Podcasts about food equity

The food systems expert talks to Mark about The Center for Good Food Purchasing, which she co-founded ten years ago—and about her new role at the LA County Office of Food Equity, a new coalition of people working on good food availability with a commitment from the county. Plus, the two discuss the definitions behind good, sustainable, and fair food. Are you liking Food with Mark Bittman? Got feedback? We'd love it if you'd take our (brief) survey: http://bit.ly/foodwithmarkbittman-survey. Thanks for listening!Subscribe to Food with Mark Bittman on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen, and please help us grow by leaving us a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts.Follow Mark on Twitter at @bittman, and on Facebook and Instagram at @markbittman. Want more food content? Subscribe to The Bittman Project at www.bittmanproject.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Clearly we're at an inflection point in the history of humanity.  Our experiment with a notional democracy is failing and either we find something that actually works, or we sink into autocracy. And given that the current global flavour of autocracy is in deep denial of the climate and ecological catastrophe that's currently underway, then that's a pretty fast road to extinction: you can't deny your way out of biophysical reality. So what can we do, we who care deeply about passing an inhabitable - thriving - world to the generations not yet born?  We need to go back to basics. We all need clean water, clean air, safe shelter and good nutritious food - and we are rapidly heading for a space where just accessing these will become more of a priority than our recent experiment with unleashing ancient sunlight has led us to believe. But more than this, the community that grows around these, particularly the growing and sharing of food - is the glue that keeps us together. We are a prosocial species. We are astonishingly creative when we put our minds to it. So what happens when we put our minds to creative ways of growing and sharing food that are founded in solid values of cohesion and connectivity?  One of the things that happens is the Open Food Network which is a global community of farmers, growers, community food enterprises and software geeks with a common belief that world food systems are broken - and that better, more connected, open, resilient systems can arise in their place.  They are building alternative food systems from the bottom up: this is their theory of change and this is a recent podcast about a new OFN project called the Power of Food.So this week, I've been talking to Nick Weir who helped to set up the Open Food Network UK. Nick has a background in IT account management, but, as you'll hear, he is also a long-term grower who co-founded the Stroudco Food Hub and Stroud Community Agriculture and is deeply passionate about the role of innovative food systems in creating a kinder, more interconnected society, and the ways in which the Network can model a new way of working which empowers people to bring more of themselves to their work.  If you're feeling crushed by the global political chaos, I hope this conversation cheers you as it did me, with living examples of change happening on the ground, and the ripple effects it can have. Open Food Network Global https://openfoodnetwork.org/Open Food Network uk https://about.openfoodnetwork.org.uk/Power of Food podcast  https://www.wearecarbon.earth/power-of-food-collaboration/ Open Food Network resources https://about.openfoodnetwork.org.uk/resources/Landworkers' Alliance https://landworkersalliance.org.uk/our_vision/Sustain https://www.sustainweb.org/about/Social Farms and Gardens https://www.farmgarden.org.uk/about-us/what-we-doThe Power of Food theory of change https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oSn8g-b-GlVku9g9TOKoVO0GvxSRSuCy/Living Justice https://livingjustice.earth/projects/

I talk with  PAULA DANIELS, Co-Founder, Chair of the Board of the Center for Good Food Purchasing, and recently announced initial director of the Los Angeles County Office of Food Equity, which aims to address the root causes of food-system problems in the region. We talk about what it takes to pull together elements of business, entrepreneurism, politics, government, science, and more to move the needle on a huge and complex system. The Center uses the power of procurement to create a food system that prioritizes the health and well-being of people, animals, and the environment. As its goals and standards are adopted by a growing national network of major food purchasers such as school districts, the program exerts growing leverage on the larger food system in America. You can learn more at GoodFoodPurchasing.org 

Trump talked to Putin, told Russian leader not to escalate in Ukraine; AZ passes abortion measure, advocates still concerned about a Trump presidency; Environmental advocates sue Montana over public documents; Los Angeles tackles hunger with new Office of Food Equity.

Trump talked to Putin, told Russian leader not to escalate in Ukraine; AZ passes abortion measure, advocates still concerned about a Trump presidency; Environmental advocates sue Montana over public documents; Los Angeles tackles hunger with new Office of Food Equity.

In this episode of From Waterloo to the Alamo, we're thrilled to welcome Melissa Nicewarner-Daly, Senior Director of Strategic Growth & Development for Urban Roots. With over 20 years of experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors, Melissa has dedicated her career to empowering communities and building equity. She'll dive into her journey, the mission behind Urban Roots, and the vital work they're doing to grow fresh food and foster a sense of community.Melissa will also share insights on the challenges and triumphs of building sustainable food equity initiatives in Austin and discuss how meaningful partnerships can break down barriers for underserved communities. This is a must-listen for anyone passionate about social impact, community development, and food justice.Listen now to hear how Melissa's passion is fueling real change in Austin!#FromWaterlooToTheAlamo #UrbanRootsATX #CommunityImpact #FoodEquity #AustinPodcast #SocialImpact #NonProfitLeadership #AustinNonProfit #FoodJustice #EquityInAction #BuildingStrongerCommunities #AustinTexas #InspiringChange #FromWaterlooToTheAlamo #EngelVolkers #AustinRealEstate #LuxuryLiving #RealEstateTrends  #AustinTX #Podcast #GlobalRealEstate #MelissaNicewarnerDaly

This week on the Titans of Food Service podcast, Nick Portillo speaks with Michel Nischan, a four-time James Beard Award Winner and chef. Michel shares his journey from working on his grandfather's farm to becoming a celebrated chef and influential advocate for food equity and sustainability. Michel talks about co-founding Wholesome Wave and Wholesome Crave, and working with the late actor Paul Newman on the Dressing Room restaurant. Nick and Michel discuss the importance of being curious about other cultures' cuisines and Michel's commitment to using food as a tool for positive social change. Quotes"You need to be able to channel your talent into making customers happy instead of creating things that only intrigue you." -Michel Nischan"If you don't make an effort to genuinely know all of your different customers and respect and meet them where they're at and be able to have really open conversations, regardless. Regardless of their ideology or whatever it is, you need to be welcoming to everybody." -Michel NischanTIMESTAMPS(00:02) Michel's Impact on Food Equity and Sustainability(03:48) Michel's Journey from Farm Life to Four James Beard Awards(14:24) Authenticity in Restaurant Concepts and Cultural Sensitivity(18:24) Mentors and Milestones in a Chef's Journey(25:08) Michel Nischan on Authenticity and American Heritage Cuisine(28:08) From Dressing Room Restaurant to Wholesome Wave's National Impact(33:00) The Power of Food in Transforming Health and Society(37:05) Connecting with Chef Michel Nischan Through Social MediaRESOURCESPortillo SalesCONTACT Nick: nick.portillo@portillosales.com

Host:  Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist for Instructional Support, University of Kentucky   Guest: LaToya Drake, Extension Specialist for Food Equity and Food Access, Kentucky Nutrition Education Program LaToya Drake shares her expertise on the benefits of consuming locally sourced produce, including cost-effective strategies and the positive impact on local economies. Listeners will learn about defining local eating, the advantages of seasonal menus, and practical tips for saving money, such as utilizing EBT benefits at farmers markets and exploring Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs. LaToya also highlights available resources from the Extension and Kentucky Nutrition Education Program to help you grow your own food and create delicious recipes using local ingredients. Tune in to discover how you can enjoy a varied, nutritious diet while supporting local farmers and making the most out of seasonal produce. Don't forget to check out the links in the show notes for additional resources and to locate your nearest Extension office. To Connect with Nutrition Education Program resources, visit: PlatEatMove.com To access Plate it up! Kentucky Proud resouces, visit: Plate it up! Kentucky Proud Connect with FCS Extension through any of the links below for more information about any of the topics discussed on Talking FACS. Kentucky Extension Offices UK FCS Extension           Website           Facebook           Instagram           FCS Learning Channel  

Have you ever pondered how entrepreneurship can be leveraged to tackle issues like food insecurity and support local agriculture? In this episode of The Angel Next Door Podcast, Marcia Dawood explores this intriguing question with Clancy Harrison, an expert in the food systems space. Together, they discuss how innovative business models can create a significant social impact.Clancy Harrison is the founder of the Food Dignity® Movement and a registered dietitian with extensive experience as a food service director and food pantry manager. Her work centers around bridging local farmers with communities in need, ensuring fair compensation for agricultural products while resolving food accessibility issues.This episode is a deep dive into Clancy's transformative approach to hunger relief that emphasizes dignity and sustainability. From pioneering equitable market systems to integrating advanced technologies in agriculture, Clancy's initiatives offer a fresh perspective on food security. Whether you're passionate about social entrepreneurship, sustainability, or community impact, this conversation is packed with insights that make it a must-listen. To get the latest from Clancy Harrison, you can follow her below!LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/clancycashharrison/https://clancyharrison.com/ Sign up for Marcia's newsletter to receive tips and the latest on Angel Investing!Website: www.marciadawood.comLearn more about the documentary Show Her the Money: www.showherthemoneymovie.comAnd don't forget to follow us wherever you are!Apple Podcasts: https://pod.link/1586445642.appleSpotify: https://pod.link/1586445642.spotifyLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/angel-next-door-podcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theangelnextdoorpodcast/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marciadawood

On this episode we talk about Food Equity with Latina leaders who are committed to making healthy food accessible to all communities here in Los Angeles. You'll learn about the LA Food Policy Council and the creative ways this organization cultivates a diverse network of change makers from across our food system, from farm to fork and beyond, and this work is important to equity.  This panel conversation includes: Alba Velasquez who leads the Los Angeles Food Policy Council as the Executive Director, Erika Crenshaw, Co-Owner of El Sereno Greengrocer, a one year old corner shop in El Sereno, in Northeast LA and Jocelyn Ramirez, a Plant-Forward Chef whose product line of seasoning is sold at El Sereno Greengrocer. Tamarindo is a lighthearted show hosted by Brenda Gonzalez and Delsy Sandoval talking about politics, culture, and self-development. We're here to uplift our community through powerful conversations with changemakers, creatives, and healers. Join us as we delve into discussions on race, gender, representation, and life! You can get in touch with us at www.tamarindopodcast.com Brenda Gonzalez and Delsy Sandoval are executive producers of Tamarindo podcast with production support by Karina Riveroll of Sonoro Media. Clivia Torres edits our YouTube episodes. Jeff Ricards produced our theme song. If you want to support our work, please rate and review our show here.  SUPPORT OUR SHOW Contribute to the show: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/tamarindopodcast1 Follow Tamarindo on instagram @tamarindopodcast and on twitter at @tamarindocast .  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SARA ELISE is a multidisciplinary creative, splitting her time between Brooklyn and The Catskills, New York. She works primarily in the hospitality, well-being, and food industries and is the co-founder and designer of Apogeo Guest House, a boutique hotel concept space in Nicaragua that centers QTPOC, as well as the founder of Harvest & Revel, a NY-based sustainable event catering + design company.She is the author of A Recipe for More, her debut book released with Harper Collins in May 2023.Sara Elise has been featured in Dazed, Autostraddle, Playboy, Interview Mag, Essence, Afropunk, mindbodygreen, Bon Appetit and Healthy-ish, Well + Good, Nylon, StyleLikeU, and them, among other publications. And was named one of BK Magazine's 50 Most Fascinating People in 2022.She has been invited to speak and host workshops at places like Brown University and Squarespace and has modeled for brands like Sephora, Mercedes Benz, Bombas, Instagram, MCM, AG Jeans, Madewell and more.As an autistic Black & Indigenous femme, she spends much of her thoughtspace contemplating pleasure + pain, collective joy + healing, otherness, embodiment, remembering + reclaiming, self-destruction, and growth— and how inextricably those concepts are linked. To that end, Sara Elise has deep interests in ritualization, BDSM, relationship dynamics, and the development of decolonized personal awareness and well-being.With all of her work, she aims to challenge our collective reality by first re­imagining and then creating alternative sys­tems and spaces for Black & Indigenous people of color and LGBTQIA2S+ people to thrive.You can join her community-making on Instagram, and find more of her writing at Send us a Text Message.Support the Show.Recorded at The Newsstand Studio at 1 Rockefeller Plaza in NYC. Special thanks to Joseph Hazan & Karen Song. Produced by Wanda Acosta• Find us: @cafetabacfilm on Instagram & Facebook • Email us: info@cafetabacfilm.com• Website: cafetabacfilm.com/podcast • LEAVE A REVIEW

Food insecurity has been a growing problem in Massachusetts for years, especially since the start of the COVID pandemic. Inflation hasn't helped, with food prices skyrocketing at the grocery store and at local restaurants. A new report from the Greater Boston Food Bank in collaboration with Mass General Brigham takes a closer look at the factors driving this concerning trend. Catherine D'Amato, President and CEO of the Food Bank, and Dr. Lauren Fiechtner, Director of Nutrition at the Mass General Hospital for Children, break down the highlights of the report with Nichole and share resources for those who are in need.

In this episode of The Biggest Table, hosted by Andrew Camp, guest Amy Dolan discusses the intersection of food, faith, and community. Amy, who hosts the Feeding People podcast and founded Sunday Supper Church, shares her journey through the traditions of a Jewish and Christian upbringing, how cooking became a creative outlet during her ministry, and her work advocating for food equity in Chicago. Together, they explore how preparing and sharing meals can diminish loneliness, restore dignity, and create joy. Amy also shares insights on the importance of mutual care in food justice and the vulnerability and joy of cooking for others.Amy Dolan is the host of the Feeding People Podcast, Founder of Sunday Supper Church, and former Strategic Consultant for the Chicagoland Good Food in Healthcare Initiative. Amy believes that eating together has the power to dispel loneliness, restore dignity, and create joy as we share sacred moments with each other around beautiful tables. Of all the tables she's created and hosted, weeknight dinners with her husband Kelly and pit bull Maddox in their Chicago apartment are her favorite. Feeding People Podcast Follow Amy on InstagramThis episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com. 

