NYS Regional Food Community Project
The Regional Community Food Project (RCFP) is itself a "mini- food policy council" recognized by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker, and the New York State Council on Food Policy.
In the fall of 2005 community leaders and individuals concerned with food security, food safety, community health, individual wellness, economic prosperity and agricultural sustainability began gathering to discuss the one element we held in common: food. The common thread securely bound the participants together and lead to the formation of the Regional Community Food Project (RCFP) and monthly meetings thereafter.
The RCFP is a collaborative effort among "food" stakeholders in the Southern Tier. "Members" are a diverse group of organizational representatives and individuals including concerned community residents, farmers, farm organizations, USDA staff, health professionals, dieticians, Cornell Cooperative Extension staff, public school administrators, food service directors, food bank managers and food pantry leaders, and others. Members represent six Southern Tier Counties including Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego, Tioga and Tompkins.
Together RCFP works to create and support food secure communities and thriving, profitable farms. We work to ensure that all residents, underserved groups and food service providers have access to quality local foods. We support local farmers and the development of a strong local food system, including food processors, distributors and markets. We work to strengthen the connection between food and health by promoting the use of local food as the cornerstone of community health. And we educate residents on the many benefits of buying locally produced food and provide them information on how and where to purchase it.
The purpose of the Regional Community Food Project is to promote and help implement policies and practices leading to increased use of nutritious, locally produced foods, creating food secure communities, and improving the quality of life in South Central New York State.
The RCFP truly is greater than the sum of its parts; what we accomplish together could not be accomplished individually. The food system, as you all know, is complex and multi-disciplinary, and the problems being addressed by the RCFP are bigger than any one of us could solve ourselves. Together we are taking initial steps towards solutions by building understanding and assisting one another. The RCFP works across the disciplines. We are acutely aware that we can't solve the problems alone and rely on each other for guidance, support and expertise.
The RCFP gathers as a group to both learn and share and in this way becomes increasingly effective in strengthening farmer-consumer connections. Members have individually lead projects which benefit the RCFP community as a whole. Stories of opportunities and challenges are brought to monthly meetings.
One such success story shared is the Chenango County Bounty. Under the direction of Opportunities for Chenango, the program builds local capacity for local foods with such innovations as: a map and stamp card campaign, an "Eat Local This Week" challenge, Bullthistle Bucks, and the newly created "Farmer's Market at Your Door" program.
RCFP members are getting creative helping members of the community access safe and nutritious foods. The Food Bank of the Southern Tier is exploring ways that locally produced foods can have an important role in their hunger relief efforts, while The Rural Health Network is improving access to farmers market and local farm products for homebound elderly and the disabled, and the Johnson City School District fills backpacks with nutritious foods for kids to take home.
The projects are successful because a push-pull effort follows an identified need by one RCFP member. Other members who have experience working with growers, or organizing transportation, or marketing ideas all assist in the effort. Together problems begin to be solved.
The RCFP recognized early on that policy acts as a barrier to the accomplishment of our goals. Utilizing productive upland pastures not suitable for other types of agriculture is a goal of our member the NYS Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative and the RCFP. But getting ruminants out on pasture is only part of a local food system; the other part involves getting those products to market, which requires local slaughtering and processing capacity. RCFP partner NY Farms! is currently working with Cornell University on a Livestock Processing Work Team to address such issues.
RCFP Partner the Center for Agricultural Development & Entrepreneurship, CADE, is working with both farmers and processors to create value added "hubs". The Evans Farmhouse Creamery is one such example, where not only does the creamery processes local dairy products but they also distribute other agricultural products throughout the region. In this way the RCFP works to support and expand regional infrastructure.
Educating the public is critical to increasing local use of local foods. Farms enrich communities in numerous ways and that value must be compensated for. RCFP realizes that local foods may not be the least expensive and recognizes the need to defend such costs to local customers. Helping to increase consumer awareness to the benefits of eating healthy and locally is undertaken individually and collectively.
One consumer outreach effort undertaken and lead by Cornell Cooperative Extensions of Broome and Tioga, with support by Broome and Tioga Farm Bureaus, was the organization of the annual "Farm Days at the Mall". At this event farmers are invited to have tables and displays and talk to shoppers, mall walkers and visitors about their farms and farm products. This year the request for assistance to find local farmers was greater than ever and RCFP members were happy to help.
The "Taste of Tioga" organized by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tioga County provided another type of opportunity for people to connect with farmers through collaboration with local restaurants. Such a venue provided farmers two market potentials.
Each of the counties has coordinated and published local food guides and has worked to distribute them in numerous venues.
