February 2008


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SPECIAL EDITION

Community Food Projects Need Your Help

Community Food Projects

As you may have heard by now, this year’s competition for the Community Food Projects Grants Program (CFP) has been halted by the USDA because of "uncertainty" about the future funding of the program in the Farm Bill. Over 460 Letters of Intent had been submitted prior to the suspension of the program.

Your advocacy is critical to restoring this decade-long enormously successful program. Millions of dollars are at stake for programs that support access to healthy food for underserved communities and benefit family farmers including successful farm to school programs.

Over the past ten years, CFP grants have financed over 250 locally-led initiatives, identifying low-income areas with high incidence of nutrition-related disease and finding solutions to increase availability and use of healthy, affordable foods in such communities.

The demand for the CFP program is great among rural and urban areas alike and we must work to save this valuable program.

How You Can Help

This small, but vital program, addresses the needs of low-income and underserved communities that do not have access to sufficient amounts of healthy foods. It is critical that CFP be included in the final version of the Farm Bill (H.R. 2419) at $10 million mandatory funding , as provided in the Senate version of the bill.

Thanks to information provided by the Community Food Security Coalition, you can Act Now!

This Month's News

Vineyarders learn a lesson in local fare

by Laurie Higgins, Cape Cod Times.

It's easy to find locally grown food in the summer, but what if you want to cook a local meal in February? That is exactly the challenge tackled last week by the Island Grown Initiative; chef Daniel Sauer from the Outermost Inn; and Martha's Vineyard Regional High School's culinary arts department. The resulting dinner was a brilliant success. Read the entire article.

Anderson County produce program gives schools local options

by Samantha Harris, Independent Mail.

If Anderson County schools are worried about getting tainted meat, the “Grow With Me ” program might alleviate those concerns.  Read the entire article.

Healthy foods rise to top of menu

by Kara Hansen, The Daily Astorian.

There's a statewide move toward farm-to-school food programs, for both environmental and health benefits. In Astoria, much of the district's produce and other foods already come from Oregon or not far from it. Read the entire article.

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