Clarence Ford speaks to Professor Stephen Devereux: NRF Research Chair of the Institute for Social Development at UWC. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sustainable Living discusses food equity, urban farming and social justice with Dr. Dave Himmelfarb of Eckerd College.

 His Week That Was – Kevin Healy, What does the decision of Australia regarding full membership for Palestine in the UN mean? Dr Alison Broinowski AM, former Australian diplomat and member of Australians for War Powers Reform,  Part 1 of an extended interview with Palestinian Scientist, Academic, and Writer Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh, Genetic engineering issues, and international work in environment and agricultural equity – Adam Breasley, Anti-GM campaigner, and documentary filmmaker, Taliban's influence on young people in Afghanistan, the Merchants of Death War Crimes Tribunal, and the ongoing genocide in Palestine – US anti-war activist Kathy Kelly, Analysis of protests and recent events in Kanaky, aka New Caledonia – journalist Nic Maclellan. Head to www.3cr.org.au/hometime-tuesday for full access to links and previous podcasts

Discover the heartbeat of sustainable agriculture with Audrey Coldy from the National Center for Appropriate Technology, as she brings her rich farming heritage and knowledge to our latest conversation. Her passion for intertwining nature with history to promote food equity and environmental stewardship is nothing short of inspiring. As we navigate the narratives of food safety, local production, and marketing strategies, Audrey's insights shed light on the transformative power of hope and history in reshaping our agricultural landscape. Step into a world where sustainable farming programs flourish and initiatives sow the seeds of community and innovation. From the evolution of ATRA's outreach efforts to the creation of a digital hub for farmers through the "Voices from the Field" podcast, our discussion navigates the advancements in sharing knowledge and fostering connections. The Arm to Farm program stands out, offering veterans a new mission in sustainable agriculture, while farmer networks and conferences bridge the gap between cultures, enhancing resilience and learning. And when it comes to nurturing the next generation, the Farm to School initiative is a testament to the robust link between local agriculture and youth education, guaranteeing a fresh, healthy future for our children and our planet. Join us as we celebrate the collective efforts that are cultivating a more sustainable and equitable future for all. https://attra.ncat.org/about/staff/https://attra.ncat.org/events/ https://www.latinofarmersusa.com/ https://www.notillgrowers.com/Support the showJoin us at the upcoming Organic Food & Farming Summit April 18-19, 2024 in Tampa! Early bird savings ends February 2, 2024! SECURE YOUR SPOTS! We hope you enjoyed the episode! Please help us continue to produce more valuable content by subscribing to our Fresh Take Podcast Series! Subscribe here SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITY- Learn more about the many benefits of becoming a Sponsor of Florida Organic Growers! Your contribution will not only help to advance an organic and sustainable future but gain brand awareness through our growing audience. If you are interested, click here

Segment 1: John Bever, Financial Advisor, Phase 3 Advisory Services, joins John to talk about how many Fed rate cuts he expects to see this year, the economy still being incredibly strong, why the market tends to be volatile during an election year, and the biggest takeaways from Governor Pritzker’s budget address. Segment 2: Weslynne Ashton, Professor […]

For the first time ever, Detroit has a Department of Agriculture, but what does that mean for the city? Tepfirah Rushdan joins Stephen Henderson to discuss land use, equitable access to food, the importance of growing produce in Detroit, and what she plans to do in her new role as the City of Detroit's first director of urban farming.

In episode seven, we hear from Climate Group Head of Communications for North America, Adam Lake, and Secretary of the New York City Agriculture Collective, Sarah JanJua, as they discuss the current state of food security in the city and how we can drive progress toward a more equitable future.

While this conversation first aired in 2018, the issues it explores about food equity and access remain unsolved in America and in many ways were exacerbated by the pandemic. In this episode of Add Passion and Stir , poverty expert and author Kathy Edin ($2 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America) and Washington, DC-area social entrepreneur Tom McDougall of 4P Foods illustrate how our current systems – political, social, economic, geographic – keep poor people from succeeding. They argue for more equity in social programs and a more dignified way of serving the poor. Kathy shares stunning statistics and poignant stories from America's impoverished families with whom she has worked and reminds us that, "When it comes down to it, what people seem to want more than anything else is dignity. … but a lot of our social policies deny people that.” What remains true today is the call-to-action to address and fix America's broken food system that as Tom notes can't be fixed "...unless we talk about money and politics… subsidies… institutional racism…If we move the needle just a tad on food equity, it means we're moving a lot of other needles along the way.”Hear recommendations from two thought leaders in food equity on what we can do as individuals and as a nation to improve these dire circumstances for the poor in America.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In today's episode, Sheila talks with Ann Jackson, founder and executive director of the non-for-profit organization The Center for Food Equity, about how the accelerating effects of physical therapy can help people get better from their sickness and disease in the local community.

On this episode of Equity is, we discuss programs that target food equity. Access to food and nutrition is essential for students and families and has ties to student success in school. However, food inequity and insecurity is something that many students face. Food insecurity is usually defined as a lack of consistent access to enough food for every person in a household to live an active, healthy life. This also means providing foods that fit the cultural practices of those in need. There are various programs that target food insecurity and work to help district families and students get access to the food they need. You will hear from: Laura Crandall: Director of Food Security Initiatives, City of Philadelphia's Office of Children & Families Teisha Cavanaugh: Program Coordinator for Nutrition Education , Eat Right Philly & SNAP-Ed Erin McCrossan: Senior Research Associate, District Office of Research and Evaluation Amy Virus: Food Services Adm & Support Services Manager Links to Resources and Information from our Guests: The City's free food and meal finder, phila.gov/food, is available in 6 languages and searchable by address SDP Office of Research and Evaluation reports on SDP food insecurity data and research SDP food insecurity open data files Eat Right Philly, SDP's SNAP-Ed funded nutrition and wellness program Community solutions to food apartheid: A spatial analysis of community food-growing spaces and neighborhood demographics in Philadelphia Inquirer article on the Urban Agriculture Strategic Plan City's first Urban Agriculture Strategic Plan, “Growing from the Root” BenePhilly FPAC Anti-Hunger Subcommittee meets virtually on the third Tuesday of the month from 3:00-4:30 pm Philadelphia Food Policy Advisory Council (FPAC) OCF Community Schools OCF Food Access Blog Office of Children and Families OCF Social Media: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter Urban Agriculture Strategic Plan This podcast is about cultivating prosperity and liberation for students and staff, families, and the SDP community at large. We do this by showcasing the equity work that is being done throughout the SDP community. With each episode we hope to cover topics that will create pathways for marginalized populations by removing barriers, increasing access and inclusion, building trust, and creating a shared culture of social responsibility and organizational accountability. Visit the DEI Webpage: philasd.org/dei Sign Up for our Email Blast:

Milton R. Mills, M.D. graduated in 1991 from Stanford University School of Medicine and did his internship at the University of California-San Francisco, and completed his residency training at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. In the past, Dr. Mills has volunteered as Associate Director of Preventive Medicine for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a North American group of doctors and laypersons dedicated to promoting improved health care, better and more appropriate nutrition, and higher standards in medical research. Dr. Mills currently works as a Critical Care physician and Internist in Washington, D.C. His broad experience specializing in Internal Medicine, Critical Care and HIV disease, and in the relationship between nutrition and chronic diseases has made him knowledgeable about the unique healthcare needs of all Americans including minority populations and people facing the unique challenges of dealing with HIV infection. As an African-American physician focusing on preventive medicine, Dr. Mills has delved into some of the environmental and societal influences affecting the health of African Americans and other racial/ethnic minorities, as the general population. Dr. Mills has lectured and given research seminars across the United States and in Mexico, Canada, Ireland and the UK on such topics as the negative impacts of meat and dairy consumption on human health; nutrition and HIV/AIDS; nutrition and cancer; and the dietary needs of all humans. Dr. Mills' papers on race and diet have appeared in the Journal of the National Medical Association. Dr. Mills' Website: https://drmiltonmillsplantbasednation.com/ Dr. Columbus D. Batiste is a board-certified Interventional Cardiologist and Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of California Riverside School of Medicine. From 2008 until 2020 he served as Chief of Cardiology. Over the years Dr. Batiste has been recognized for his work in the community and abroad by multiple organizations. In 2010, Dr. Batiste sought to break-the-cycle of prescriptions and procedures as the sole management of chronic disease and began promoting a long-term solution for his patients through nutrition, stress reduction, and exercise. As a result, in 2011 Dr. Batiste established the Integrative Cardiovascular Disease Program (based at Kaiser Permanente). This program sought to prevent the re-occurrence of major adverse cardiac events in patients who were diagnosed with a cardiovascular disease by focusing on lifestyle modification. In 2016 Dr. Batiste led a group that collaborated with Samsung Technologies and developed a virtual cardiac rehabilitation program utilizing a Samsung wearable. Since its launch the program, which applies the principles of lifestyle, has treated nearly 10,000 patients. Dr. Batiste's mission is to share information so that “each-one can teach-one” about the benefits of plant-based nutrition, daily exercise, and stress reduction and therefore, provide everyone with the opportunity to take control of their health. This mission and his passion for the community has led to the formation of a non-profit organization called the Healthy Heart Nation, which provides education through lectures, newsletters, social and digital media. Dr. Batiste's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/SlaveFoodProject

