An Invitation to Share Your Ideas

As part of the Kellogg Foundation’s focus on their new mission of supporting children, families and communities as they strengthen and create conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society, they want to hear from you! As a way to explore the issues, obstacles and barriers that vulnerable children face, as well as an opportunity to imagine the possibilities all kids should have for success, the Foundation has created an Online Forum to listen and learn from the voices of the community. Please visit the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Online Forum on Vulnerable Children today at www.wkkf.org/vulnerablechildren.

Additionally, the Foundation has a new look on their homepage, which features the new statement of their mission, the 2007 Annual Report, and the Online Forum on Vulnerable Children.

Alliance Helps Set a New Tone for Farm and Food Policy Discussion

Now that both the House and Senate have passed their versions of the 2007 Farm Bill, the bill has moved into the conference stage. The bill still has to be reconciled in conference, passed by both the House and Senate, and then submitted to the President.

However, within the current versions bills are provisions that members of the Farm and Food Policy Project (FFPP), a unique alliance of more than 400 organizations, hoped to see, as outlined in their January 2007 report, “Seeking Balance in U.S. Food and Farm Policy.”

“27 of the 32 proposals [recommended in the report] were adopted, and there are other proposals that came out of the work of the FFPP,” says Alan Hunt, Senior Policy Analyst at the Northeast Midwest Institute. From a USDA study on local food systems to advances for minority farmers and beginning farmers and ranchers, the group has seen some progress in the Farm Bill since joining the debate as a coalition.

The effort was unique, says Hunt, because of the different groups who worked together to keep each other informed throughout the Farm Bill’s various stages in Congress.

“The FFPP has been really valuable because it has brought together a number of groups in progressive farm and food policy – environmental groups, anti-hunger organizations, conservations groups, family farms and more,” added Aimee Witteman, Grassroots Organizing and Outreach Director, Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. “All of these groups have different agendas, but FFPP brought these groups together around a common platform – Seeking Balance.”

That report was not only a product of the common ground found by members of the coalition, but it was also a tool for many others who weren’t a part of FFPP, but did have an interest in this year’s Farm Bill.

“There has been unprecedented interest in the Farm Bill this year,” says Witteman. “The Seeking Balance document and FFPP have been able to provide clarity for them about the status of the Farm Bill and the priorities affecting them.”

“FFPP is part of a larger effort of getting new players and new voices into the food and farm policy debate,” agrees Jimmy Daukus, Director of Farm Policy Campaign, American Farmland Trust. “Core members [of FFPP] worked with other coalitions, and that has had a real ripple effect. Religious groups, public health groups, environmental groups, conservation groups, local food groups, socially disadvantaged farmers – they all knew about the Farm Bill, but now more of them have come together to realize they have common interests and needs.”

The Coalition has not only brought many groups together, but it has also given them a louder and stronger voice in informing the public and government leaders about many different issues in the farm and food policy debate. And although the affect of their efforts to bring balance to the Farm Bill will not be known for some time yet, those efforts have definitely made a difference in the discussions currently taking place.

“Regardless of what we accomplished, the debate has changed because of all of the people involved,” says Daukus. “The interaction between nutrition, public health, conservation and local food is much more developed and much better understood, as is the relationship between food access and local food infrastructure.”

“The dialogue about agriculture and food systems has shifted because more groups are now educated about the policies,” agrees Witteman. “In a few years, we’ll be able to measure the impact, but for now we’ve helped create a better vision for food and farm policy.”

And it’s a dialogue that will continue throughout future farm and food policy. “People are still talking to each other,” says Hunt.

Adds Daukus, “This was not just about the 2007 Farm Bill. It has also created partnerships, coalitions and collaborations that can affect the discussion of other legislation – such as the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act and the Transportation Act – and other policy debates going on.”

To learn more about the Food and Farm Policy Project, visit www.farmandfoodproject.org.

Grantee News

Big Creek People in Action Wins Innovator Award
The Southern Growth Policies Board has selected Big Creek People in Action, a participating organization in the Kellogg Foundation’s Leadership for Community Change program, as a recipient of the 2008 Innovator Award. The organization was selected from a pool of more than 100 nominees from the Southern Region in the youth development and/or engagement category and will be honored along with 13 other organizations at a public ceremony on Sunday, June 1, 2008, at the Peabody Little Rock Hotel, in Little Rock, Arkansas. The ceremony will be followed by a reception at the Clinton Presidential Center, hosted by Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe.

