The Dirt

Sustainable Food Center (SFC) was a proud participant in the first ever Food Day, with events being across the country on Monday, October 24, 2011.  With support from SFC, our Austin ISD school partners brought this national event home with a series of special events and activities.

Since 2006, Sustainable Food Center has worked closely with Austin ISD schools through our Sprouting Healthy Kids farm-to-school and food-systems education program.  Local food purchasing has expanded to nearly 50 local schools (complete list of schools here (http://www.sustainablefoodcenter.org/_blog/The_Dirt/post/Farm_to_School_Takes_Root_in_Austin), and there are an increasing number of opportunities for schools and communities to plan and implement activities that highlight healthy food and local food systems. 

All of Sustainable Food Center’s partner schools feature locally grown fruits and vegetables as part of their regular menus each week, participate in community and school gardens, and have opportunity to host healthy cooking and gardening classes for parents.  Through a valuable partnership with the physical activity program Marathon Kids, Sustainable Food Center is also working to organize and strengthen wellness teams at each of our partner schools.

A highlight of the local Food Day 2011 celebration included events at Andrews Elementary.  The school hosted a special “Meet the Farmer Day” during lunchtime with Erin Flynn of Green Gate Farms in Austin, who brought farm photos and examples of fruits, veggies, and eggs grown on their farm.  The school also sponsored a Local Veggie Sampling activity in the cafeteria where 500 students got to taste locally produced cucumbers and tomatoes, plus Gala apples from west Texas.  Students also learned about healthy, local food and food systems in their classrooms as teachers shared lessons from SFC’s Sprouting Healthy Kids program and from the Food Day Curriculum.

 

Other school events included:

Jordan Elementary

SFC’s Grow Local Basic Organic Gardening class

SFC’s The Happy Kitchen/La Cocina Alegre™ 6-week cooking class series starts

 

Pecan Springs Elementary

The Happy Kitchen/La Cocina Alegre™ workshop for parents

 

Pickle Elementary

Locally grown foods featured in the school cafeteria, plus a lunchtime Local Veggie Sampling activity

 

Norman Elementary

Locally grown foods featured in the school cafeteria, plus a lunchtime Local Veggie Sampling activity

 

Overton Elementary

Lessons from the Food Day curriculum incorporated into classrooms

Fruit/veggie sampling activities in classrooms with individual teachers

 

Erin Flynn of Green Gate Farms shows off heirloom squash to the students' delight.

Food Day seeks to bring together Americans from all walks of life—parents, teachers, and students; health professionals, community organizers, and local officials; chefs, school lunch providers, and eaters of all stripes—to push for healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way. Sustainable Food Center cultivates healthy community by strengthening our local food system and improving access to nutritious, affordable food. 

The extreme temperatures and lack of rain associated with the ongoing drought in Central Texas took its toll on farmers this summer, and is causing a delay in fall planting and harvest for many farmers.  More local fruit and vegetable farmers are seeking reliable and sustainable direct markets, though, in order to ensure a fair price for their products at a time when every sale and every customer counts.  This is good news for worksite partners on the waiting list for SFC’s Farm to Work program, and especially good news for the two new farmers and four new worksites that began Farm to Work this fall.

Green Gate Farms is now providing access to healthy fruits and veggies to employees at the Capital Area Council on Governments (CAPCOG), Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and Hill Country Outdoor Products, while students, faculty and staff at the University of Texas – School of Public Health in Austin began receiving deliveries from Animal Farm, an organic, permaculture farm in Cat Springs and longtime SFC Farmers’ Market participant.

Farm to Work pairs a farmer with a state agency, city office, or private company worksite and allows employees to order and pay online for a basket of fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables delivered weekly by the farmer to their office.  Unlike a traditional CSA, customers can choose to order, or not, each week – a level of flexibility that many customers appreciate.  SFC recruits and trains coordinators at each worksite – usually a worksite wellness team member – and provides website management, customer service, promotional support, and administration of the payments.  This level of support, along with the fact that the food is purchased directly from the farmer, keeps the overhead low and the prices more affordable than some delivery services may offer.  While customers cannot choose the individual items in each basket, the appeal of Farm to Work is evident in the growth of the program.

Farm to Work has expanded from its original partnership with Department of State Health Services in 2007, as DSHS worked closely with SFC to design, plan, and initiate the program.  Along with WebChronic Consulting, LLC, which engineered the ordering system, SFC, DSHS, and Naegelin Farms replicated Farm to Work with several other worksites and brought in other farmers from SFC’s network of local producers.  There are now nearly 30 worksites participating in Austin and San Antonio, with six farmers paired with these sites.

The drought may have slowed the fall season, but as farmers seek more lucrative and efficient direct marketing outlets, we are hopeful that Farm to Work can continue whittling away at the waiting list of worksites and offering this sales opportunity to more local family farmers.

-Andrew Smiley, Farm Direct Projects Director

Farm Bill 2012 Action Alert

Urgent: Call your lawmakers today!