Today we're speaking with coauthors of a new report by the Center for Law and Social Policy, entitled "A Community-Driven Anti-Racism Vision for SNAP." Senior policy analyst, Parker Gilkesson, and community organizer, Tamika Moore, argue that although public benefits such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provide critical care and support for families with low incomes, they also reinforce racism and structures of oppression. Interview Summary   As I was mentioning to both of you before we started recording, this is a really interesting perspective, and it needs to be aired more. I'm glad we're playing a role in that. Parker, let's begin with you. Can you tell our listeners, what you're hoping to accomplish with this report?   Parker: So I was a social services worker for the State of North Carolina, and that is where a lot of my thoughts around policy, particularly pertaining to public benefits, arise. I saw so much while working there. I recognized that the systems in place often are framed as race neutral. They are set up to help people, however, there are multiple barriers put in place that particularly harm people of color. It was really important to me when I began my journey at CLASP, to figure out how we could bring along folks who have deep expertise. People who actually have received and been recipients of the program themselves. They are the experts. And so, that is what led me to bring together folks to create the Community Partnership Group, who wrote this report along with us, and which Tamika is a part of. It's super important to really set the tone for community driven vision for what the SNAP program can be. Obviously, just based on different systemic roots, the program currently, innately, is not anti-racist, even though it does help people and helps people of color as well. We talk about multiple barriers in the paper, what we want to grow, what we want to eliminate, we want to make better, so that it better serves people and moves on the journey to becoming more anti-racist.   Let's talk in a little more detail about something that you just mentioned, which was the importance of the partnership between your center, the Center for Law and Social Policy, the staff there, and people with direct lived experience of people in the communities that are most affected by these programs. And you've created something called the Community Partnership Group. So can you tell us a little bit more about that group and why is it so important?   Parker: So the Community Partnership Group is a diverse collective of activists from across the US. They partner with us, other nonprofits, administering agencies, and policy makers, to ensure that whoever they're working with, the work is grounded in the expertise of people who are directly impacted by poverty. This group is small but mighty. We work together on multiple issues. Tamika works on youth issues. We have other folks who work on housing. We've been meeting together over the last two years. It was definitely something different for a CLASP to embark upon. It had not been done before, where we wanted to deeply engage with folks to really shape our minds around what policy changes could look like. And to do it in a way that wasn't transactional, that wasn't, "We're just going to consult with you all on this one off project." Or, "We are just going to create something and bring it back to you all for your advice," versus helping them to be a part of the process. I'll push it over to Tamika to talk a little bit about her experience with this.   Tamika, I'm glad that we can hear from you on this. So what are your thoughts on this issue of a partnership and working together with a group like CLASP?   Tamika: It has been nothing short of incredible. They are extremely supportive. Our entire group is extremely supportive. I've been a part of the Community Partnership Group since its inception in 2020. I do youth empowerment work as well as anti-hunger work. I am a lived experience expert, someone that has gone through and used these programs, and been street homeless, and lived in my car, and I've utilized these programs over a course of several years. I don't anymore. But I have plenty to say about them and how these different programs and different pieces of legislation that affect these programs can be updated and changed to actually benefit the people that's supposed to benefit. Being a part of this and having this partnership with CLASP, with everyone else in the CPG group, has been an incredible journey.   It's really nice to hear from both of you that this partnership is working so well. These partnerships don't happen all that often. It really takes, I know from our own experience, a lot of work by all parties to make these successful. So congratulations for doing something pretty unique and important. So Tamika, back to you. Could you share some historical examples of what you see as institutionalized racism built into the SNAP program?   Tamika: We can find institutional racism across the board when it comes to the SNAP program. From different neighborhoods that need the SNAP program and that are impacted by different policies that block individuals from receiving SNAP benefits, such as the drug felon ban, to gatekeepers that are hired and are supposed to approve, disapprove the benefit to the participant. These individuals, their training, affect the lives of people that they're supposed to be assisting. The foods that are available in these neighborhoods, what's available and accessible in the neighborhoods that mainly receive SNAP benefits, which are obviously disproportionately, black and brown communities, communities of color. Not having access to hot foods, which is just a policy issue in and of itself. But not having access to nutritious foods, like fruits and vegetables, in these neighborhoods that receive the SNAP benefits. Not receiving enough of a SNAP benefit to even benefit the way that you're supposed to and be able to feed your family, is another one. There's just so many different ways that this affects the SNAP policies and SNAP benefits.   Let me ask you a follow-up question about that. You've given a lot of examples and I really appreciate that. Can you tell us a little bit more about how individuals experience interacting with the system? How does it make people feel to interact with such a system, and does this affect people's willingness to engage with the SNAP program? Or does it affect, you think, the number of people who are eligible, who enroll in the program? What's it like?   Tamika: A hundred percent. I can say from personal experience. I was homeless for a period of time before I applied for benefits myself because there's such a stigma attached to receiving these benefits. That you're lazy, that you don't want to work, that you're a bum or a whatever other derogatory terms. I'm sure you've heard them, we all have. Or you're on drugs, or you're an addict of some kind. Anything and everything. But that's simply not the case. I wasn't on drugs, I didn't have any children, no one could say, "Oh! You know." But there's such a stigma attached to it, it keeps a lot of people from applying. And then when you do apply, you're in this place where there's so many people that are needy, that are in the position that you're in. And it's a re-traumatizing system, to have to tell someone your story, first of all, that you don't know. Tell them what's going on in your life, and actually admit to the fact that you can't provide for yourself and that you need help. But to have to go from that person to another person, to another person, to another person, and actually hope that these people care. They're dealing with a number of people throughout the day, so it's stressful on them as well. But to actually talk to somebody that cares about what's going on in your life, that wants to help you, which is not something that happens often. Unfortunately, I was homeless for seven months before and I went through three social workers before I got to someone that actually told me how I could help myself. This is why I call them gatekeepers. Because they are the individuals that ultimately have an effect on whether you receive this assistance that you need so badly, or whether you don't and you continue to struggle.   It's not a great process. It needs to be updated, it needs to be streamlined in every state so that you don't have to be re-traumatized every time you have to go in there. You don't have to re-qualify. Every time you have to re-qualify, you have to worry about losing your benefits. You're threatened by letters and stuff that you receive when it is time for re-qualification. I mean, it is so hard to explain without becoming relatively emotional, but it's a terrifying process when we're supposed to be helping people. These are our people, and we're supposed to be helping them and lifting them up. Instead, we're threatening them every step of the way. If you lie about this or if you misspeak about this, there's public charge associated with so many different parts of this process as well. And you're just like, "I don't know what to say." So you don't say anything, and you don't get the benefits that you could have gotten. There's so many different parts of this. It's just not a great process. It's not a fun process, it's not a good process. It needs to be revamped.   Tamika, I appreciate you sharing that, and I'm sorry that I've asked you to relive it yet again. But it really helps, I think, paint a picture of what it's like to interact with a system like this and how traumatizing, re-traumatizing, and difficult it can be. So thank you very much for sharing that. Parker, why don't we dig into the report recommendations? Can you describe to our listeners, what you believe the key points in the recommendations are?   Parker: We have multiple recommendations that fall into different buckets. The main thing that we want, is that SNAP should absolutely be available to all who need it. Meaning, remove any barriers for folks who like Tamika mentioned earlier, who have been formally incarcerated students, immigrants. Even some indigenous populations who receive another food program that's full of canned foods and not fresh foods, if they received at that month, they aren't able to receive SNAP. That's not fair. Also, residents of Puerto Rico. There are multiple different policies right now that prevent different groups of folks from being able to receive benefits. So we want to make sure that it's available to all who need it.   We also want to make sure that it's sufficient enough to meet the needs of community members. So we want to make sure that, number one, we protect the Thrifty Food Plan. Although it's the lowest level food plan, they just reevaluated it last year, and we want to protect that. We know that there are multiple legislators that want to come against it. We know that the SNAP program does help folks, and we want to protect the good changes that have happened. But we also know that we need to increase overall SNAP benefits. Right now, currently per person, it is around $5 per day. $5 per day, so that's around a dollar and 33 cents per meal. I don't know anywhere that you can get a meal for $1.33 cents. So folks are having to make difficult decisions about what type of food they want to provide for their families. We think about food policing, and telling folks they can't buy sodas with their SNAP benefits, or they can't buy sugary foods, or they can't buy chips and all these different things. But the reality is that, to stretch someone's SNAP benefits to make sure that their families feel full, we can't talk about nutrition, and we can't talk about healthy foods without talking about increasing the benefits. Because at that point we'll be blaming people for the difficult choices that they have to make, instead of recognizing that the SNAP benefits just aren't enough for a sustainable diet. Not only in terms of the cost of food, but also in terms of culturally appropriate foods. In different communities, whether it is Caribbean, African, Latino communities, we use different spices, we use different beans and flavors, and different things that also cost a lot of money. And so, oftentimes the diets that are used to estimate the average cost of food are Eurocentric diets. And so we have to move away from the idea that Eurocentric diets are the only diets that are healthy. That's not necessarily true. When we look at the more culturally diverse diet, and we add those foods as we estimate the cost, that will help SNAP benefits to go up as well.   In thinking of different dietary needs and different things of that nature, we also want to expand bonus funds for accessing fruits and vegetables. So currently there are multiple programs. One that we talk about specifically in the paper is a farmer's market benefit where if you have a farmer's market in your area, you can use double benefits to purchase from the farmer's market. However, farmer's markets are seasonal. Farmer's markets sometimes for different communities are extremely difficult to get to. And so, if we want to encourage fruits and vegetables, and the purchase of them with the SNAP program, we should encourage that by using this benefit across all grocery stores.   And one of our major, major, major recommendations, is about hot foods. This is one that many folks in the anti-hunger community, don't necessarily jump into but it was super important. The group was really serious about us taking this on to really talk about how the SNAP program should allow people to buy hot and prepared foods. Because it is something that is necessary for folks who have experienced homelessness, for folks who may live in housing where they don't have a working stove. There are so many different situations that we've heard of through doing our research and talking to folks, where if they were able to purchase hot foods with the SNAP program, it would completely and totally change their lives. So I'll let Tamika jump in here, to talk about our recommendations with hot foods, and also just talking about subsidies, in terms of fruits and vegetables.   Thanks, Parker. I appreciate it. There are a lot of very concrete ideas among your recommendations. So Tamika, what would you like to highlight about the report?   Tamika: So I'm going to start with hot foods, speaking with direct personal experience with street homelessness while I was receiving benefits. I'm first going to address just how dehumanizing it is to tell someone that if you don't have a stove or a kitchen, that you don't deserve a hot meal. That's basically what the current SNAP policy is insinuating, right? Because if you don't, you can't. It's ridiculous to think that someone is homeless and out in the cold in the wintertime, and they can't go and get a bowl of soup from the corner store or from a grocery store, if they have access to one, or somewhere like that. Or a hot dog or just something that's hot to warm your stomach. Food should be treated and accessed as a basic human right no matter the disposition of it. And that's just the fact of the matter. Could you imagine someone telling you that you can't have something hot to eat just because they don't want you to use the dollars that they're giving you for that? It's incredibly dehumanizing and ridiculous.   And then also as a homeless person, you really can't budget the same way that you would if you did have access to a fridge, or a refrigerator, or a stove. You can't go and buy milk because there's nowhere to put it. Or eggs, or rice; nowhere to cook it. Pancake mix - nowhere to cook it. These are all things that you could use to stretch those dollars for yourself and your family. You can't do these things. So you actually end up spending more money having to go to corner stores and buy whatever it is that they have at the corner store that you can eat that day rather than being able to cook something for yourself, or buy something that is hot for yourself. One of my colleagues talks about the frozen chicken or frozen turkeys at the grocery store where you could buy a roasted one for $7, maybe 5$, $7 something like that, that's already cooked. But you can't buy that. But then you can buy the frozen one that's $14. It's just not cost effective either. And like Parker just highlighted, that is what you're limited to with the SNAP funds.   As a single person in the United States, the benefit right now is about $192 or less. The USDA estimates that for a single person, a single person in the United States, it's $230 to $420 per month. So the benefit is not enough to sustain you. We know that. Just for a single person, not enough to sustain you. Now going to the corner store, you're reduced to those foods, which we know is not nutritious in any way. And like I said, more expensive in the long run. Furthermore, it is re-traumatizing to have to go to the store or corner store, whoever or wherever you're going every day, to ask them to heat something up for you too, because you don't have access. Being homeless is already a daily battle, mentally, physically, emotionally; a battle. You're constantly having to fight negative thoughts and feeling unworthy. Having to go and ask someone to heat up food for you because you can't do it for yourself, it just amplifies those feelings.   I'm so happy that you're able to lay some of these things out, because these are not stories that everybody has heard.   Tamika: That's one of the reasons why we're hearing why it's important to have someone's perspective that has experienced these things. It's important to have people with lived experience in the room when you're creating policies that affect the individuals that actually experience these things. This is why. This is why. It's a different effect. If you have never experienced that, I don't feel like you should be writing a policy that affects someone that does, especially not without direct input from someone that has.   Bios   Parker Gilkesson is a senior policy analyst with the Center for Law and Social Policy's Income and Work Supports team. She specializes in work support programs for people with low incomes and focuses on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Parker is a subject matter expert in social policy, benefit eligibility, human services delivery, racial equity, community partnership, and state and local policy regarding SNAP, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Medicaid. She has been quoted in TIME Magazine, New York Times, National Public Radio, The Hill, and many more. Prior to joining CLASP, Parker began her career as a human services specialist in Mecklenburg County, NC. In this role, she worked directly with people to determine their eligibility for Medicaid, TANF, and SNAP. Parker earned a Master of Public Policy degree, with a concentration in public administration, from Liberty University and a bachelor's degree in health education, maternal and child health from Howard University. Parker believes all policies should be grounded in the wisdom and experiences of those directly impacted by them. Therefore, she has worked to co-create a community of shared learning that highly regards lived experience as necessary expertise in the quest toward equitable policy solutions. Parker is passionate about systemic change that addresses root causes to eventually eradicate poverty and inequities in the health and social welfare of our nation's residents.   Tamika Moore is a New Jersey native who has spread her passion for youth empowerment through her non-profit organization VisionWorkz. Her mission is to help guide, inspire, and empower LGBTQ youth to see their true potential and value. She pushes to provide healthy and safe avenues for teens and adolescents to release their emotions on a creative and functional basis. Tamika has traveled the East Coast delivering her global vision of bringing the input of young people to the forefront for legislative changes involving education, programs for teens, and poverty. Tamika contributed to the LGBT curriculum in New Jersey and believes in helping to establish core values like financial literacy and professional development to help kids feel secure about themselves and their future.  

Efforts to end hunger in Maine and foster greater food equity

A discussion of Food Equity issues nationwide could end up funding some efforts on Buffalo's East side, rather than just trying to bring in another supermarket. And with holiday travel coming up, there are a lot of special challenges that come to the region's disabled or chronically ill. WBFO's Emyle Watkins reports. Meanwhile, in the Governor's race, abortion and crime remain top issues on the campaign trail. And singer Billy Bragg performs an impromptu sidewalk concert in support of striking workers outside the Elmwood Ave. Starbucks store.

In our weekly Producer's Picks segment we bring you highlights of recent important interviews including:- Kelly Whitfield the founder and director of HealingHubny.org shares an intimate story of her own struggles and the various community efforts her group undertakes to help people heal.-On the eve of his annual Black Achievers Awards Dinner in Buffalo, Herb Bellamy Jr. talks about entrepreneurship.-Activist Kevin Gaughan gives a preview of his national conference on Food Equity coming to Buffalo on Oct. 12.-Kayla Elliot from the Education Trust looks at what else needs to happen besides student loan forgiveness to jumpstart Black educational attainment.- Prof. Anthony Neal from SUNY Buffalo State talks about Black voting patterns and community needs.

Russian Orks on the Run, COVID Jab Evidence, Woke Food.   Steve Deace  The Smoking Jab Evidence. Steve Deace Show Could This Study Be a Tipping Point for the Jabs? Guest: Jill Savage    Sep 09 2022   Steve, Todd, and Aaron are joined for the Deace Group roundtable by BlazeTV contributor Jill Savage. The crew decides whether a new study could be a tipping point in the public discourse about the COVID jabs.   Underwear of the Orks Armstrong & Getty On Demand  Sep 14 2022   China wants ALL of your information. Ukraine has fought back against Russian "Orks'. What is Food Equity? All this and more.

Hour 4 of Wednesday's A&G: China wants ALL of your information. Ukraine has fought back against Russian "Orks'. What is Food Equity? All this and more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hour 4 of Wednesday's A&G: China wants ALL of your information. Ukraine has fought back against Russian "Orks'. What is Food Equity? All this and more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hour 4 of Wednesday's A&G: China wants ALL of your information. Ukraine has fought back against Russian "Orks'. What is Food Equity? All this and more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kelly Whitfield, Executive Director and Founder Healing Hub of NY, Inc. Whitfield is a leader with Voice Buffalo and knows trauma. She was adopted into an abusive family as a baby, suffered a debilitating car crash (she took college classes in a wheelchair), was in an adult abusive relationship, and suffered the loss of a child, addiction and chronic illness - and will talk with Jay Moran about ways to heal. Then attorney and government reform advocate Kevin Gaughan will talk with Dave Debo about food access in advance of a Food Equity conference he's convening at Seneca One October 12th.

Dozens of food and beverage producers and purveyors from around the Finger Lakes are coming together to offer tastes of their local fare to benefit food equity at this month's Taste of the Finger Lakes event. It's scheduled for Tuesday, June 14th at the Ithaca Farmers Market pavilion at Steamboat Landing. https://www.14850.com/061126205-taste-finger-lakes-2206/ Subscribe to the 14850 Dining Podcast in Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts, YouTube, RadioPublic, Spotify, Audible, or RSS Feed, or follow 14850 Dining on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or sign up for our newsletter.

Dozens of food and beverage producers and purveyors from around the Finger Lakes are coming together to offer tastes of their local fare to benefit food equity at this month's Taste of the Finger Lakes event. It's scheduled for Tuesday, June 14th at the Ithaca Farmers Market pavilion at Steamboat Landing. https://www.14850.com/061126205-taste-finger-lakes-2206/ Subscribe to the 14850 Dining Podcast in Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts, YouTube, RadioPublic, Spotify, Audible, or RSS Feed, or follow 14850 Dining on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or sign up for our newsletter.

Sophia Torrijos, Friedens Community Pantries & Yvonne Greer, Y-Eat Right Nutritional Consultant for Healthy Living

During the pandemic, small farms in the San Diego region were having trouble selling their produce. So a group of small farmers banded together to create Foodshed, an equity focused co-op committed to sustainable farming practices.

