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Community-Based Food Systems Breaking New Ground in Virginia, by Mark Schonbeck
(cont'd
from SSAWG E-Newsletter June 2008)
On
the institutional front, two universities in Virginia are responding to
student demands for local food--demands based on a concern for reducing
carbon emissions related to our food system, as well as a desire for
quality. Washington and Lee University hopes to source 25 percent of
the food for its dining halls from local farmers in the near future,
while James Madison University plans to establish an on-campus
farmers’ market to expand on the 18,000 pounds of local tomatoes
and 35,000 pounds of local lettuce utilized in their food service last
year.
Then there are the local food events that I have not
had time to attend. In December 2007, Matt Benson, Virginia Cooperative
Extension Community Viability Specialist, held a one-day
conference, Connecting Farms, Food and Communities: Developing the Producer, Market, Table Link,
in Madison County featuring a keynote address by Dr. Fred
Kirschenmann. Benson followed up in March with a series of focus group
meetings of growers to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,
and barriers related to growing for local markets. He plans a second
series of focus group meetings for retailers this year. In another
district, Extension specialist Eric Benfeldt held a one-day Community, Farm, and New Food Systems Conference in March, which was attended by 200 people.
I am looking forward to the further unfolding of this new phenomenon,
and to Southern SAWG’s ongoing active role in helping communities
manifest their local food system visions throughout the South.
Mark Schonbeck serves on
the Board of Directors of Southern SAWG, edits The Virginia Biological
Farmer, the quarterly newsletter of the Virginia Association for
Biological Farming, and does research, curriculum development, and
policy advocacy for sustainable agriculture.
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