Community and Regional Food Systems Project: Year One and Beyond!

Year 1

and Beyond…

Discussion

• What innovations in the community and regional food system have you observed?

– Where?– By whom?

• To what extent is your work already integrated among several of these fields?

• What activities/innovations have the potential to be scaled up (or down)?

• Does the framework resonate with your work?

• What tools do you need to advance your integrated food system work?

CRFS Project Overview

• Five year project funded by USDA-NIFA (National Institute of Food and Agriculture)

• Integrated Project: research, education, and outreach

• People: researchers, producers, advocates, educators, lenders, policy-makers, and more

Central Research Question

What are the characteristics and functions of a healthy CRFS and how do/can they contribute to increased community food security?

Vision

• Understand and test what contributes to the success of CRFS

• Develop an assessment toolkit and training programs

• Enable other locales around the country to build healthy food systems.

Education• PEOPLE program• College internships• Graduate

practicums

Outreach• Growing Power

– workshops and trainings

• University Extension– Peer network– Train-the-trainer

curriculum– Project evaluation

and community assessment

– Appropriate, accessible resources

Research• Characterize complex

urban food systems • Refine, validate,

implement the framework

• Evaluate in and with communities

– Enhance communications

– Identify innovations– Identify opportunities

for expansion and improvement

Integrated Components

Anticipated Outcomes of CRFS project

• Dynamic, useful framework– Enhance understanding between researchers, communities, advocates– Identify community-based innovations and promote successful strategies– Create tools for community self-assessment– Understand the intricacies and dynamics of CRFS and how they affect food security

• Youth who are knowledgeable and inspired by CRFS

• Trained participants in CRFS – Inclusive and targeted training: growers, processors, distributors, marketers, lenders,

advocates, etc.– Tools and methods for community self-assessment– Disseminating successful strategies and innovations

Available

Affordable

Appropriate

Accessible

Sustainable

Characteristics

Food Productio

n

Social Relation

sEconomic

sLaw and

PolicySupply Chains

landsuitability

land tenure& economics

agriculturalsystems

transportation& logistics

markets andmarketing

business models& management

capital andlabor

community &cultural relations

legal & politicalenvironment

food & nutritioneducation

food processing& quality control

Nutrition &

Health

diet and food

behaviorexercise and health care

Tools, metrics, models

to understand

and relate to…

to influence

Food Security Framework

PRODUCTION

• Backyard gardens and orchards

• Community gardens

• Non-profit and community organizations

• Commercial production– Urban– Peri-urban

Range of Production Scales

• Land availability and affordability

• Long-term stability

• Land use transitions– Hunger Task Force– Troy Gardens

Land Tenure

• Soil Quality– soil compaction– soil contamination – e.g., lead,

PAHs– Compost production-variable

quality

• Environment– water, solar access– Infrastructure development

• Location– Proximity to markets– Public transportation and

communityLand Suitability

• Vertical farms

• Use of non-traditional spaces

• Seek high production rate/area

• Small space makes crop rotation and disease and pest management challenging.

Innovations on Limited Land

Hybridization in business models and supply chain configuration reflect:• Scalar variation• Desire to balance social, environmental & profit goals

The fair pricing dilemma:Business models that maximize farmer profits often make products too expensive for low-income consumers

Growing Power vision statement: “Inspiring communities to build sustainable food systems that are equitable and ecologically sound, creating a just world, one food-secure community at a time”

Supply chain & economics

Need for aggregation & distribution systems for small and midsize producers• Food hubs and incubators• Scale-appropriate transportation &

logistics– Traceability– Temperature-controlled storage– Efficient route-planning

InfrastructureGraphic courtesy of Local Dirt: localdirt.com

Infrastructure

Need for infrastructure and distributionsystems that accommodate small-

midsizebuyers:

• Challenges for corner store initiatives

– Purchase volume & price points– SNAP & WIC implementation– Cooler storage & display – Marketing & merchandising– Façade improvements

www.healthycornerstores.org

Innovations in infrastructure and businessSUPPLY-SIDEOrganization Location Business

modelPhysical infrastructure

Activities

Sweet Water Organics & Sweet Water Foundation

Milwaukee, IL Non-profit & for-profit partners

Former crane factory Produces and sells fish & vegetables, provides interdisciplinary sustainability programming

The Plant Chicago, IL LLC business incubator

Former meat-processing plant

Brewery, food/ag business incubator, research and educational space

5th Season Co-op

Viroqua, WI cooperative Former manufacturing plant

Produce aggregation, processing, storage and distribution food & value-added food products

DEMAND-SIDEOrganization / Project

Location Business model

Physical infrastructure

Activities

Fondy Food Center

Milwaukee, WI Non-profit Formerly city owned & operated farmers’ market structure, leased private farmland

Farmers’ market, cooking-based nutrition education, leases a farm for low-income growers

Around the Corner to Better Health

Milwaukee, WI Private, non-profit, & public sector partners

Independently-owned corner stores

Façade & cold chain infrastructure improvements, marketing and supply chain development

Social relations, Health & nutrition

Social & cultural relations• Food security in urban U.S. is largely an issue of race and class• Dismantling racism trainings, Growing Food & Justice Initiative

Some factors affecting consumption of whole foods• Accessibility, availability, appeal of healthy food• Food culture• Culinary knowledge • Time/convenience

• Production subsidies and standards, regulation of food processing and transport, and publicly funded food assistance

• Federal level: – Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act– Farm Bill

• Many innovations in CRFS are occurring at the local level

Law and policy

Goats at Growing Power, Milwaukee, WI

Innovations in the legal & political environmentPOLICY Land use

controlsEconomic development incentives

Licensing & regulation

Programs & services

COMPONENTProduction Urban

Agriculture ordinances

Local food procurement policies

Permit on-site produce sales at market gardens

Vegetable gardening classes & resources

Processing Industrial retention via zoning & comprehensive planning

Agricultural processing renaissance zones

Promote laws permitting limited sales of home-processed foods

Provide cooking & food preservation classes

Distribution Flexible zoning for grocery stores in under-served areas

USDA “geographic preference” option increases local food in schools

Grocery store attraction incentives

Establish farmers’ markets on city-owned land

Consumption

Long-term leases for community gardens

CDBG funding to increase produce at corners stores

Streamline licensing requirements for farm markets & produce carts

EBT machines for WIC/SNAP at farmers’ markets

Resources & Waste Management

Align state/municipal composting land use regulations

Mandatory recycling and composting

Separate ag and solid waste regs/ permitting requirements

Municipal household composting program

Overarching Issues

• Management– Workforce– Inputs– Balancing social, environmental, financial goals

• Technical Assistance– Access to information– Skills and background

• Policy and Zoning– Limitations on infrastructure and production– Lack of coordination across scales and types of regulatory bodies

• Need for Evaluation– What types of CRFS initiatives and policies have proven successful? By whose standards?– What are appropriate measures of different CRFS goals?

Next steps

• Responsive Community Engagement Projects– Community driven– 3 month-1 year commitment

• Framework-based research– Community and stakeholder interviews– Field trials

• Training and education– Webinars– Workshops– Resource materials

YOUR THOUGHTS?

Discussion

• What innovations in the community and regional food system have you observed?

– Where?– By whom?

• To what extent is your work already integrated among several of these fields?

• What activities/innovations have the potential to be scaled up (or down)?

• Does the framework resonate with your work?

• What tools do you need to advance your integrated food system work?

Lindsey Day [email protected]

Anne [email protected]

www.community-food.org