7/30/2019 A community food system: it's all about 'eating local'
and more.pdf
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Catholic Rural Life | FAll 2003
7. SUPPORTCOMMUNITYFOODSECURITYASAPARTOFYOUR
FOODSYSTEM: Everyone in a community should have
enough to eat at all times. Part of feeding hungry peo-
ple is to connect these efforts to local food systems:
Solicit donations by local farmers for emergencyfood sector.
Organize gleaning programs on local farms. Have farmers at
farmers markets donate end-of-
day produce to food banks or pantries. Encourage farm programs
such as community sup-
ported agriculture to serve low-income residents. Set up farmers
markets in lower-income areas, and
use Farmers Market Nutrition Program coupons tosupport
these.
Have community organizations seek Federal or statefunded grants
linking agriculture and community -e.g., HHS Community Food and
Nutrition Program,USDA Community Food Projects, USDA Federal-State
Marketing Improvement Program, HUD Com-
munity Development Block Grants.
8. BEACOMMUNITYFOODADVOCATE: ASANINDIVIDUAL con-
sumer, you can play an important role in sustaining
your community food system, but you can make a big-
ger difference by supporting programs and policies for
the community as a whole:
Encourage your grocery retailers and local res-taurants to
feature local products.
Support purchases of local farm products byschools and other
institutions.
Urge government agencies to include local farmproducts as part
of bulk commodity programs.
Support urban farms in open spaces. Have municipalities
contribute leaves and other
waste to on-farm composting initiatives. Encourage local food
processing enterprises to buy
locally-produced ingredients. Fight for green space protection
and farmland
HUGH JOSEPH
30
A good tree
does not bear
rotten fruit,
nor does a
rotten tree
bear good
fruit. Every
tree is known
by its own
fruit.Luke 7:43-44