Marsha Timpson (center), Big Creek People In Action’s KLCC project lead, is thrilled that her organization has won a 2008 Innovator Award. Shown here with her are Salina Adams, former KLCC youth coach (left) and Big Creek Executive Director Clifton Moore.

“We are PROUD!” wrote Marsha Timpson, in an email spreading the news. Timpson is the KLCC project director and the Big Creek administrator who nominated the organization for the award. Big Creek will represent West Virginia at the Youth: The REAL Future of the South conference on June 1-3, 2008 in Little Rock.

Founded in 1990 by the people of McDowell County, West Virginia, Big Creek People in Action serves the community through programs in education and literacy, leadership development, volunteer service, service learning, arts and culture, housing, recreation and collaborative partnerships. Big Creek’s vision of McDowell County is one of empowered and self-sufficient people living in communities that are economically vibrant, democratic and socially just.  

Southern Growth Policies Board is a non-partisan public policy think tank based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Formed by the region’s governors in 1971, Southern Growth Policies Board develops and advances visionary economic development policies by providing a forum for partnership and dialog among a diverse cross-section of the region’s governors, legislators, business and academic leaders and the economic- and community-development sectors. This unique public-private partnership is devoted to strengthening the South’s economy and creating the highest possible quality of life.

Wallace Center Convenes Local Food Producers and Regional Buyer Groups
A new Wallace Center effort to increase the volume and profitability of local farm products in major market outlets launched successfully December 4 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Nearly 100 food buyers, growers, and industry representatives attended the project’s "Meet the Midwest Buyers" reception at the Great Lakes Fruit and Vegetable Expo. They included Whole Foods, Sysco, Sodexho, Meijer Retail Stores, Gordon Food Services, Goodness Green-ness and Testa Produce along with more than 50 environmentally certified growers.

The Wallace Center National Value Chain Network aims to build new “value chain” links between local farms and major food companies in which farms, for example, are no longer anonymous commodity producers but strategic partners in delivering high-quality, differentiated products to consumers.
 
Allen Williams, of the Association of Family Farms, addressed how companies can make the transition from traditional supply chains. Buyers showed a high level of interest in growers’ products, and some placed orders at the event.

The Wallace Center’s regional team will follow up with growers and buyers and is working to fund "grower readiness" training to prepare more farms for participation in value chains.

NEWS BRIEFS

Finding Rural America's Prosperous Communities
From the “Daily Yonder”
When most of us discuss successful rural communities we talk about growth -- more people, more houses, higher incomes. More bodies and more stuff. Growth equals success in this equation -- and the rural counties that we all try to emulate have booming populations and lots of housing starts. Rural communities that aren't growing are, by this definition, failures -- and, with this perspective, failure stretches across much of the rural United States.

Andrew Isserman decided to use another measure for rural success. Instead of growth, Isserman, an economist at the University of Illinois, looked for which rural counties were prosperous. And by studying prosperity instead, he and research colleagues Edward Feser and Drake Warren found that the prosperous places in rural America weren't the kinds of communities usually thought of as successful.

Learn more about Isserman’s approach to finding rural America’s prosperous communities, click here.

Help ahead for Black Farmers
In the Senate-approved version of the Farm Bill, thousands of black farmers would be able to take advantage of a provision that allows them to seek compensation over allegations that they were denied loans because of their race.

The provisions date back to a 1999 settlement of a case known as “Pigford.” Black farmers who said they were denied loans and other help from the USDA brought that case to the federal government. About 15,000 farmers were awarded damages, but nearly 70,000 other claims were not considered because the farmers missed the filing deadline or were deemed not to have merit. The most recent farm bill would allow these farmers the opportunity to once again seek compensation for the discrimination they faced.

John Boyd, president of the National Black Farmers Association spoke to NPR’s Farai Chideya about this part of the Farm Bill. To hear their conversation, click here.