Health and wellness on numerous levels is an unstated RCFP goal. Individual health, community health, economic health, and environmental health are all a concern. A state of wellness is achieved when health is in balance within and among these elements.
Holism is the method employed to create wellness. Decisions are not made independently but are instead mutually dependent upon each other. The director of the Resource Conservation and Development Agency of South Central New York leads RCFP members in collective, holistic decision making.
A "Growing Health" conference organized by the Rural Health Network of South Central New York was a groundbreaking effort to bring numerous community constituents to the table in an effort to expand the concept of health and wellness, and to assist attendees in making the direct connection of wellness to the need to support local agriculture. "Growing Health" helped introduce the farm and food sectors to the health and human service sectors, and initiated important community discussions and connections that continue today.
If one were to look at defined regions, united in the effort of protecting food security locally, such as proposed "Food Sheds", ours is a model we would recommend. The RCFP is an effective vehicle moving efficiently towards defined goals.
The successes we can measure are not funded directly by any one organization, but by the contributions of each of the members. There is no budget, there is no program manager, there is no working capital, but there is heart, strong will, determination, and solid convictions-- all of which have carried the RCFP to date. Like other collaborative groups working to develop a regional food system, we continue to look for financial support and depend upon community and partner generosity.
The RCFP is an open working group and organizations and individuals are encouraged to participate. The annual planning meeting will take place January 22. Meetings are the fourth Thursday of the month from 2-4 at the Broome County Cornell Cooperative Extension office on Upper Front Street.
"Bullthistle Bounty" was a project of Opportunities for Chenango - and included a discount card for local products including food, a Hometown Holidays shop local booklet and OFC co-sponsored the Eat Local Challenge with Cornell Coop Ext. Chenango.
The "CHENANGO BOUNTY: Farmers Market at Your Door" is a project of the Chenango County Agriculture Development Council - a delivery service of wonderful local foods. For more information see www.chenangobounty.com
One way to help the environment and create sustainable landscapes is to usenative plants. Here is a conference all about it in nearby Ithaca:
Designing with Native Plants.
Creating Sustainable Landscapes for the Finger Lakes & Upstate New York
Date & Time: Friday February 20, 2009; 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM
at Cornell's Lab of Ornithology
For more information, see the website http://www.tompkinschamber.org/events/show/53
In the fall of 2005 community leaders and individuals concerned with food security, food safety, community health, individual wellness, economic prosperity and agricultural sustainability began gathering to discuss the one element we held in common: food. The common thread securely bound the participants together and lead to the formation of the Regional Community Food Project (RCFP) and monthly meetings thereafter.
The RCFP is a collaborative effort among "food" stakeholders in the Southern Tier. "Members" are a diverse group of organizational representatives and individuals including concerned community residents, farmers, farm organizations, USDA staff, health professionals, dieticians, Cornell Cooperative Extension staff, public school administrators, food service directors, food bank managers and food pantry leaders, and others. Members represent six Southern Tier Counties including Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego, Tioga and Tompkins.
Together RCFP works to create and support food secure communities and thriving, profitable farms. We work to ensure that all residents, underserved groups and food service providers have access to quality local foods. We support local farmers and the development of a strong local food system, including food processors, distributors and markets. We work to strengthen the connection between food and health by promoting the use of local food as the cornerstone of community health. And we educate residents on the many benefits of buying locally produced food and provide them information on how and where to purchase it.
The purpose of the Regional Community Food Project is to promote and help implement policies and practices leading to increased use of nutritious, locally produced foods, creating food secure communities, and improving the quality of life in South Central New York State.
The RCFP truly is greater than the sum of its parts; what we accomplish together could not be accomplished individually. The food system, as you all know, is complex and multi-disciplinary, and the problems being addressed by the RCFP are bigger than any one of us could solve ourselves. Together we are taking initial steps towards solutions by building understanding and assisting one another. The RCFP works across the disciplines. We are acutely aware that we can't solve the problems alone and rely on each other for guidance, support and expertise.
The RCFP gathers as a group to both learn and share and in this way becomes increasingly effective in strengthening farmer-consumer connections. Members have individually lead projects which benefit the RCFP community as a whole. Stories of opportunities and challenges are brought to monthly meetings.
One such success story shared is the Chenango County Bounty. Under the direction of Opportunities for Chenango, the program builds local capacity for local foods with such innovations as: a map and stamp card campaign, an "Eat Local This Week" challenge, Bullthistle Bucks, and the newly created "Farmer's Market at Your Door" program.