 

November 7, 2011 – The Farm Bill is the most important bill affecting food, farming, nutrition, conservation and energy in the nation.  Every five years, Congress takes up this omnibus bill, which includes multiple titles, or topics, which can be addressed by several individual acts of legislation, all packaged together and referred to as the Farm Bill. 

 

Sustainable Food Center has learned that the 2012 Farm Bill is on a fast-track for introduction and passage.  This expedited process leaves little time for action, so, SFC encourages you to …

 

ACT NOW!!!

 

Below is a list of specific issues that SFC has identified as priorities for the 2012 Farm Bill, followed by detailed information provided by SFC’s national policy partners.  We’ve also included easy instructions to contact your Congress members and let your voice be heard.

 

Farm Bill 2012 Issues list

1. Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act

 

2. The Local Farm, Food, and Jobs Act

 

3. Limit direct farm subsidy payments, close loopholes in the cap on other farm payments, and re-align subsidies to reward farmers for climate friendly methods

 

4. The Expanding Access to Farmers Markets Act to increase purchases of local and healthy foods through the SNAP program

 

5 Authorize both WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program and Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program and increase funding to $100 million annually and eliminating the state match requirement for both programs

 

6. Ensure that effective conservation programs remain in place, including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program Organic Initiative and the Conservation Stewardship Program.

 

7. Bar federal crop insurance and disaster payments for conversion of native sod and fragile lands to cropland.

 

 

Farm Bill 2012 Issues details

1. Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act

The Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act of 2011 [H.R. 3236] highlights federal programs that help support economic opportunities for young and beginning farmers and ranchers.  The bill addresses many of the barriers that new agriculture entrepreneurs face such as limited access to land and markets, hyper land price inflation, high input costs, and a lack of sufficient support networks. Some of the specific proposals that are included in the Beginning Farmer bill are:

 

• Individual Development Accounts (IDA) and FSA Microloans
• Loans and set asides for conservation programs
• Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program
• Agricultural opportunities for military veterans

 

From: Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, http://www.ssawg.org/home/2011/10/27/beginning-farmer-bill-introduced-in-congress-for-inclusion-i.html, with additional information from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition at http://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/lffja-introduced/

 

2. The Local Farm, Food, and Jobs Act

This act will improve federal farm bill programs that support local and regional farm and food systems. This legislation will help farmers and ranchers engaged in local and regional agriculture by addressing production, aggregation, processing, marketing, and distribution needs and will also assist consumers by improving access to healthy food and direct and retail markets.  And of utmost importance, this legislation will provide more secure funding for critically important programs that support family farms, expand new farming opportunities, and invest in the local agriculture economy.

 

From: The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, http://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/lffja-introduced/

 

3. Limit direct farm subsidy payments, close loopholes in the cap on other farm payments, and re-align subsidies to reward farmers for climate friendly methods

Unlimited subsidies are the single most wasteful and counterproductive feature of current farm policy. Enough money could be saved by these reforms to reduce the deficit and invest in the future of family farming, land conservation, and in building a bright future for our small towns.

 

The Committee should start with federal crop and revenue insurance subsidies to mega farms. They are the most expensive element of farm programs, costing $7 billion annually. And if one big corporation farmed all of America, USDA would pay 60 percent of its insurance premiums on every acre for protection from low prices and crop failure. Why should the federal government pay 60% of crop insurance premiums on every acre of the largest farms and richest landowners in America in the midst of record high farm income and record federal deficits?

 

The Committee should also close loopholes in the cap on other farm payments. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Tim Johnson (D-SD) have again introduced legislation to close those loopholes, but it is not incorporated in either the President’s proposal or any of the budget proposals introduced in Congress.

 

Many policy makers and agricultural organizations have called for eliminating the direct payments made every year when prices are high, in return for stronger protections against falling prices and failing crops. We agree. But the protection should be aimed at family size farms. There should not be a safety net to protect against the risk of farming the whole county and driving the neighbors out of business.

 

From: Center for Rural Affairs, http://www.cfra.org/ and http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2715/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8383

 

4. The Expanding Access to Farmers Markets Act to increase purchases of local and healthy foods through the SNAP program

The bill amends the Food Stamp Act to include 'wireless' access, creating an automatic mandate to support farmers markets and farm stands with access to EBT technology for SNAP (formerly food stamps.)   The act would provide an Amendment to the Food Stamp Act, as the term 'wireless' does not currently exist in the Act but is essential to authorize the expansion of EBT to more farmers markets.  The bill would also support statewide networks for the effective and efficient promotion and implementation of EBT at the community level.

 

There are already 30 FMC members signed on as organizational supporters of this ground-breaking legislation, but more are needed. Simply reply to this email to offer your organization name, city, and state so that Sen. Gillibrand's staff may include your organization in a letter used to inform other legislators about the bill. Today is the last day, so don't delay! Let us know if you have any questions.