David Ward

As an expert in what move consumers to buy products, David Ward is helping to do just that as the Executive Director of the Association of Family Farms. David was appointed to this role in January 2008 after serving as co-chairman of the board since October 2006. During 2007 he worked with the executive committee of the board to create a strategic plan for the organization, and now David will begin executing that plan by implementing values-based value chain projects in the Midwest and Southeast and designing the consumer access and education campaign that will support such projects.

Before working with AFF, David served as Vice President for Marketing, Business and Program Development at The Rodale Institute, where he designed and implemented their strategy to create stronger ties between families, farmers, and the food businesses that serve them. Previously, as Vice President for Marketing at World Wildlife Fund, David led his team to diversify the organization’s funding by cultivating greater support from individual members and corporations.

David’s consulting practice, Crucible Consulting, helped re-brand the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Bain & Company, and Scholastic, Inc. During the 1980s and ‘90s, David advised creative and media teams at Ogilvy & Mather, Saatchi & Saatchi, Cliff Freeman, Bozell, Hill Holiday, and WRK on how to build demand from various consumer audiences – for clients as diverse as Procter & Gamble, General Mills, Toyota, Staples, Hershey, and Merrill Lynch.

David Ward
Executive Director, Association of Family Farms
3880 Rodman Street NW, Suite C213
Washington, DC 20016-2824
Phone: 202.249.1486
E-mail: david@familyfood.net

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Rural economy conference Feb. 27 in Columbus
The Center for Rural Affairs will host the second annual conference, Marketplace: Opening Doors to Success, to focus on building jobs and the rural economy from within. It will be held in Columbus at the New World Inn Feb. 27. Early-Bird Registration has been extended to Feb. 15, 2008.

“Marketplace is for those committed to creating their own opportunities and shaping their own destiny through entrepreneurship.  It offers a space to share ideas and learn from each other,” said Chuck Hassebrook, executive director of the Center for Rural Affairs.

The conference will offer training, networking, and professional development opportunities for startup and existing small businesses, service providers, rural communities, and family farmers and ranchers. MarketPlace will feature up to 50 booths with successful small businesses, service providers, and other conference sponsors. Seven tracks will be offered: business development, finance, marketing, community, agriculture, technology, and Hispanic (with sessions available in Spanish).

For more information, visit http://www.cfra.org/marketplace/home.

Three great opportunities coming up quickly with The Food Project and BLAST.
Youth Delegation at Food & Society Conference April 28 thru May 1, 2008.

Apply to be part of the BLAST youth delegation to Kellogg’s FAS conference.

The Food Project’s BLAST (Building Local Agricultural Systems Today) Initiative will be organizing a youth delegation to Kellogg’s 2008 Food and Society (FAS) Conference near Phoenix, AZ from April 28-May 1. This program is designed to increase the presence of young people (ages 16-25) at the conference in order gain the creative input of tomorrow’s leaders and to help bridge generations. The Food Project is running a youth Pre-Conference Day where we will get to know each other and explore the area.

Youth can mean high school students (juniors or seniors), college students, and other young adults age 25 and younger.

We encourage you to apply. Applications are available on our website (http://www.thefoodproject.org/blast/Internal1.asp?id=640). Lodging and most meal costs will be covered in full, and there is some scholarship money available to assist with travel. Applications are due by February 20, 2008.

If you have any questions or are just considering applying, please contact Marissa Grossman at 617-442-1322 (x19) or at blast@thefoodproject.org.

The Food Project’s Winter Institute (February 7-9, 2008)
Register now for The Food Project’s Winter Institute in Lincoln and Boston, MA. To learn more and download the Registration Form, visit http://www.thefoodproject.org/blast/internal1.asp?ID=179

Many people come to The Food Project during the summer and are inspired by this well-orchestrated symphony of activities - with beautiful, healthy food, and highly motivated, articulate teens working with passion towards a common mission. It seems to flow effortlessly.

The truth is … our summers are the complementary outcome of the other half of the year when we run vibrant youth programs such as the Academic Year Program (with its D.I.R.T. crew ) and the Internship programs. During this Fall/Winter season, 50 teens are engaged in meaningful, age-appropriate challenges that help our communities as they deepen their knowledge and take action to create a sustainable food system. The lessons and actions are dynamic and “real-time” at shelters, farmers’ markets, greenhouses, in workshops they facilitate, and in the powerful feedback sessions with their peers and supervisors (during Straight Talk).

