Tools/Agriculture/Food Security
Agriculture
Community Alliance with Family Farmers
The Community Alliance with Family Farmers is building a movement of rural and urban people to foster family-scale agriculture that cares for the land, sustains local economies and promotes social justice.
Photo by Lara Morgan
Cuyahoga Valley Countryside Conservancy
Cuyahoga Valley Countryside Conservancy (CVCC) is a private, non-profit corporation, chartered in Ohio, and headquartered in the Cuyahoga Valley between Cleveland and Akron. CVCC is a small think-and-do tank working to re-envision and rebuild local-regional farming and food systems in Northeast Ohio – systems purposefully designed to reconnect food in the public’s mind to farming and land, to community and nature.
EarhSave
EarthSave leads a global movement of people from all walks of life who are taking concrete steps to promote healthy and life-sustaining food choices.
Ecotrust: Food and Farm Program
By promoting the seasonal products of local farmers and striving to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture on healthy watersheds, Ecotrust is fostering a regional food system in the Pacific Northwest.
Food Alliance is a non-profit organization that promotes sustainable agriculture by recognizing and rewarding farmers who produce food in environmentally friendly and socially responsible ways, and educating consumers and others in the food system about the benefits of sustainable agriculture.
The freshest, healthiest, most flavorful organic food is what's grown closest to you. Use this website to find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainability grown food in your area, where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies.
National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
The National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service is created and managed by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and is funded under a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Business-Cooperative Service. It provides information and other technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, Extension agents, educators, and others involved in sustainable agriculture in the United States.
National Farm to School Network
Farm to School programs are popping up all over the U.S. These programs connect schools with local farms with the objectives of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing health and nutrition education opportunities that will last a lifetime, and supporting local small farmers.
Robyn VanEn Center for Community Supported Agriculture
Ensuring the survival of local agriculture today and for future generations. Resources include the national CSA farm directory
Recognizing that the enjoyment of wholesome food is essential to the pursuit of happiness, Slow Food USA is an educational organization dedicated to stewardship of the land and ecologically sound food production; to the revival of the kitchen and the table as centers of pleasure, culture, and community; to the invigoration and proliferation of regional, seasonal culinary traditions; to the creation of a collaborative, ecologically-oriented, and virtuous globalization; and to living a slower and more harmonious rhythm of life.
Located in Burlington, Vermont, the mission of the Intervale Center is develop farm-and land-based enterprises that generate economic and social opportunity while protecting natural resources. A great model!
While there are some examples of successful food system practices, no detailed vision or plan exists on how to transition the whole food chain to a sustainable model. The Vivid Picture project, funded by the Roots of Change Fund, is designed to generate a blueprint for a sustainable food system, and a change agenda to achieve the vision.
Food Security and Local Food Systems
Founded by a group of concerned farmers to stop the loss of productive farmland and to promote farming practices that lead to a healthy environment.
Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
Located in Santa Cruz, CA, the Center has developed
a very effective public outreach program.
Community Food Security Assessment Toolkit: US Department of Agriculture
This report provides a toolkit of standardized measurement tools for assessing various aspects of community food security. It includes a general guide to community assessment and focused materials for examining six basic assessment components related to community food security. These include guides for profiling general community characteristics and community food resources as well as materials for assessing household food security, food resource accessibility, food availability and affordability, and community food production resources.
Produced and recorded in the studios of Kootenay Co-op Radio in Nelson, British Columbia, Deconstructing Dinner has been designed to dispense and discuss current food issues. The program assists listeners in making more educated choices when purchasing food either for the kitchen or at food-service establishments.
Provides communications tools, technical support, networking and information resources to organizations nationwide that are working to rebuild local, community-based food systems
A grassroots membership organization made up of farmers, as well as rural and urban residents working together to foster an ethic of stewardship for farmland, to promote sustainable agriculture and to develop sustainable communities.
The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is an online and grassroots non-profit public interest organization campaigning for health, justice, and sustainability. The OCA deals with crucial issues of food safety, industrial agriculture, genetic engineering, children's health, corporate accountability, Fair Trade, environmental sustainability and other key topics.
The Community Food Security Coalition
The Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) is a non-profit 501(c)(3), North American organization dedicated to building strong, sustainable, local and regional food systems that ensure access to affordable, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food for all people at all times. We seek to develop self-reliance among all communities in obtaining their food and to create a system of growing, manufacturing, processing, making available, and selling food that is regionally based and grounded in the principles of justice, democracy, and sustainability.
Permaculture
The Eugene Permaculture Guild seeks to educate their members and the wider community about the principles of sustainable living, and to create examples of permaculture in the Eugene area. Of note, coming up August 25 to 27, 2007 is the 10th annual North West Permaculture and Bioregional Gathering in Eugene.
National Sustainable Agriculture: Introduction to Permaculture
The word "permaculture" was coined in 1978 by Bill Mollison, an Australian ecologist, and one of his students, David Holmgren. It is a contraction of "permanent agriculture" or "permanent culture." This site is chock full of definitions, concepts and resources.
Utilizes a unique strategy of combining sound financial business practice with earth care ethics to supply its members with a growing set of financial services.
Permatopia Patterns
Permatopia Patterns is a new way of thinking about permaculture. Interesting mapping and graphics for using permaculture principles for local, bioregional, and global solutions.
Located on 1.6 acres within the city limits of Portland, Oregon, their goal is to demonstrate and teach in ways that enable people to develop the skills necessary to live a more sustainable life on the planet.