March Eleven. 3/11? 3-1-1? In some places you can dial that number to get information, a valuable commodity in a complex world. On this 70th day of 2022 and in this installment of Charlottesville Community Engagement, you can find out a lot of odds and ends about what’s happening. How many of each? Stick around and find out. I’m your host, Sean Tubbs. For all the odds and ends, please sign up for free and consider becoming a paid subscriber!On today’s program:Charlottesville City Council will get an update on efforts to create a long awaited climate action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions The city will use funding from a carbon cap and trade program to prepare for future flooding Charlottesville Area Transit wants your input on the next generation of bus sheltersCharlottesville is close to hiring a new communications director, and is seeking college students to apply for internshipsA brief update on the pandemic First shout-out if for CBIC’s C-E2 eventIn today’s first subscriber-supported shout-out, the Charlottesville Business Innovation Council wants you to know that after two years, they’re holding their Charlottesville Entrepreneurs and Espresso event in-person on the morning of Tuesday, March 15 at the CODE Building? What is Charlottesville Entrepreneurs and Espresso, or C-E2? It’s a casual, caffeine-fueled gathering of learning at all stages of venture creation. Get inspired, meet fellow entrepreneurs, share lessons learned, and become a part of Charlottesville’s vibrant and growing entrepreneurial ecosystem. Visit cvilleinnovation.org to learn more about this free event or sign up on Eventbrite. Pandemic turns 2 Tomorrow marks the two-year anniversary of the declaration of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic in Virginia. The seven-day percent average for new COVID tests is at 4.7 percent, around a level not seen since late last July when the Delta variant caused a surge that has not quite receded until now. Still, the Virginia Department of Health marks another 1,272 new cases today. The agency has also made changes to its COVID dashboard and no longer is listing case counts by locality. That data, as well as deaths reported by date, will continue to be available on Virginia’s open data portal.The Blue Ridge Health District does report local case data and there are 48 new cases today and the percent positivity is at 4.5 percent. The Centers for Disease Control now list Albemarle, Charlottesville and the other Blue Ridge Health District localities as medium. (review the map)“We were anticipating that we would be dropping to a medium level when we were looking at the numbers earlier this week so those were born out yesterday when the CDC updated their calculations,” said Dr. Costi Sifri, the director of hospital epidemiology at the University of Virginia Health System.Dr. Sifri said he would recommend that those with underlying conditions or who are immunocompromised to remain masked indoors and to make sure their mask offers enough protection. Dr. Sifri said there is a lot of immunity in the community through both vaccination and infections, but he said there is still opportunity for another variant to happen in the future. When will be determined on a number of variables. “And I think clearly for a lot of people after two years of living through this pandemic, they are at a point where they’ve been vaccinated, they’ve taken precautions, but have now sort of have come to a point where its an understanding there will be some level of circulation likely going forward for the foreseeable future and we could anticipate this may become another seasonal virus,” Dr. Sifri said. As we hit the two-year mark, there have been 19,212 COVID deaths in Virginia, and 431 in the Blue Ridge Health District. It’s been two years since I launched a podcast to cover the response. Go back and listen if you’d like to revisit any of that recent past. (Charlottesville Quarantine Report)Charlottesville sets April 18 work session for work session on climate action Nearly all functions of government in most Virginia localities can be derived from their Comprehensive Plan, which lays out broad steps to turn a community’s vision into action. The new Comprehensive Plan adopted by Council in November calls upon the city to create a specific plan to demonstrate how Charlottesville will meet specific reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The nonprofit Community Climate Collaborative wants City Council to spend more money to get a plan in place as soon as possible. Executive Director Susan Kruse posted a blog entry on March 3 saying Charlottesville has fallen behind on efforts. She read from this post at Council’s meeting this past Monday. “This July will mark three years since Charlottesville set its sights on climate leadership,” Kruse wrote in the post. “Three years, and we have no Climate Action Plan, our GHG emissions inventory is four years out-of-date, and the window to reduce emissions to prevent catastrophic impacts is rapidly closing.” On Monday, Deputy City Manager Sam Sanders acknowledged that the city has not been able to move swiftly to create a plan. “I just want to be upfront with everyone and acknowledge we know there’s work to be done there,” Sanders said. Sanders said there will be a Council work session on April 18 and staff in the city’s sustainability division will present what they have been working on since Council adopted reduction targets on July 1, 2019. That stated the city would work towards a “community-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 target from its 2011 inventory year” as well as to be carbon neutral by 2050. (read the minutes)At the time, then-city manager Tarron Richardson was less than two months on the job and two other people have held that position since. Sanders has only worked for the city since last July. “There have been significant impacts from the COVID pandemic and organizational staffing changes that have prevented them from moving as originally planned,” Sanders said. “Our goal would be to try to get back on track so this would be a moment to reboot that effort.”Sanders said groups such as the Community Climate Collaborative will be involved in the work. After Sanders gave Council an update, Kruse read from her prepared letter during the city’s Community Matters portion. She acknowledged the April 18 work session, but pushed for a deadline to complete a Climate Action Plan. .“If current resources are not enough to complete the plan, it’s time for Council to bring in some outside help,” Kruse said. Last November, City Council adopted an update of the Comprehensive Plan, a document for which state code requires periodic revision. Review of this plan took nearly five years and its completion required the city to pay a consultant over a million dollars.One of the guiding principles in the plan is under the heading Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability. (look for it on page 22)“The City government will reduce its carbon footprint and other environmental impacts,” reads that guiding principle. “The Charlottesville community will be empowered and encouraged to reduce their environmental footprint and benefit from energy-efficiency efforts.”The various chapters of the Comprehensive Plan are embedded with many directives, strategies, and goals. For instance, Strategy 3.4 of the land use chapter (page 38) is to “encourage sustainable, energy efficient building designs and low impact development as complementary goals to historic preservation, including through support for adaptation, reuse, and repurposing of the built environment.” Goal 4 of the housing chapter has four strategies with steps toward addressing energy efficiency in new and existing housing (page 50)The transportation chapter (page 55) seeks to expand alternatives to driving and encourages the “adoption and support of new and emerging transportation technologies will further expand travel options throughout the city and will contribute toward the City’s climate goals and improving public health by reducing vehicle-related emissions.” There is an entire chapter with the title Environment, Climate, and Food Equity (page 65) that repeats the July 1, 2019 greenhouse gas emissions goal of which the first goal is dedicated to reaching the reduction targets, with eight strategies. The first listed is to create a Climate Action Plan.The environmental chapter also includes directives to prevent further degradation of the tree canopy, continue work in the city’s Water Resources Protection Program, and to encourage use of sustainable materials. The Community Facilities and Services chapter (page 79) covers community infrastructure and strategy 2.4 calls for the city “to employ innovative technology and green building practices for all eligible capital construction and renovation projects” and strategy 4.10 to “participate in and complete Climate Hazard Risk Assessment activities, to follow finalization of the Climate Action Plan.” Goal 1 of the Community Engagement and Collaboration is to “empower community members by providing and actively sharing the information they need to participate in a meaningful way.” Albemarle County adopted a Climate Action Plan in October 2020 that has much more specific details about how to get there. That work session will be held on April 18. Make sure you’re reading the Week Ahead newsletter each Sunday to know what’s coming up and follow along with stories on climate action at the Information Charlottesville archive. Today’s second shout-out goes to a Livable Cville eventIn today’s first subscriber supported shout-out, Livable Cville wants you to know about an online presentation coming up on Wednesday, March 16. "Can Zoning Create a More Affordable Charlottesville?" That’s the question to be explored by Dr. Jenny Schuetz of the Brookings Institute. She’s the author of Fixer-Upper: How to Repair America’s Broken Housing Systems. The event is free but you’ll have to register at EventBrite. Charlottesville seeking firm to model Moores Creek watershedA changing climate has meant the likelihood of more flooding across the Commonwealth, and Virginia’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) has meant more funding to help with preparation. Charlottesville is currently seeking an engineering firm to update models from 2008 for how stormwater flows in the Moores Creek watershed.Back then, the city partnered with the United States Army Corps of Engineers to produce that model, as well as ones for the portions of the city in the Rivanna and Meadow Creek watersheds. Now Charlottesville will use $153,000 from the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Grant program to further study the Moores Creek watershed, which makes up a third of the city’s land along the southern border with Albemarle. “The stormwater management model will be a critical tool for planning and project implementation efforts administered under the umbrella of the City’s Water Resources Protection Program,” said Andrea Henry, the program’s administrator. “This is the first in what will hopefully be a series of models to support the development of stormwater management and flood resiliency plans for the City.”The more detailed information will help determine best locations for stormwater pipe upgrades, and to develop flood inundation maps for the various tributaries of Moores Creek including Lodge Creek, Rock Creek, Pollock’s Branch, and Quarry Creek. Goal 10 of the Community Facilities chapter of the Comprehensive Plan relates to stormwater conveyance infrastructure, with strategy 10.3 related to modernization efforts. Virginia joined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in the summer of 2020, which means companies that generate electricity through fossil-fuel companies must pay to exceed caps on the amounts of carbon dioxide. In Virginia, more than half of the proceeds go to pay for flood preparedness programs. Governor Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order soon after being inaugurated to withdraw Virginia from RGGI, but legislative approval is needed and so far efforts to withdraw have been blocked by the Senate, where Democrats have a 21 to 19 majority. So far, Virginia has received $227.6 million in proceeds from four auctions, including $85.6 million in December.Charlottesville Area Transit seeking input on future bus sheltersThe area’s primary fixed-route transit service is seeking your input into how their future bus shelters will look. “Charlottesville Area Transit (CAT) seeks to develop a bus shelter design that will serve as a unique and universal identifier of transit in the Greater Charlottesville Area,” reads an announcement for a public survey seeking input on three designs.All three come out of a charette held last August, and CAT’s architectural consultant wants more comments in order to come up with one single concept. Another round of presentations will be held when that’s ready for public review. City seeking applications for internships, close to hiring CAPE director Do you know someone younger who could use an opportunity to gain some real-world experience? The City of Charlottesville is accepting applications from college students to work as paid interns all across the municipal government. “This is developmental work designed to provide university students and recent graduates with meaningful entry-level professional work,” reads the press release for the opportunity. “The assignments require application of university-level knowledge typically gained in profession-specific curriculum typically found in local government.” The release goes on to state that interns will be closely supervised and will work on a specific project during their temporary employment. Departments seeking interns include the City Manager’s office, the Office of Communications, Neighborhood Development Services, and the Police Civilian Oversight Board. Applicants need to have completes sixty hours of coursework and to have a grade point average of 2.0. Anyone interested can apply here. Speaking of jobs, the city still has several top vacancies that are still being filled. Deputy City Manager Ashley Marshall have City Council an update on Monday, March 7. “The city is making some progress on some key hires,” Marshall said. “Interviews are underway for our director of communications and public engagement. And yes that title does sound a little different because we are going to emphasize public engagement within our communications’ professional team.”That matches the same job title as the equivalent job in Albemarle County. Marshall said the city is also reviewing resumes for the Director of Human Services and the Director of Informational Technology. The position of Human Resources Director is still being advertised. “We expect to move forward to interview phases on all three of those last director positions shortly,” Marshall said.  Support the program!Special announcement of a continuing promo with Ting! Are you interested in fast internet? Visit this site and enter your address to see if you can get service through Ting. If you decide to proceed to make the switch, you’ll get:Free installationSecond month of Ting service for freeA $75 gift card to the Downtown MallAdditionally, Ting will match your Substack subscription to support Town Crier Productions, the company that produces this newsletter and other community offerings. So, your $5 a month subscription yields $5 for TCP. Your $50 a year subscription yields $50 for TCP! The same goes for a $200 a year subscription! All goes to cover the costs of getting this newsletter out as often as possible. Learn more here! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

In this 9-minute “Candid Clancy” podcast episode, Clancy shares the magic that happens when creating a food equity program that makes the most impact.

Shortages of skilled staff are nothing new in hospitality, but Covid lockdowns and job losses have only made the situation worse. It's time to stop waiting for things to improve, and take a fresh, hard look at your menu and how many people you need in the kitchen. Customers still want quality and service at an affordable price, but how else can this be provided? In this podcast, Ken Burgin talks with Graeme McCormack from Food Equity group about Outsourcing and Labour Saving in Modern Foodservice. How to serve high-quality food with a semi-skilled workforce and the right equipment - there are some great solutions. Topics they discussed… Graeme visited dozens of pubs and clubs recently - what did you hear, and what are the business opportunities? What changed in QSR through 2020 - 2021 with flavour and food consumption trends? What's changed (or not) with people's eating preferences in the last 2 years? Is the desire for healthy eating and sustainability really as important as the media says? Particular food and flavour trends we should be watching out for? Designing the new knifeless / low skill kitchen. What staff do I need to put it together? What are the core pieces of equipment? Speed oven, fryer, good fridge, what else? You'll find the Show Notes and links for today's episode on the HospoReset.com website. Don't forget to subscribe to the weekly Hospo Reset newsletter, and connect with Ken Burgin on Linkedin and on Twitter.