 

From: Center for Rural Affairs, http://www.cfra.org/ and http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2715/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8383; and additional information from the Food Research and Advocacy Council, http://frac.org/leg-act-center/farm-bill-2012/strengthening-snap-in-the-2012-farm-bill/

 

5 Authorize both WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program and Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program and increase funding to $100 million annually and eliminating the state match requirement for both programs

 

From: The National Association of Farmers’ Market Nutrition Programs, http://www.nafmnp.org/featured/2012-farm-bill-proposal

 

 

6. Ensure that effective conservation programs remain in place, including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program Organic Initiative and the Conservation Stewardship Program.

and

7. Bar federal crop insurance and disaster payments for conversion of native sod and fragile lands to cropland.

 

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program Organic Initiative helps producers transition into organic production systems. It also helps those who are already organic add additional conservation practices. The 2012 Farm Bill should maintain this support.

 

The next farm bill should make better use of the Cooperative Conservation Partnerships Initiative to bring conservation and rural development together as compatible goals. Uncrowded natural space is a key environmental amenity that many farm and ranch communities could provide. This program could give priority and bonus payments for enrollments that allow public access as part of a community development plan.

 

Last but not least, the new farm bill should bar federal crop insurance and disaster payments for conversion of native sod and fragile lands to cropland in response to high grain prices. The consequences of lost grassland are a significant step backwards in conservation.

 

Congress should remember that while we have a moral obligation to leave the land better that we received it, the public has an obligation to protect the land and water on which all of us – current and future generations – rely for survival. With continued pressure to reduce spending and bring our budget in line, important conservation programs that provide public benefits need not be sacrificed.

 

From: Center for Rural Affairs, http://www.cfra.org/ and http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2715/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8383

 

 

Steps to contact your members of Congress:

1. Identify your Senators and Representatives at www.congress.org (enter your zip code to find your Reps and Sens)

 

2. Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121; ask to be connected with your Member of Congress.

 

3. Tell them your name, and that you are a constituent calling about the 2012 Farm Bill, and that you support access to healthy food and a sustainable food system. 

*You may choose to include a bit about why you care – for example, “I am a parent and I want healthy food for my family” or “I am a family farmer and I make my living by raising healthy food for my community.”

 

4. Deliver this message: I encourage (Sen.___ or Rep.___) to support healthy food and food systems, too, by co-sponsoring particular bills or supporting these key issues:

* Mention all of some of the issues from the list above or other specific priorities you have identified, along with the reason that you are in favor of them.

 

5. Ask if they have any questions for you, and thank them for their time.

 

Things to remember:

• Phone calls are most effective, especially compared to the countless emails they receive.
• Be courteous and respectful
• Be clear and concise
• Take notes, including the name of the staffer you speak with, in case you’d like to follow up with them

 

 

 

"You know how your kids can watch the same movie over and over again, even though it drives us crazy?" began Maria [translated from Spanish]. "They notice new things about it each time. It's the same way with food. Once kids try something new and like it, they could eat it for every meal! It's up to us to help them try new foods, even though it may take some effort."

This was my first time seeing The Happy Kitchen/La Cocina Alegre™ class in action.I watched the parents in the room nod their heads as Maria, one of the three peer facilitators, related to them using stories from her own life.

As a community health organizer with SFC’s Sprouting Healthy Kids program, I work with schools to build “wellness teams” of parents, staff, and teachers and connect them to resources for health and fitness activities. For the past couple of weeks, I worked with the wellness team at Barbara Jordan Elementary to organize a 6-week cooking class in Spanish at a nearby mobile home park. On the day of the first class, I anxiously waited by the door to welcome parents. As I said hello to many familiar faces, I also met a few new participants who had been invited by their friends and family. One mother had even brought two English-speaking parents from her wellness team's Zumba class and offered to translate. Several kids trailed in and ran to the corner where we had childcare waiting with games and art supplies.

After the 18 participants settled in, facilitators Maria, Lorena, and Susi began with an introduction to the importance of learning how to cook healthy food for your family. Most of the participants were mothers, with the exception of one father. We discussed whole grains and seasonal produce. Did you know quinoa has protein? Why is it cheaper to eat seasonal vegetables? Where is the nearest farmers market? Parents chimed in with questions and suggestions. They laughed at shared experiences of successes and mistakes in the kitchen. I listened closely, jotting down new cooking terms in Spanish. 

Maria and Lorena then started on the day's recipe: Mexican Rice Salad. As the brown rice boiled on the burner, they invited parents to come up and try their hand at proper knife etiquette. They talked through the recipe, dicing carrots, tomatoes, and cilantro. Lime and toasted sunflower seeds joined the mix, and pretty soon, samples were ready to be scooped out.

"Vamos a probarlo! [Let’s try it!]" Lorena announced. As someone handed me a plate, my stomach growled, reminding me it was time for lunch. Que rico! Heads nodded in approval.

At the end of the class, we handed out 18 bags full of the ingredients from the day's recipe so everyone could test it out at home. Just a few days later at the school, I ran into Elisa, one of the mothers. "I made the recipe that very night, and my kids helped me," she told me. "They really liked it!"

-Bianca Bidiuc, Community Health Organizer