At the Winter Institute, you’ll experience:
  • winter season planning and program design
  • the opportunity to work with youth and hear about their winter season work
  • how to build a tiered youth development program
  • how to mobilize and motivate teens year round
  • the foundations and planning for strong summer programs
  • dinner and in-depth conversations with The Food Project staff

For more information on TFP's Winter Institute, please email jjames@thefoodproject.org or call 781-259-8621 x24.

Limited need-based discounts are available.  If you are interested in attending the Institute and are unable to cover the full cost, please ask us for more details.

Apply to be a Regional Coordinator with the Real Food Challenge
The Real Food Challenge is a new national campaign (co-founded by The Food Project and our partners) that unites and empowers students and their allies to create a food system that truly nourishes people, communities, and the earth. The central goal is to re-direct at least 20% of all the food purchased by colleges and universities (currently 4 billion dollars) toward real food within 10 years. This is our flagship goal—but not the only one. Overall, we want to foster an entire campus culture that supports real food. That means we also want to see more college farms and more academic programs that deal with food.

We are seeking motivated individuals to become coordinators for the Southwest, Northwest, Midwest, and Southeast regions. It is a part-time, paid position.
 
You can read more about the Real Food Challenge on the website: www.realfoodchallenge.org and find a full job description on the blog: http://www.realfoodchallenge.org/blog.

Please contact Marissa Grossman at 617-442-1322 (x19) or mgrossman@thefoodproject.org with any questions or to express your interest in applying.

2nd ACEEE Forum on Energy Efficiency in Agriculture
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy will be holding its 2nd ACEEE Forum on Energy Efficiency in Agriculture on February 20-22, 2008, at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Des Moines, Iowa. The Forum’s theme is "Food and Energy from the Ground Up: Efficiency's Role in Sustainable Agriculture." Questions about the conference, program, or sponsorship should be directed to Sarah Black, ACEEE, (202) 429-8873 or agforum@aceee.org. Watch the Web site for updated information as it becomes available: http://www.aceee.org/pubsmeetings/curmtgindex.htm

Sare’s 20th Anniversary Conference
Come to the New American Farm Conference at the Westin Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, March 25-27, 2008 to find out more. State-of-the-art practitioners will be there – farmers, ranchers, teachers, researchers and students sharing work and experiences. During the conference you will have the opportunity to tour local farms to see sustainable agriculture at work; learn the ins and outs of quality marketing and production; meet others, build partnerships; and help chart a course for 20 more years of SARE success. The conference is open to farmers, ranchers, teachers, researchers, students, advocates – or simply curious consumers. Anyone is welcome who wants to learn more about groundbreaking work in the exciting and rapidly expanding field of sustainable agriculture in America. For information visit www.sare.org/2008conference/.

Rethinking Food, Health, and the Environment:
Making Learning Connections
The Center for Ecoliteracy (CEL) and Teachers College Columbia University (TC) announce two five-day professional development institutes:
 June 23-27 in Berkeley, California
August 9-13 in New York, New York

Designed to support teams from schools and districts that want to create learning connections between the school food environment and curriculum in the classroom, the institutes are part of the CEL-TC joint project supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Teams participating in the institutes will develop specific implementation plans for their schools or districts, applying the RSL planning framework and the CEL’s Linking Food and the Environment (LiFE) curriculum. The institutes will include seminars on the latest research in nutrition and sustainable education, how-to sessions with leading practitioners, field trips to regional farms and schools engaged in rethinking school food, and opportunities to share experiences and to model the practices of a learning community.

Information and applications are available at http://www.ecoliteracy.org/seminars/rfhe-pdinstitute.html.

We want to hear from you! If you have information about an upcoming seminar, conference or just have great news you want to share with our readers, we want to know.

All announcements must be timely and relevant. To submit an announcement, simply send an e-mail to the editor at routesofchange@wkkf.org.

The newsletter editor has the authority to edit the announcements and decide which announcements get posted.

If you have any comments or questions about the e-newsletter, or if you would like more information about the Kellogg Foundation, e-mail us at routesofchange@wkkf.org

W.K. Kellogg Foundation
One Michigan Avenue East
Battle Creek, MI 49017-4058