Smriti Kirubanandan, MSEM, MPH, CN is a Business Development Strategist at Tata Consultancy Services. She is also a food equity advocate and a certified raw vegan chef. She got her Bachelors in Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University. Then got her Master of Science in Engineering Management at University of Southern California. She also has her Master of Science in Public Health from the University of California, Los Angeles. Smriti's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smritikirubanandan/?miniProfileUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_miniProfile%3AACoAAAEy35UBjOgHO5K7vZJWhBFdjBtaBxKnuDE Shownotes: http://thephmillennial.com/episode78 Support The Public Health Millennial: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thephmillennial Use Code “thePHmillennial” for discount: https://thepublichealthstore.com Website: https://thephmillennial.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thephmillennial (@thePHmillennial) Email List: https://thephmillennial.com/signup/ Support the show (http://paypal.me/thePHmillennial)

Let’s begin today with two Patreon-fueled shout-outs. One person wants you to know "We keep each other safe. Get vaccinated, wear a mask, wash your hands, and keep your distance."And in another one, one Patreon supporter wants you to go out and read a local news story written by a local journalist. Whether it be the Daily Progress, Charlottesville Tomorrow, C-Ville Weekly, NBC29, CBS19, WINA, or some other place I’ve not mentioned - the community depends on a network of people writing about the community. Go learn about this place today!On today’s show:COVID update from Dr. Denise Bonds of the Blue Ridge Health District Charlottesville Council indicates support for Charlottesville Food Equity Initiative, but funding decisions will come in the months to come A quick look at commercial office space in the Charlottesville areaCharlottesville’s public housing agency is owed $52,000 in unpaid rent Two million for affordable housing projectsThe Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission is seeking applications from private, public, and nonprofit developers for projects to increase affordable housing stock throughout the region. The TJPDC received $2 million from the entity formerly known as the Virginia Housing Development Authority for the purpose of building actual units. The first step is for applicants to submit a proof of concept. “This proof of concept will be issued to collect key details about the proposed project, including number of proposed units to be constructed, partner development experience, and location of development,” reads the release. “The requested proof of concept will serve as a precursor to a more detailed formal project application.”The funding is part of a $40 million statewide initiative. Proposals are due on November 29 at 5 p.m. Visit the TJPDC’s website to learn more about the application.Sixth Street site planTomorrow, the city of Charlottesville will hold a site plan conference for the next public housing project to be redeveloped by the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority. Plans for 39-units at Sixth Street will be reviewed. The CRHA Board of Commissioners’ got an update on this topic at their meeting on October 25. Brandon Collins is now the redevelopment coordinator for CRHA. (read his report )“Resident-led planning continues and to update you all in case you don’t know, the plan is in the space along Monticello Avenue where the garden currently is we’re going to knock down six apartments on the end of the garden to get a little extra room and build an apartment building,” Collins said.Collins' redevelopment report for October states that a three-story building had been originally, but architects suggested a fourth story would make the project more competitive for Low Income Housing Tax Credits.“Residents seem to be generally in favor of that,” Collins said. “There’s a lot of process questions that we’re all going to work through to get a decision on that.”The site plan conference begins at 10 a.m. on Wednesday. (meeting info)Former Planning Commissioner Lisa Green resigned from the CRHA Board of Commissioners on October 5. No reason was given but Green had been on the Redevelopment Committee. Council is seeking applications to fill the vacancy as well as other open positions on boards and commissions. Take a look at the list on the Charlottesville City Hall website. At the CRHA meeting, Executive Director John Sales reported that some tenants owe tens of thousands in back rent. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development currently considers CRHA a “troubled” agency which requires additional scrutiny from the federal agency including increase inspections. “A big item that we should always discuss is the delinquency account for tenants,” Sales said. “We’re currently at $52,000. That is probably our biggest concern in terms of exiting out of troubled status. The $52,000 represents about a hundred tenants.”Sales said that represents about a third of public housing residents. He said there is a CRHA staff member working on rental assistance to help cover the back log and to find out what barriers are in place to paying the rent. Office space check-inThe Charlottesville office market had a vacancy rate of 4.9 percent in the second quarter of this year according to an analysis from Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer. That’s less than the same period in 2020, but below the forecasted amount. The report states that office space remains high in demand. “Absorbency in the market was down for the quarter but that is more a reflection of large new deliveries than lack of demand and remains net positive for the past 12 months,” reads the report. “In fact, 87 percent of the nearly 380,000 square feet of office space under construction is already pre-leased and since Q1 2020 there has been more space delivered than in prior decades.” The report states that rents continue to rise. The current average is $27.52 per square foot, a 55 percent increase over the 2015 average. Pinkston’s bountyElection results will come tomorrow. One final piece of information before the votes are tallied. Brian Pinkston’s campaign for one of two seats on City Council received a last-minute contribution of $3,000 on Monday from the Democratic Party of Charlottesville.COVID updateThe number of new COVID cases reported each day continues to decline. “If you look at the trend over the past couple of weeks here, a month or so, it’s really been on a downward trajectory indicating that we may be past the worst with regards to the Delta virus,” Bonds said.Today the Virginia Department of Health reports another 1,245 new cases today, and the Blue Ridge Health District reports 41 new cases. There have been 12 deaths reported in the district since October 25. Since Dr. Bonds last addressed Council, booster shots are now available for all of the three major vaccines. The Moderna booster is available for those over the age of 65 or those with some underlying condition or situation. “If you got [Johnson and Johnson] as your first one, it’s a little different,” Bonds said. “Anyone who got J&J as their first vaccine for COVID is eligible as long as you’re over the age of 18.”Bonds said anyone who got the J&J vaccine can also opt to switch to the Moderna or Pfizer as a booster. “Really the best person to talk to about this would be your physician,” Bonds said. “There are some reasons to think that mixing and matching may be beneficial. You get higher antibody levels with the rMNA boosters but there’s some evidence that if you get J&J it activates more of a different part of your system called T-cells.”Vaccines are available at the Community Vaccination Center at the former Big Lots in Seminole Square Shopping Center. Visit the Blue Ridge Health District website to learn more. Dr. Bonds said the district will have a limited quantity of Pfizer doses for children between 5 and 11 when they are available next week.“It’s going to one third of the amount that anyone 12 and over gets,” Dr. Bond said. Because there is a limited amount, the District is prioritizing shots for the most vulnerable children, working with school districts and pediatricians to identify those people and schedule shots. “There will be a small amount of vaccine that is available at our Community Vaccination Center,” Dr. Bonds said. “It is by appointment only and those vaccines.gov should be out and available by Friday of this week we believe.” In all, the District will get an initial distribution of 6,300 doses. You’re reading Charlottesville Community Engagement. In today’s second Patreon-fueled shout-out, Code for Charlottesville is seeking volunteers with tech, data, design, and research skills to work on community service projects. Founded in September 2019, Code for Charlottesville has worked on projects with the Legal Aid Justice Center, the Charlottesville Fire Department, and the Charlottesville Office of Human Rights. Visit codeforcville.org to learn about those projects. Dr. Denise Bonds spoke at the City Council meeting last night. The meeting was overseen by the two deputy city managers in the wake of the resignation of former City Manager Chip Boyles on October 12. That meant it was up to Sam Sanders to provide responses from previous comments for the public. Who maintains the mall side streets?“The first item was in regards to side street maintenance near the Downtown Mall and I did check in with staff in regards to who is responsible for maintaining those side streets and that is a function of Parks and Recreation,” Sanders said. “They have been short-staffed and struggling to keep up with everything that needs to be done is what I am hearing at this moment.”The second item dealt with a request to install a four-way stop on Rose Hill Drive at Burley Middle School, which is owned and operated by Albemarle County Public Schools.“There is a speed study underway and its in relation to the configuration that’s being proposed for Walker Upper Elementary, “ Sanders said. “Even though it is not the same impact area, they will be able to take a look at what is happening on Rose Hill Drive.”Sanders said the last study of the area around Burley dates back to 2004 and some traffic calming efforts were installed in the second half of the decade. He referred people interested in the topic to the city’s Traffic Calming Handbook as well as the petition to begin the process. Food Equity discussionThe main item last night was a report on Charlottesville’s Food Equity Initiative. The nonprofit group Cultivate Charlottesville has been the recipient of city funding for the past three years and seek additional money for years to come. They also want two percent of the meals tax to go a new Food Equity Fund.“We believe that food is a human right and we operate from that perspective that everyone, all Charlottesville residents, deserve access to fresh produce and high quality food,” said co-executive director Richard Morris.Morris said food equity is an outcome where all residents have access to food that meets nutritional and cultural needs. Earlier this year, Council was presented with a Food Equity Initiative Policy Platform which seeks to serve as a strategic plan to fund a variety of initiatives, and they’ve sought support for funding through an online petition. Much of this work is also finding its way into the draft Comprehensive Plan which Council will consider on November 15. One challenge is that the Urban Agricultural Collective has lost or soon will lose control of land it has used for community gardens. Land at the public housing site at Sixth Street SW is slated to be used for redevelopment. “The overall budget for the Food Justice Network has been about $400,000, $155,000 of what was the Food Equity Initiative contributed,” said co-director Jeanette Abi-Nader. “And you’ll note that the majority of the budget goes toward staffing.” The group is seeking a multiple year commitment, despite the fact that elected bodies in Virginia cannot appropriate money beyond the next fiscal year. The request comes outside of the budget cycle, as well as the Vibrant Communities process through which nonprofits apply for funding. That process used to be conducted jointly with Albemarle County. Mayor Nikuyah Walker praised the report submitted with the funding request, but had concerns. “If we are adding this as a three-year item, that the way other nonprofits have to compete for funding, I have some reservations there,” Walker said. Abi-Nader said Cultivate Charlottesville did not apply for Vibrant Community funds in the past two years because they had been funded by Council outside of that process. She explained how she thinks the current request is different. “We see the Vibrant Communities funds as really about programs that impact the community, like direct support programs and engagement, and this program is seen as a support for a function of city government,” Abi-Nader said. Walker noticed there have been several groups funded outside of the budget cycle and the Vibrant Community fund, such as the B.U.C.K. Squad and Peace and Streets.“I think our whole process needs to be reviewed and if there is a list of community partnerships that are doing the work the city thinks is essential that can’t be done without that partnership, then that needs to be a separate list from the Vibrant Communities but the way things are set up now, I don’t think it’s a fair process,” Walker said. Councilor Lloyd Snook appeared to agree that the resolution as presented was not appropriate. “Franky it appears to me to be an attempt to circumvent the budget process,” Snook said. Misty Graves, the interim director of the city’s Human Services Department, said the resolution came up because the initiative was a creature of City Council. “So I think that’s why it’s coming to back to City Council for whether or not it is a renewed commitment and if this is still a priority of City Council,” Graves said. Next year will be the fourth year of the initiative. The $155,000 will be built into the general fund budget that will be introduced by whoever will be City Manager early next March. The vote was 3 to 2 with Walker and Snook voting against and the resolution does not guarantee funding for FY23. The other request was for two percent of the meals tax proceeds to go to a Food Equity Fund. In Fiscal Year 2020, the city collected $12.6 million from the meals tax, which would have generated just over $250,000 for this purpose. (Charlottesville’s 2020 annual report) Abi-Nader said this fund would cover infrastructure to support food equity goals.“And by infrastructure, I mean that informally, not like literally always physical things, but infrastructure support for our city to move from a foodie city to a food equity city as an overall goal,” Abi-Nader said. “There are things that go beyond what an individual nonprofit can do.” One idea is a cooperative grocery store to be located near subsidized housing. Another is to build a new community garden in a section of Washington Park.“There’s space there to sight a quarter-acre park,” Morris said. “We’re talking about 10,000 square feet which from a growing perspective that’s a space that can grow a lot of food.”Councilors did not commit to the idea at this point in the budget cycle, but there was general support for the initiative. “For the record, I really support this group,” said Vice Mayor Sena Magill. “What they are doing is amazing work and it’s greatly needed work. I know I’ve been learning from them for the last three years now.” Another issue worth continuing to track into the future. Special announcement of a continuing promo with Ting! Are you interested in fast internet? Visit this site and enter your address to see if you can get service through Ting. If you decide to proceed to make the switch, you’ll get:Free installationSecond month of Ting service for freeA $75 gift card to the Downtown MallAdditionally, Ting will match your Substack subscription to support Town Crier Productions, the company that produces this newsletter and other community offerings. So, your $5 a month subscription yields $5 for TCP. Your $50 a year subscription yields $50 for TCP? The same goes for a $200 a year subscription! All goes to cover the costs of getting this newsletter out as often as possible. Learn more here! This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Today, I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Damien Thompson, the co-founder of the organization, Frontline Farming, and director of the Center for Food Justice and Healthy Communities.*In addition to his training in anthropology, Dr. Thompson holds a certification in Permaculture Design and a 200-hour Yoga Alliance Teaching Certification. His interests center on the building of community food systems, small-scale urban food production, developing community and cultural practices related to food and medicine, teaching and learning in education, and permaculture. Dr. Thompson has a keen interest in how communities can utilize traditional and modern information and practices to build food systems that uplift marginalized and oppressed peoples, restore ecosystems, build biodiversity, support cultural diversity as well as provide individuals and families with the highest level of access to the means to support their own health (and we talk quite a bit about these topics today). I should mention that Dr. Thompson is also a mayor-appointed member of the Sustainable Food Council for the City of Denver, and a co-chair for the city's Good Food Purchasing policy group. No doubt, he plays a significant role in the necessary trend of regenerative agriculture and our future connection to food.*In our interview, we bridge his education in anthropology to his farming practice and social work as the co-founder of Frontline Farming. Specifically, we geek out on the fundamentals of farming and the benefits of permaculture and a regenerative agriculture focus. We further dissected the social challenges surrounding food security, justice, and sovereignty as well as the equitable changes needed in our food system.*During our interview, we specifically discussed:*-Frontline Farming's mission.-Advantages and disadvantages of regenerative agriculture practices with a focus on no-tilling/conservation tilling, water conservation, terracing, and cover crops. -Inequality in our present food systems and the need for changes in food security, food justice, and food sovereignty.-The connection between big data, food systems, and racial equity.-The importance and repercussions of the language we use in our discussion about food systems and the policy that supports them.*To learn more about Dr. Thompson, visit https://www.frontlinefarming.org/.* Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Please complete our podcast sponsorship form: https://www.theelementsofbeing.com/psychology-podcast-contact-us.*If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/Itunes? It takes less than 60 seconds and other listeners and guests definitely appreciate them! You can also make a monetary contribution to help us with our mental health and environmental advocacy on www.theelementsofbeing.com.

SAFE [Students Advocating for Food Equity] is a new and growing service club at The Ohio State University. SAFE addresses local food inequities through advocacy, education, and service. We make a hands-on impact in the community and bring about food justice. Find out more about us on our club Instagram, @safeosu.

Guest speaker Allison Hess, of the UU@UN connects the dots between food equity, sustainability and climate justice.

