GO TO 2040 is metropolitan Chicago's first comprehensive regional plan in more than 100 years and establishes coordinated strategies that help the region's 284 communities address transportation, housing, economic development, open space, the environment, and other quality-of-life issues. One target area of GO TO 2040 is to promote and sustain local food systems, like encouraging more urban farming and equal access to fresh, healthy foods. Another target area hopes to expand and improve parks and open space; less than half of Chicago-area residents have adequate parks nearby. Public policies for land use, transportation, and many other issues in the GO TO 2040 plan influence the effectiveness and sustainability of our food systems. To benefit the region's economy and the health of ...
Because of restrictive food safety ordinances, farmers markets could not do business in Plano, Texas. On Tuesday December 18th, 2012, Plano city council voted unanimously to make several major changes to the food ordinance. Among the most important was changing the definition of a farmers market in order to allow not only produce but also items such as cheese, milk and meat. The market will be located at Fairview Farms, 3314 N. Central Expressway and is tentatively scheduled to be open Saturdays from April to October. Plano, a northern suburb of Dallas, has a significant Hispanic population that will benefit from the location of Plano's first real farmers ...
In March of 2012, Austin’s Sustainable Food Center opened the Farmers' Market East, offering the first Double Dollar Incentive Program that matches food assistance in the state of Texas. Funded by local and federal government as well as private groups, the Double Dollar Incentive Program doubles the amount of money a person can spend when they use their federal assistance money, like WIC or SNAP, on fresh food at the farmers’ market. Austin’s East side has been referred to as a food desert, where fresh food and produce is not easy to find. The new farmers’ market, along with the incentive program, are creative ways to ensure that communities have access to healthy ...
On Friday, January 18th, 2013, the Mayor's Fitness Council in San Antonio, Texas hosted the Healthy Schools Summit. The summit, which is open to the community, including parents, teachers, administrators and organizations, took a look at wellness policies in San Antonio school districts and brainstormed ways schools can put on ...
A town hall meeting is a great way to make your voice heard in local government. Typically open to everybody in the community, attendees get the chance to voice their opinions and ask questions of the public figures, elected officials, and each other. If there’s an issue in your community that needs to be addressed, a town hall meeting is a great place to start. But let’s be honest, getting a bunch of concerned neighbors together in one room can be a challenge. Demanding jobs and busy kids leave little time to meet in a room with folks to discuss food access issues. Knowing all this, a group in Detroit got creative. Fair Food Network’s Strengthening Detroit Voices, a nonprofit dedicated to building a more just and sustainable food system, hosted a Telephone Town Hall on December ...
When it comes to getting healthier food into your neighborhood, you have to get the word out first. On March 6, the League of Women Voters of Dane County hosted a forum on food desert issues in Dane County.The forum discussed limitations of Madison’s food system and what local government and businesses are doing to address related problems. “Poverty is not unique in Wisconsin,” said Carrie Edgar, department head and community food systems educator for Dane County UW-Extension. Dane County’s Food Share participants more than tripled from 2000 to 2010. Among those suffering from poverty, children outnumber the elderly two to one. Edgar encouraged the community to address the food insecurity by promoting and establishing food access points, such as farmer markets, that are ...
Health advocates and medical professionals are getting together and thinking outside the box about ways to reduce childhood obesity. Nonprofits, like Wholesome Wave and DC Greens, which runs several food access and urban agriculture projects in our nation’s capital, are connecting physicians who are already dedicated to preventative wellness and nutrition, like those at Unity Health Clinic (Unity) in Washington, D.C., to fresh produce. Physicians, like Dr. Jessica Wallace at Unity, are writing prescriptions for locally grown fruits and vegetables that their low-income patients can then take to five D.C. farmers’ markets, Columbia Heights Community Marketplace, Mount Pleasant, 14th and U St., Bloomingdale, and Glover Park-Burleith. “We know nationwide that poor minority communities ...
Farmers' markets around the country have tougher rules and regulations than your average supermarket. Many farmers and vendors who sell at farmers' markets have to pay for permits multiple times at year at every location they sell at, regardless of if they are in the same city or not. H.B. 910, sponsored by Texas State Representative Lois Kolkhorst would ensure that the permit fees that could be imposed on farmers and farmers’ market vendors could not exceed $50 per year per county or city. Read news about the bill here! Check on the current status of the bill ...
According to a March 2013 Houston Independent School District (HISD) news blog, a new Spark park at Berry elementary will display art work that represents the neighborhood's Latino heritage. A shared use agreement will make this school park available to the community during after school hours. During the school day, educators plan on incorporating the use of this park into their curriculum. Spark Parks is a non-profit organization based out of Houston that brings uniquely designed parks to underserved areas. Resources to build Spark Parks come from a variety of places including the city's Department of Housing and Community Development, local school districts, Harris County, the private sector, neighborhood groups, PTA/PTO groups, and concerned citizens. Spark Parks was born out of an ...