RCFP members are getting creative helping members of the community access safe and nutritious foods. The Food Bank of the Southern Tier is exploring ways that locally produced foods can have an important role in their hunger relief efforts, while The Rural Health Network is improving access to farmers market and local farm products for homebound elderly and the disabled, and the Johnson City School District fills backpacks with nutritious foods for kids to take home.
The projects are successful because a push-pull effort follows an identified need by one RCFP member. Other members who have experience working with growers, or organizing transportation, or marketing ideas all assist in the effort. Together problems begin to be solved.
The RCFP recognized early on that policy acts as a barrier to the accomplishment of our goals. Utilizing productive upland pastures not suitable for other types of agriculture is a goal of our member the NYS Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative and the RCFP. But getting ruminants out on pasture is only part of a local food system; the other part involves getting those products to market, which requires local slaughtering and processing capacity. RCFP partner NY Farms! is currently working with Cornell University on a Livestock Processing Work Team to address such issues.
RCFP Partner the Center for Agricultural Development & Entrepreneurship, CADE, is working with both farmers and processors to create value added "hubs". The Evans Farmhouse Creamery is one such example, where not only does the creamery processes local dairy products but they also distribute other agricultural products throughout the region. In this way the RCFP works to support and expand regional infrastructure.
Educating the public is critical to increasing local use of local foods. Farms enrich communities in numerous ways and that value must be compensated for. RCFP realizes that local foods may not be the least expensive and recognizes the need to defend such costs to local customers. Helping to increase consumer awareness to the benefits of eating healthy and locally is undertaken individually and collectively.
One consumer outreach effort undertaken and lead by Cornell Cooperative Extensions of Broome and Tioga, with support by Broome and Tioga Farm Bureaus, was the organization of the annual "Farm Days at the Mall". At this event farmers are invited to have tables and displays and talk to shoppers, mall walkers and visitors about their farms and farm products. This year the request for assistance to find local farmers was greater than ever and RCFP members were happy to help.
The "Taste of Tioga" organized by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tioga County provided another type of opportunity for people to connect with farmers through collaboration with local restaurants. Such a venue provided farmers two market potentials.
Each of the counties has coordinated and published local food guides and has worked to distribute them in numerous venues.
Health and wellness on numerous levels is an unstated RCFP goal. Individual health, community health, economic health, and environmental health are all a concern. A state of wellness is achieved when health is in balance within and among these elements.
Holism is the method employed to create wellness. Decisions are not made independently but are instead mutually dependent upon each other. The director of the Resource Conservation and Development Agency of South Central New York leads RCFP members in collective, holistic decision making.
A "Growing Health" conference organized by the Rural Health Network of South Central New York was a groundbreaking effort to bring numerous community constituents to the table in an effort to expand the concept of health and wellness, and to assist attendees in making the direct connection of wellness to the need to support local agriculture. "Growing Health" helped introduce the farm and food sectors to the health and human service sectors, and initiated important community discussions and connections that continue today.
If one were to look at defined regions, united in the effort of protecting food security locally, such as proposed "Food Sheds", ours is a model we would recommend. The RCFP is an effective vehicle moving efficiently towards defined goals.
The successes we can measure are not funded directly by any one organization, but by the contributions of each of the members. There is no budget, there is no program manager, there is no working capital, but there is heart, strong will, determination, and solid convictions-- all of which have carried the RCFP to date. Like other collaborative groups working to develop a regional food system, we continue to look for financial support and depend upon community and partner generosity.
The RCFP is an open working group and organizations and individuals are encouraged to participate. The annual planning meeting will take place January 22. Meetings are the fourth Thursday of the month from 2-4 at the Broome County Cornell Cooperative Extension office on Upper Front Street.
"Bullthistle Bounty" was a project of Opportunities for Chenango - and included a discount card for local products including food, a Hometown Holidays shop local booklet and OFC co-sponsored the Eat Local Challenge with Cornell Coop Ext. Chenango.
The "CHENANGO BOUNTY: Farmers Market at Your Door" is a project of the Chenango County Agriculture Development Council - a delivery service of wonderful local foods. For more information see www.chenangobounty.com
One way to help the environment and create sustainable landscapes is to usenative plants. Here is a conference all about it in nearby Ithaca:
Designing with Native Plants.
Creating Sustainable Landscapes for the Finger Lakes & Upstate New York
Date & Time: Friday February 20, 2009; 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM
at Cornell's Lab of Ornithology
For more information, see the website http://www.tompkinschamber.org/events/show/53
Labels: article, food, locavore, nys, sustainability
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