In today’s subscriber-supported public service announcement, the Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards continues to offer classes and events this fall and winter to increase your awareness of our wooden neighbors and to prepare for the future. On October 19, there’s a free class on the Selection, Planting, and Care of Trees from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (register) In early November, there is a three part class on Winter Invasive Plant Identification and Treatment. Information on all the classes and the group can be found at www.charlottesvilleareatreestewards.org. On today’s show:The Charlottesville Planning Commission recommends approval of the update of the Charlottesville Comprehensive PlanA start-up seeking sugar substitutes secures funding for expansion at the State Farm BuildingThe Charlottesville Tree Commission looks forward to the future and a little ReLeafWe begin today with an economic development announcement in Albemarle County. Specifically at the former regional headquarters for State Farm on Pantops. Governor Ralph Northam was on hand to announce that the firm Bonumose will partner with the Hershey Company to research and develop reduced or zero sugar chocolate.“This is a $28 million investment that Bonumose is putting forth in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Northam said. Ed Rogers is the chief executive officer and co-founder of Bonumose, which was formed in 2016 and currently operates out of the University of Virginia’s North Fork research park. Using a $256,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund and $300,000 from the Virginia Investment Performance Grant program, Bonumose will move to a portion of the State Farm site.“It’s an important milestone, 36,000 square foot building,” Rogers said. Bonumose is betting that its technology can provide a healthy sugar substitute that can be produced at a price that can be affordable. Rogers said there’s a lot of hard work to do to prove that the tech will pay off. “We are not so full of hubris that we think that’s going to be easy,” Rogers said. “I mean, sugar is great. Who doesn’t love sugar? I mean even if you hate sugar, you probably love sugar also. It’s the gold standard of sweeteners. It’s natural. It tastes great. It is functional. It provides structure to foods. It helps depress the freezing point so you have creamy ice cream. It caramelizes. It does all of these things in food so when you’re talking about replacing sugar, it’s just not a matter of replacing the sweetness.” Current sugar substitutes do not work as well in cooking, and can be much more expensive than the real thing. Rogers said the product Bonumose will make s based on tagatose, a naturally occurring sweetener. The Pantops facility will serve as a demonstration project and will provide at least 64 new jobs. Rogers said this only came about because the county’s Economic Development office approached the company with options on how to expand. Soon after the pandemic, State Farm said they would shift entirely to a teleworking model and would not return to the 365,000 square foot building. Economic Development Director Roger Johnson is fond of using code names for various projects that they are working on before the deals can be announced. “Albemarle County had begun working with Bonumose well before the state die and we named this project internally Project Leopard, after Def Leppard’s hit song Pour Some Sugar On Me,” Johnson said. This is a story I’ll continue to monitor in the weeks, months, and years to come.New grant programThe City of Charlottesville has launched a new grant program intended to encourage job creation. The GO Hire program run by the Office of Economic Development will be adapted as part of the city’s pandemic recovery efforts. The position must pay $15 an hour. (learn more)“Grant funds can be used for City based businesses hiring a new employee that is a City resident,” reads the application for the program. “[The Office of Economic Development] will reimburse 50 percent of the wages for the initial eight week hiring period.”Grants are capped at $5,000, but the positions are eligible for the Virginia Return to Earn Initiative operated by Virginia Career Works. Comprehensive Plan milestone achieved After four years and ten months of review, the seven member Charlottesville Planning Commission has voted unanimously to recommend approval of an updated Comprehensive Plan as well as the Future Land Use Map. They did so after a long public hearing in which dozens of community members spoke about the plan, which has been drafted by the firm Rhodeside & Harwell as part of the Cville Plans Together initiative. James Freas has only been Charlottesville’s director of Neighborhood Development Services for one month, but had the honor of introducing the public hearing. “The result of this process to date is the draft plan that you have before you tonight which is itself only a first step as we move on to the implementation actions and rulemaking through the zoning ordinance project,” Freas said. That’s the third step in the Cville Plans Together project, but Freas said the Planning Commission had to take into consideration all of the chapters of the Comprehensive Plan. “As we move into implementation, we will be considering this entire plan,” Freas said. “While there has been discussion of the land use map, the strategies in this plan call for environmental protection, historic preservation, recognition of neighborhood context, addressing climate change, and providing affordable housing among many other issues and all of these will go into crafting a new zoning ordinance.”Freas said that densities called for in the future map may be adjusted in places where it is not suitable. He said he is excited to join the team just as this next phase gets underway. Update on Climate Action PlanAfter a presentation on the plan, Commissioners got the chance to ask questions before the public hearing began. One yielded an update on the Climate Action Plan from Kristel Riddervold, the city’s environmental sustainability and facilities development manager. “There’s been sort of some competing priorities that the city has worked on and so we have in some ways given some deference to the comp plan process,” Riddervold said. “There’s been a lot of ground work and climate protection related supporting work that’s been going on for the past year. There is still fully a commitment to develop a climate action plan because that is consistent with Council’s commitment with the Compact of Mayors.”Bill Palmer works in the Office of the Architect at the University of Virginia. He said he supported goals in the draft Comprehensive Plan that refer to the role UVA plays in the community. “And the acknowledgement of UVA’s influence on many aspect of Charlottesville both positive and negative,” Palmer said. “I think continuing the collaboration and cooperation between the city and University is very important and [Albemarle] County as well.”Public hearingThe public hearing lasted nearly two hours and featured competing visions. Some are concerned that additional density in the map could worsen the phenomenon of gentrification.“The process that got us to this point has been incredibly flawed and is now barreling toward a forced premature conclusion,” said Julia Whiting. One former Planning Commissioner agreed with that sentiment. “It feels like we’re driving drunk at night,” said Bill Emory. “Kind-hearted developers will not address our shortage of affordable housing.Third-year UVA student Chloe Estrada said she supports a plan which will hold landlords accountable. “Earlier this year, we conducted a survey of students who have lived off-Grounds to learn more about their housing experiences with specific regard to treatment they have received from landlords,” Estrada said. “Broadly, only 43 percent of student renters were satisfied with their off Grounds housing experience.” One supporter of the plan wanted the implementation phase to begin quickly.“I recommend that you not slow down the process and that you go ahead and adopt this map as a guide for creating new zoning,” said Kathryn Laughon. “We know that changes in status quo are going to create a lot of backlash.”On Monday, Council and the Planning Commission held a two-hour question and answer period on the plan. Kevin Hildebrand had listened and it cleared up one aspect of the plan. “I was encouraged listening to yesterday’s meeting that the up to 12 units is not a by-right development in medium density,” Hildebrand said. “Heretofore that has not been made clear and perhaps the allowable density will be based on lot size.”Commission review and adoptionDozens more people spoke over the next hour or so before the Commission got to their deliberation. There were many discussions of tweaks, and quite a few amendments. Some of this came down to what language should be used. Here’s an interchange about bonus density for providing affordable housing in “sensitive” areas.“I got a new wording,” said Commissioner Rory Stolzenberg. “Consider allowing additional units and height under a bonus program or other zoning mechanism with greater and deeper affordability than non-sensitive areas.” “Is it ‘consider’ or just ‘allowing’ because ‘consider’ means that maybe you can, maybe you cannot,” said Commisioner Taneia Dowell. “‘Allowing sounds like something can happen.”“I don’t think we know yet whether that it should be considered,” said Commissioner Liz Russell. “That’s I think the point.”“In my opinion we can change it to allow and then we can figure out the number in that bonus program,” said Commissioner Karim Habbab. Going forward, NDS Director James Freas will be leading the discussions. If this were a role-playing game, he’s sort of like the dungeon master. “When we say consider, what we mean is that the planning board and the City Council would be the ones doing the considering at the time when you’re moving forward with the adoption of the zoning,”Council will have to take a vote and some of the amendments suggested by the Planning Commission need to be fleshed out by the consultants with more information and specifics. Shortly before the vote, NDS Deputy Director Missy Creasy listed four changes that would be made. One of them was the language we just heard. Here is another:“Require that zoning changes preserve and enhance historic and cultural resources,” Creasy said. Another is to further outline what is meant by a “sensitive” area.“And number four, recommend that sensitive area delineation should continue to be defined and additional means and metrics beyond Census block data need to be considered,” Creasy said. The next step will be the first reading by City Council, scheduled for November 15. In today’s second Substack-fueled shout-out, Code for Charlottesville is seeking volunteers with tech, data, design, and research skills to work on community service projects. Founded in September 2019, Code for Charlottesville has worked on projects with the Legal Aid Justice Center, the Charlottesville Fire Department, and the Charlottesville Office of Human Rights. Visit codeforcville.org to learn about those projects. While Charlottesville does not yet have a specific Climate Adaptation Plan, the draft Comprehensive Plan has several references to the importance of trees to the city’s overall goals. In 2015, a measurement found that the city’s tree canopy was at 45 percent of the land cover. The 2021 draft Comprehensive Plan features more calls for preservation requirements including Goal 6 of the Environment, Climate, and Food Equity chapter which includes many strategies for increasing tree canopy, especially in areas that experience the urban heat island effect due to a lack of shade. “The Comprehensive Plan when it is finally done is going to have significant statements about supporting trees, adding trees, and the environmental health of the city,”  said Planning Commissioner Jody Lahendro at the October 5 meeting of the Tree Commission. The Tree Commission was created in 2010 to advocate for those types of policies, and to recognize specific trees. At the beginning of their meeting on October 5, Chair Brian Menard noted that a landmark tree in Maplewood Cemetery crashed to the ground the weekend before.“There is significant damage to the fabric of the cemetery,” Menard said. “There are a lot of stones damaged, some surely beyond repair.” Menard said the sudden death of the tree has caused an impact and points to the importance of celebrating trees. “Just watching people through the neighborhood react to this, it reminds me that for the last year or so we have especially stressed the functional benefits of trees, the health benefits, the environmental benefits,” Menard said. To help with education about those benefits, a group called Charlottesville ReLeaf has formed to lead efforts to help spread the word and to plant trees in strategic areas. Peggy Van Yahres is one of its members. (learn more)“What we want to do is get kids and families excited about trees and the green industry, so we’re really starting with some educational events,” Van Yahres said. Van Yahres said the group is working on developing a website. One idea is to develop materials that can demonstrate the heat differences between different playgrounds. The one at Venable Elementary features a bit of shade, whereas most others do not. Menard said the Tree Commission should be playing a role in making sure that new public projects will include new trees.“We need to know who and where and when plans are being made to make changes to city property so that we’re in early enough on the conversation,” Menard said. “So whether that is with Public Works or with the school division or whoever.” The Tree Commission also got an update on municipal tree planting on public property. The current capital improvement program has set aside $75,000 for that purpose. Mike Ronaybe is the city’s arborist and he said staff needs to be in place to do the planting and to make sure planted trees are regularly watered. “We usually hire 17 seasonals that work at parks in the summertime,” Ronayne said. “I think we are able to fill three of those positions so that’s just seasonal staff. Our full-time staff we’re down about a third from where we need to be for full-time positions.”In the 2020 State of the Forest report, Ronayne stated there is a city planting goal of 200 trees a year, but that has not been met for four years. The Tree Commission discussed ways to encourage other ways to help meet the goal.Special announcement! Today’s the third day of a new promo with Ting! Are you interested in fast internet? Visit this site and enter your address to see if you can get service through Ting. If you decide to proceed to make the switch, you’ll get:Free installationSecond month of Ting service for freeA $75 gift card to the Downtown Mall This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

