Community Food Security Coalition From Farms to Capitol Hill: Growing Healthy Kids, Farms and Commun

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Community Food Security CoalitionFrom Farms to
Capitol Hill Growing Healthy Kids, Farms and
Communities

• March 16-19, 2007
• Baltimore, MD

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What is Farm to Cafeteria

• Farm to Cafeteria brings locally-grown food
  into school cafeterias
• Experiential Nutrition education students learn
  where their food comes from by visiting farms,
  growing gardens and eating locally grown food.
• Win-Win Benefits kids, farmers and community

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CFSCs Healthy Foods Communities Initative

• Specific Food Policy proposals for the 2007 Farm
  Bill
• 4 Goals
• Provide funding to child nutrition programs to
  provide fruits and vegetables in schools,
  implement wellness policies and expand nutrition
  education

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Funding School to Cafeteria

• Farm to cafeteria was authorized but not funded
  in previous legislation.
• Funding would create one-time, competitive grants
  to cover the initial costs of farm to cafeteria
  projects
• Although as many as 1,000 public schools in 32
  states are buying local produce barriers to local
  procurement are a problem

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Why local food ?

• The average meal in the U.S. travels 1,500 miles
  before reaching your plate
• Frozen peas require 150 more energy than fresh
  peas due to packaging and refrigeration
• A head of lettuce traveling from California to
  North Carolina uses 36 times more fossil fuel
  than it provides in food energy
• Produce not sold locally is often in transit or
  cold storage for days or weeks and its
  nutritional value declines with time

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The Need for Policy

• What we want from our food system and what are
  national food and farm policies deliver are
  incresingly out of balance
• Twin phenomena of hunger and obesity
• Currently few financial incentives to encourage
  large quantities of healthy food
• Immunizations, Speed Limits, Seat Belts

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The Need for Grassroots

• School Gardens
• Farm to Cafeteria -
• Locally grown organic food/free-trade
• Hormone-free meat
• rBGH-free Milk
• Remove additives
• Farmers Markets/CSA

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Success stories

• Growing Minds Appalachian Sustainable
  Agriculture Program, North Carolina
• Mixed Greens Grand Rapids, Michigan
• Life Lab Garden Classroom UC Santa Cruz,
  California
• Massachusetts Farm to School Program

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Resources

• www.farmtoschool.org Information on Farm to
  school programs
• www.foodsecurity.org Community Food Security
  Coalition
• www.yaleruddcenter.org Newsletter on food
  policy
• www.csrees.usda.gov - Funding programs

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AHA Moments

• No nation is any healthier than its children
• We need to change the mindset that cheap food is
  good food
• First they ignore you, then they laugh at you,
  then they fight you, then you win. (Ghandi)
• 3 behaviors 4 diseases 50 deaths