1054 Jenny Holmes, jholmes@emoregon.org

Alison Warren, awarren@emoregon.org

Laura Raymond, lraymond@emoregon.org

Corvallis, 541-757-1988 ext. 307

Victoria, O’Nion, thatsmyfarmer@gmail.com

Rebecka Weinstieger, rweinstieger@emoregon.org