In today’s subscriber-supported Public Service Announcement:The Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards continues to offer classes and events this fall and winter to increase your awareness of our wooden neighbors and to prepare for the future. On October 19, there’s a free class on the Selection, Planting, and Care of Trees from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (register) In early November, there is a three part class on Winter Invasive Plant Identification and Treatment. Information on all the classes and the group can be found at www.charlottesvilleareatreestewards.org. On today’s show:Updates on regional transportation studies and issues from the Regional Transit PartnershipA 250-unit apartment complex is in the works along Rio Road in Albemarle CountyMaterials are available for the October 12 Cville Plans Together hearingCharlottesville has been awarded $153,000 in RGGI money for flood mitigation along Moores CreekThe percent positivity for COVID-19 has further dropped to 8.3 percent, but the number of new cases reported increased by 3,919. Another 50 new deaths were reported over night for a cumulative total of 12,999 since the pandemic began. There are another 100 cases reported in the Blue Ridge Health District today. Plans have been submitted in Albemarle County for a 250-unit apartment complex on Rio Road. According to the application for a rezoning prepared by Collins Engineering, the Heritage on Rio would consist of seven buildings and a clubhouse on 8.23 acres of land. The properties are all zoned R-6 and the application is for a rezoning to Planned Residential Development (PRD). There are currently four single family homes that would be removed to make way for the development. “At just over half a mile from the Route 29/ Rio Road intersection, the proposed community would be within walking distance to many conveniences, including the numerous retail shops and offices in the Berkmar Crossing commercial area, several grocery stores, the Northside Library, and the large number of destinations surrounding the Rio/ 29 Intersection, including CVS Drugstore, Fashion Square Mall, Rio Hill Shopping Center, and Albemarle Square Shopping Center,” reads the application. The developer is G W Real Estate Partners.  The project will also have to go before the county’s Architectural Review Board because Rio Road is an entrance corridor. Materials are now available for the October 12 public hearing for the Charlottesville Comprehensive Plan, one of three tasks the firm Rhodeside & Harwell is conducting for the city as part of the Cville Plans Together initiative. The City Council and Planning Commission will hold a joint hearing on October 12, but now they’ll also hold a two hour discussion on the plan update the day before from noon to 2 p.m. The draft Comprehensive Plan and the Future Land Use Map are available for review now. The document is 118 pages long and this is the first time the entire draft has been put together with its eleven chapters and several appendices. Take a look at the materials here. The professionalization of fire and EMS calls in Albemarle County reached a new stage Monday when the Ivy and Pantops stations began 24-hour service and two other milestones were met.“An ambulance moved to the East Rivanna station to implement cross-staffing, and a daytime fire engine went into service at the Pantops station on Mondays,” wrote Abbey Stumpf, Albemarle’s public safety information officer, in a press release this morning. The Pantops fire engine will be the first to operate out of a station that was built on land donated to the county earlier this century. For the past 18 months, Albemarle has been implementing an initiative to hire more personnel funded in part through a $1.9 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as well as investments approved by the Board of Supervisors. In all, Albemarle has hired 22 public safety workers in the past 18 months. Earlier this year, Virginia joined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multi-state program that places caps on the amount of carbon emissions for many industries. If companies exceed their limits, they have to purchase credits. Revenues go to state governments for programs such as the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund, which is to receive 45 percent of the RGGI funds. So far, Virginia has received $142 million over three auctions. Charlottesville will receive $153,500 from the fund to pay for a plan to prepare the Moores Creek Watershed for the floodings. That’s part of $7.8 million in grants announced yesterday by Governor Ralph Northam. The funds are distributed by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, an agency that is also working on a master plan for coastal resilience in Virginia. Most of the funding is going to localities either on the coast or much closer. However, Charlottesville is not the westernmost recipient. The city of Winchester will receive $65,040 for a resilience plan and Buchanan County will receive $387,500 for “plans and capacity building” and that’s enough money for them to hire a consultant. Charlottesville will use the money to create a two-dimensional hydraulic model for the Moores Creek watershed within city limits. Andrea Henry, the city’s water resources protection administrator.  "2D modeling has the ability to identify drainage issues for our inlets, pipes, ditches, and streams across the entire City using the same methodology and analyses for a variety of storm scenarios," said Henry.  "We can use the results of this model to predict when our streets, sidewalks, homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure will be susceptible to flooding with the types of storms we see now and may see in the future due to our changing climate."Speaking of the draft Comprehensive Plan, water resources protection is covered in Goal 3 of Chapter 7, Environment, Climate, and Food Equity. “Charlottesville will be an environmental leader, with healthy air, water, and ecosystems, as well as ample, high-quality, and accessible open space and natural areas, and a preserved and enhanced tree canopy,” reads the community vision statement for the chapter. “The Rivanna River and other waterbodies will be celebrated and protected, and  environmentally-sound community access will be enhanced.”Read the rest of the recipients here. You’re listening to Charlottesville Community Engagement. In today’s second Substack-fueled shout-out, Code for Charlottesville is seeking volunteers with tech, data, design, and research skills to work on community service projects. Founded in September 2019, Code for Charlottesville has worked on projects with the Legal Aid Justice Center, the Charlottesville Fire Department, and the Charlottesville Office of Human Rights. Visit codeforcville.org to learn about those projects. We are now six days into Try Transit Month, an effort to encourage people to consider using fixed-route or on-demand service to get around the community. It has now been 13 days since the Jefferson Area Regional Transit Partnership met on September 23 Since October 2017, the advisory body run by the Thomas Jefferson Planning District has served as a clearinghouse for different providers. Karen Davis is the interim director of Jaunt and she stated one of the biggest challenges facing all bus fleets. “The driver shortage continues,” Davis said. “Jaunt is going to move to match [University Transit Service] and [Charlottesville Area Transit’s] recruiting and retaining bonus programs to try to entice more people into the door.Jim Foley, the director of pupil transportation for Albemarle County, could not give an update at the meeting because he was driving a school bus. Becca White, the director of Parking and Transportation at UVA, said ridership is rebounding following the pandemic. “We are up to about 8,000 riders a day on our system,” White said. “Three thousand of those are employees and the rest are students.”That’s down from pre-COVID levels of around 12,000 to 15,000 a day while school was in session.“During the height of COVID it was 3,000 to 4,000 passengers a day.” White said. One of the steps UTS has taken to make efficient use of their drivers has been to eliminate bus trips on McCormick Road through the heart of Grounds during the day. White said that might be one reason numbers have not rebounded as high. “We need to concentrate our transit trips from the end points in given the limited resources that we have,” White said. The free trolley-style bus operated by Charlottesville Area Transit has returned to McCormick Road. CAT has been fare-free since the beginning of the pandemic. CAT Director Garland Williams said he is hoping to keep it that way by applying for a Transit Ridership Incentive Program grant. “We applied for the TRIPS grant program with the state to keep CAT zero-fare for an additional three years,” Williams said.Williams said the planned route changes will not take place until January due to the driver shortage. Under the new alignment, Route 11 will go to the Center at Belvedere and there have been requests to make that change sooner. Williams said that would present problems. “If we were to make the adjustment to the Center now prior to making all of the adjustments, we would run the risk of individuals who are using the 11 missing their connections because it does take longer to get to the Center and get back,” Williams said. Williams said the timing will be correct when the changes are made. On September 1, the Afton Express began operation from Staunton to Charlottesville with a month of fare-free ridership. The service is operated by Brite, the transit service in the Staunton-Augusta-Waynesboro They’re now charging $3 each way. For the first three weeks, the service only carried about a dozen to 18 passengers each day, according to RideShare manager Sara Pennington.“We’re still looking to creep those numbers up but is still nice and early,” Pennington said. Pennington also discussed what the regional services are doing for Try Transit month. One thing is the usage of the hash tag ion Twitter #Busorbust.Albemarle County and the TJPDC are continuing work on a transit expansion study. The latest milestone is publication of a market and service analysis FourSquare ITP and Michael Baker International. (market and service analysis)“Ripe for service expansion, the US-29 corridor is the second busiest transit corridor in the region,” reads an overview of the study areas. “The Albemarle County Comprehensive Plan, adopted in 2015, outlines goals for increasing the supply of affordable housing for households with incomes between zero percent and 80 percent of area median income, through rezoning and incentives to developers.” The study also covers Pantops and Monticello. There will be a stakeholder meeting on October 22 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and a public meeting on October 21st from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. “Those will be going over the new alternatives or the draft alternatives that they are working on for each of the study areas,” said Lucinda Shannon, the TJPDC’s transportation manager. The TJPDC is also conducting a regional transit vision study.  There’s a stakeholder meeting for that tomorrow at 9 a.m. The meeting can be watched live on their YouTube page. (watch)“And that’s going to be asking people to identify community goals around Charlottesville and what the community values and what they want to see,” Shannon said. You can also offer your views as part of a survey that’s on the project website. Before we go, let’s look at the draft Comprehensive Plan one more time. Transit is embedded in many chapters of the plan, including the land use chapter. But take a look at Chapter 6 and goals 5 and goals 6. Williams’ attempts to help CAT become fare-free are specifically embedded in Strategy 13.2:“Ensure that transit is  financially accessible to all residents and those  who work in the city, including low-income populations, the elderly, and those with disabilities.” This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Michel Nischan grew up working on his grandparent's farm in Missouri and developed a deep appreciation for sustainable agriculture and those who work the land. His passion for healthful cooking supported by a local sustainable food system propelled Michel to the front of the culinary scene. Michel expanded his work into the world of food equity when he founded the non-profit organization, Wholesome Wave, whose mission is to inspire underserved consumers to make healthier food choices by increasing affordable access to fresh, healthful fruits and vegetables. His vision was to catalyze a meaningful shift in food commerce to support local farmers, retailers, and food entrepreneurs through purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables in their home communities.Author of three cookbooks and a director of the Jacques Pepin Foundation, Chef's Collaborative, CIA Advisory Council, Modern Farmer, Good Food Media Network, The National Young Farmers Coalition, and the ReFresh Working Group. The James Beard Foundation honored him with the 2015 Humanitarian of The Year. To learn more about Chef Nischan, follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and visit www.chefnischan.com  For more about Wholesome Wave visit www.wholesomewave.orgPhoto Courtesy of Michel NischanHeritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Let's Talk About Food by becoming a member!Let's Talk About Food is Powered by Simplecast.

Loved having Farmer & Community Entrepreneur Ivy Lorraine Walls share the amazing work she's doing in her community & how she's supporting food equity and empowerment through it all! Check out her page and website to stay updated on what she's doing! https://www.ivyleaffarms.com/

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said last month, "The pandemic has laid bare the many inequities that exist within our city, with food insecurity and historic disinvestment being among the most pressing.” That statement was part of the announcement of the city's first ever Food Equity Policy Lead, Ruby Ferguson. Ferguson works at the Greater Chicago Food Depository, so she understands that food insecurity in Chicago existed long before the pandemic, with residents in some neighborhoods having to travel miles to find grocery stores or access to fresh produce. Ferguson tells host Jacoby Cochran that addressing these shortages is about more than just plopping a Whole Foods on the block.  Guest: Ruby Ferguson – Food Equity Policy Lead, City of Chicago Read more about Chicago's Food Equity Council, including a report outlining the scope of the problem. Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicago Sign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fm

Have you ever considered farming for a target audience that isn't “everyone who eats”? Today we're joined by Maggie Cheney, co-founder of Rock Steady Farm in Millerton, New York. Maggie and her partner, D, both hoped the Millerton farm could increase food equity in the food system and create safer spaces for LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual/ally queer) and BIPOC (black, indigenous and people of color) farmers to thrive. Almost six years later, the farm has indeed made an impact. Its wide array of vegetables feed a 450-member sliding scale CSA that includes free and subsidized shares made possible through the Food Access Fund. The farm works in close partnerships with other land-based projects, neighbors, and nonprofits that work to build equity in the region and beyond. Their farm practices “holistic regenerative” farming. Join us to hear all about how Rock Steady thrives with their specific target audience!   You'll hear: What got Maggie into farming 1:58 What made Maggie and her partner choose Millerton for the farm 4:33 Why Maggie and D dropped flowers from their farming plan 7:17 About Rock Steady's scale of production 11:19 How Rock Steady finds the right people for the farm 18:26 What programs Rock Steady run and what ages do they work with 20:36 Why Rock Steady doesn't have any H2A workers 23:27 About the differences involved with farming in California and New York 29:11 About the Pollinate Apprenticeship Program 32:10 What systems and processes Maggie would put into place sooner given the chance to start again 36:30 How Rock Steady approaches marketing 41:10 Maggie's favorite crop to grow 48:29 Maggie's advice for newer farmers getting into the business 50:33 Maggie's favorite farming tool 54:12About the Guest:MAGGIE CHENEY (THEY/THEM, SHE/HER), GENERAL MANAGER, OWNER & FOUNDER Maggie grew up growing & loving food. They have been involved with food and farming their whole life, both urban and rural. In 2006, they helped start an elementary school garden program in Oakland, California, and then went on to the University of California Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems for two years. After farming a bit in the Hudson Valley and Staten Island, they moved to NYC in 2011, where they met many of the Rock Steady Community partners in NYC while leading a diversity of food justice and youth leadership programs.  Maggie has been instrumental in the formation of the Food Sovereignty Fund, which funds food access projects across New York State by sourcing from specifically BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ farmers, as well as supporting on advisory boards for numerous food orgs in the region. In the off season they teach, now for the 9th year, at Farm School NYC, an urban agriculture training program, as well as continue to support the efforts and inspiring work of Rise & Root Farm, which they co-founded in 2014. Resources:Website - https://www.rocksteadyfarm.com/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/RockSteadyFarmandFlowers/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rocksteadyfarm/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/RockSteadyFarm

Join the Better Health podcast team and special guests for a discussion on systemic causes and effects of poor nutrition in Oklahoma and some partnerships that are addressing it. Marc Jones, CEO of Homeland Acquisition Corporation, and Richard Comeau with Hunger Free Oklahoma break down the realities of food insecurity and what the Double Up Oklahoma program is doing to help. Jonathan Veal with RestoreOKC introduces listeners to a new grocery store in northeast Oklahoma City, Market at Eastpoint, and the importance of providing access to fresh fruits and vegetables to this food desert. Tune in to find out how you can work with local leaders to improve your community's access to healthy foods. All music licensed through PremiumBeat. Full transcripts with credits available at tset.ok.gov/podcast.

"Creative collaboration is the lifeblood of our relationship"~Sonja OverhiserAfter listening to this episode you will understand why Kevin and I draw so much inspiration from Sonja Overhiser. She is the co-founder of the wildly popular food blog,  A Couple Cooks, and the new food justice initiative Food + Wellness Equity Collective. We were honored when Sonja agreed to our audacious request to be interviewed and are proud to bring you this inspiring conversation.Resources Mentioned: Food Matters by Mark Bittman Pretty Simple Cooking by Sonja and Alex Overhiser (pg. 184  is on repeat in our house)@ACoupleCooks Replay of the Harvesting Food Equity panel from 4/29/21 use passcode n4WG&EaiJoin the Food + Wellness Equity Collective@FoodWellnessEquityLoved this conversation? Learn more about Sonja by listening HERE and HERE.Grab our new START TODAY guide: 4 Ways to Make Life Feel Extraordinary and be entered to win our Growth Minded Marriage Giveaway (includes Sonja and Alex's cookbook, Pretty Simple Cooking, Mary's hot fudge, gift cards and more). One winner will be drawn on June 17th. Growth Minded Marriage Podcast is committed to growth which means we are open to all feedback. Share this episode with a friend, tell them why they'd love it. Email us at growthmindedmarriage@gmail.com, better yet join our Growing Together community HERELeave us a rating and review on Apple PodcastsAffiliate Disclosure: We have a partnership with Bookshop, an alternative book store solution to Amazon. They donate 10% of profits to independent bookstores and are committed to supporting the fragile local bookselling ecosystem.

In this week’s episode of Farmer’s Inside Track… The 101 of fruit farming for beginner farmers. South Africa produces a large variety of fruit crops and this could be your next agri enterprise. Find out how!  We’re excited to kick off a new segment… “Animal nutrition powered by…Voermol Feeds”. Dr Francois van de Vyver, National Technical Manager at Voermol Feeds, unpacks overwintering in the dry season of the summer rainfall areas. Plus, you stand the chance of winning a R1 000 Voermol product voucher… This week’s #SoilSista, powered by Food For Mzansi and Corteva Agriscience, is the incredible Nobuntu Makhoa, founder of Ba ha Makhoa. She started her farming education when her father turned her childhood home into an informal dairy. Agripreneurs, listen up! Your innovation technology solution for the food system can get you crowned as the first Inqola FEED Innovation Prize winner. We chat to the founders of the Food Equity, Equality and Democracy Agency. Our book of the week… “The Intuitive Farmer” by Peter Nuthall. He believes a farmer’s success is based on the excellence of their decision-making skills. And mango farmer, Bernie van den Heever, knows that the land he toils deserves to be loved. His farmer tip of the week is about soil diversity. 

Meet Rickey Hall and Zack Wyatt, two people in Charlotte working to change our industrial food system and make it more local, sustainable and equitable. Zack is president and CEO of the Carolina Farm Trust, which operates urban farms in and around Charlotte. Rickey is chair of the West Boulevard Neighborhood Coalition, which is combatting food deserts and food insecurity in underserved neighborhoods. Hear about why our food system grew to be so inequitable, how Mecklenburg County moved away from its history of farming, and how we can start to change things locally.

The Farm Stand features: --Guy Beardsley's Small Farms Report --An interview with Eliza Caldwell and Adam Matlock about food forests and their food equity projects. Hosts: Richard Hill and Chris Ferrio

Grace Sliwoski was born and raised in Worcester, went away for college, and is now raising her family back here in the city. Grace is the Director of Programs for the Regional Environment Council (REC) and sits on the board of Central Mass Grown. The REC is a grassroots environmental and food justice organization. Central Mass Grown is a nonprofit comprised of farmers, buy-local advocates, and community leaders dedicated to raising consumer awareness and increasing the profitability of regional farms.Grace and Josh talk about food access and food justice (obviously) and how communities can connect through gardens and urban agriculture.Listen to Public Hearing wherever you get your podcasts and on WICN 90.5FM, Worcester’s NPR affiliate station. And, while we celebrate women all year round, our guests for the month of March are all women who live, influence, and/or impact the City of Worcester, MA. Learn more about our show at PublicHearing.coShare our show with a friend!

Julia Turshen, a best-selling cookbook author, reputable food writer, food advocate and founder of Equity at the Table, and podcast host, is defining what it means to be a modern, authentic author and food extraordinaire. Turshen has written three renowned cookbooks, winning prestigious awards like The New York Times best seller, Eater’s Best Cookbook of the Year, and Amazon’s Best Cookbook. Now, she’s releasing a fourth cookbook, Simply Julia, on March 2, highlighting her unique perspective on healthy comfort foods. On this episode of Second Life, find out how Turshen’s past life as a private chef influenced her voice and perspective and ultimately enabled her to fuse her passions of food and writing to create a beloved career.

This season of The ChickPeeps is brought to you by our friends at Vivo Life! Use our code 'chickpeeps10' to get 10% off your order at vivolife.com. Our guest this week is the founder and president of Food Empowerment Project, lauren Ornelas. An animal rights activist of over 30 years, we talk to lauren about F.E.P.'s mission to create a more just and sustainable world by recognizing the power of one's food choices. In addition, lauren takes us through her beginnings as an activist, why she founded F.E.P. and why her activism doesn't stop at veganism. Also in this episode… lauren talks about the culinary trials and tribulations of going vegan in the 1980s. Seriously folks, we don't realise how good we've got it! “I find college [activism] organisations to be some of the most impactful organisations that are out there” - lauren tells us about her earliest experiences as an activist in high school and college. lauren shares her experiences as an undercover activist working with the animal rights charity Viva! USA. lauren talks about her frustration with the animal rights movement not working diligently enough on human rights issues that led her to founding Food Empowerment Project. “We need to make sure we're not acting self-righteous when our food might be coming from unjust systems as well.” lauren discusses the brutal working conditions in the cacao industry and why, in her opinion, many vegan chocolate companies are not truly vegan. lauren explains F.E.P.'s thorough process for ensuring vegan chocolate companies are not using slave labour. Is veganism a privilege or a moral obligation? “Veganism has given me every purpose I've ever had in my life” Tylor is shocked to learn about a company that is enforcing a food apartheid in a community he knows very well. lauren gives us an example of a vegan phrase that should be retired and tells us why. Links: F.E.P.'s all-important Chocolate List. lauren's Tedx talk, The Power of Food our Food Choices. Food Empowerment Project website. Food Empowerment Project Instagram and Twitter and Youtube. F.E.P. ‘Eating on a Budget'. Get In Touch: Bonus Content: ChickPeeps Patreon Instagram: @ChickPeepsPod Facebook: @ChickPeepsPodcast

Yoli Ouiya is passionate about sustainability and wellness, and is best known for her eco-lifestyle portal Yoli’s Green Living, which earned her the moniker “Queen of Green” by Black Enterprise Magazine. Her self-professed “first passion,” though, is food, and when COVID struck the world in early 2020, she turned her focus to food equity, co-founding The Food + Wellness Equity Collective. The collective is a diverse group of content creators and entrepreneurs committed to being change agents for equity, diversity, and anti-racism in the food and wellness industries.In this episode, Monica and Steve reminisce with Yoli about their kindred connection when meeting in New York at the 2017 Global Wellness Summit, and how that meeting brought Yoli to the first Biophilic Leadership Summit at Serenbe. They also talk about how Wholesome Wave, SNaP, and Rodale Institute are impacting food policy on local and national levels, how Yoli is changing the face of food and wellness by providing a safe place to talk about food policy issues, and how we can all #sharetheplate.

Michelle McCabe is a democratic candidate running for the 28th Senate District here in Connecticut. which includes Fairfield, Newtown, Easton and sections of Weston and Westport. She is the Director of the Center for Food Equity and Economic Development (FEED) with the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport. Michelle lives in Fairfield with her 3 boys. Michelle has spent her career taking on some of the biggest challenges that face our community and will head to Hartford ready to fight for gun violence prevention, affordable healthcare, small businesses and the workforce, and building a green economy. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

This dynamic duo is taking the food world by storm. Sicily Sierra and Mavis-Jay Sanders, partners in life and in business, are the founders of Food + People, a packaged goods company poised for growth that focuses on quality food, great flavor, and simplicity in the kitchen. They’re also the hosts of the IG Live show Drink Tank on @blackfoodfolks, where you can find them serving up candor and cocktails every Monday night. On today’s show, hear Sicily and Mavis-Jay share the story behind their company, their journeys through the world of food, and the details on their Maison Yaki pop-up launching today in Brooklyn. (They had us at meatloaf burgers.) We also get the details on their meet-cute story, which involves pricy pudding, food trucks, and the city of Los Angeles.Find out why Jade Dee Atkins, the editor in chief of Pass The Spatula, the student magazine of Food and Finance High School, thinks Christina Tosi is the Bombe.Thank you to Breyers CarbSmart for supporting Radio Cherry Bombe. 

Advancing Food Equity in Underserved Communities with Arti Chandra, MD, MPH by The Institute for Functional Medicine

Lois Reitzes talks with Alex Wan about Horizons Summer Camp; Christopher Escobar about the Plaza Theatre showing drive-in movies; and Cicely Garret as well as playwright Amina McIntyre about Equitable Dinners Atlanta.

Learn more at GrowingOldProject.com. Subscribe on your favorite streaming platform, and follow the Growing Old Project on Instagram. This series was created in collaboration. Created by:Lylianna Allala, Colleen Echohawk, and Tamara Power-DrutisProduced by:Katie MosehauerWritten by:Tamara Power-DrutisNarrated by:Zoey Echohawk-Hayashi, Lily Warrior, Collen Echohawk, Lylianna Allala, along with various members of the Growing Old team.Music for the series by:Black Stax, Glass Heart String Choir, Lacey Warrior, and Talaya Logan Marque Studios with engineering and mixing by Katie Mosehauer and Greg Fields and mixing and mastering by Pierre Ferguson.Music in Episode 2 by:Glass Heart String Choir, Kai Engel, and Tamara Power-Drutis.Recording by:Katie Mosehauer, Tamara Power-Drutis, and Katie MyersIn Partnership With:Chief Seattle Club and Earth Day Northwest 2020Promotion and Community Engagement by:Katie Myers and The Vida AgencyFiscal sponsorship provided by:Earth Day Northwest 2020 and Forterra

This week we were joined by Ederique Goudia, owner of the new Gabriel Hall restaurant coming to West Village, Rafa Wright, serial entrepreneur and the owner of Neighborhood Grocery, and Kwaku Osei-Bonsu, founder of Black Metro Eats and Detroit's Black Restaurant Week. We had a conversation about food equity, food apartheid, public health, and black owned grocery stores and restaurants in Detroit.

Leah Penniman is an educator, farmer/peyizan, author, and food justice activist from Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, NY. She co-founded Soul Fire Farm in 2011 with the mission to end racism in the food system and reclaim our ancestral connection to land.Penniman delivered her speech at the 38th annual E.F. Schumacher Lectures on October 27th, 2018.If you would like a physical copy of this lecture or others like it, visit centerforneweconomics.org/order-pamphlets to purchase pamphlets of published works and transcripts.The Schumacher Center's applied work seeks to implement the principles described by these speakers within the context of the Berkshire hills of Massachusetts. Our work, both educational and applied, is supported by listeners like you. You can strengthen our mission by making a donation at centerforneweconomics.org/donate, or call us at (413) 528-1737 to make an appointment to visit our research library and office at 140 Jug End Road, Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

Today our book club focuses on The Stop: How the Fight for Good Food Transformed a Community and Inspired a Movement, by Nick Saul and Andrea Curtis. Listen and learn about the multiyear effort to create a sustainable, internationally recognized community food center that provides for, and fights for, food equity – the process of providing opportunities for all to access good, healthy food.  

We're talking about biodynamic agriculture, the Slow Food Movement, and food equity & education with Paul DeCampo, former director of the Toronto Slow Food chapter, director at Southbrook Winery, and current business developer and educator at George Brown College for International Spirits.

This week host John Voket and the award-winning For the People promotes how the 31st Annual Bowl-2-Benefit The Umbrella Center for Domestic and Violence Services plays a critical role in providing community programs serving more than 6,000 domestic violence victims and their children each year in Connecticut.  Then it's time for Part 3 of our 'Heart Month Survival Guide.' What would you do if a loved one thought they were having a heart attack? How could you help someone suffering cardiac arrest? We'll answer all these and more questions with a cardiac specialist from Waterbury Hospital. Then we'll sit down with the director of greater Bridgeport's Council of Churches Food Equity and Economic Development (FEED) center to learn how the agency is matching individuals and systems to resources throughout Park City faith based organizations to create jobs, new businesses, and healthier, more sustainable communities.

We are back with our second Happy Hour episode! Today, we’re talking with my friends Tristan and Liz all about food: socio-economic issues, farmers’ markets, waste, marketing, GMOs… everything you’ve ever wondered about food, we’re wondering, too. Let’s chat!! Shoot me an email at laura@lauraediez.com or an Instagram DM @lauraediez  The post 26: Happy Hour: Food, Equity + Climate Change appeared first on Laura E Diez.

Each year, up to 40% food in the United States is not eaten from production to plate contributing to the largest source of waste in our landfill (organics) and the second largest source of anthropogenic methane gas in California. All the while, there are 1.5 million Angelenos who are food insecure. Our guests are working to build healthier food environments and resilient communities by improving our regional food economy and making good food accessible to all. Host: Jessica Aldridge, Adventures in Waste and co-founder SoCal 350 Clare Fox, Executive Director, Los Angeles Food Policy Council. The Los Angeles Food Policy Council is a collective impact initiative working to build a Good Food system for all Los Angeles residents — where food is healthy, affordable, fair and sustainable. In her role as Executive Director, she supports and collaborates with a large network of public, private, non-profit and community leaders to catalyze policy and systems change for a sustainable and fair food system. Jose Ramirez, Executive Director, Saint Francis Center Los Angeles. For 45 years, St. Francis Center provides hunger relief to homeless and extremely low-income families and individuals in Los Angeles. In his role as Executive Director, he has provided the leadership necessary to help the Center expand its services and continue serving more communities in need. Adventures in Waste on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Adventuresinwaste/ Adventures in Waste on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adventuresinwaste/ Los Angeles Food Policy Council: http://goodfoodla.org/ St. Francis Center: https://www.stfranciscenterla.org/ 'Yasuni Man' The Movie: http://www.yasuniman.com/ Photo: Unsplash//Peter Wendt Episode 13

Can we match excess food with need to better help people escape poverty? American University college student Maria Rose Belding, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Matching Excess And Needs for Stability (MEANS), discusses food waste and hunger with celebrity chef David Guas on a special episode of Add Passion and Stir made possible by generous support from the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation. At age 12, Belding imagined a better system for getting excess food to emergency food providers and the people that need it. She founded her nonprofit a few years later. “Food is really the key that unlocks the door to all of these other social services that help people actually leave poverty, but until we deal with the food, we can’t deal with anything else,” she says. Long-time Share Our Strength supporter Guas has always understood the importance of donating leftover food from his restaurants to local organizations. “At Bayou Bakery, since the beginning we work closely with A-SPAN [a homeless services organization and shelter in Arlington, VA]…it’s been a great partnership,” he says. Belding wishes every chef and food organization thought about food waste the same way. “That’s money the shelter doesn’t have to spend on food… and that means they can funnel it into AA or mental health programs,” she notes. A volunteer in food pantries since age six, she recognized very young the instability of food resources at these establishments. Pantries are often in simultaneous feast or famine mode – with way too much of one item they cannot use and not enough of another item they really need. Today, MEANS addresses that problem by connecting thousands of food banks, shelters, soup kitchens and other providers with food donations in real time, and has recovered more than 1.65M pounds of food over the last five years. Both guests understand that recovering food waste is only one piece of alleviating hunger and poverty. Host Billy Shore asks Belding how much of the hunger problem in the United States could be addressed by food waste? “Mathematically speaking, if you just look at this like a calculus problem, food waste can solve all of it. Hunger is not a calculus problem. Hunger is much more complicated than that,” says Belding. She explains the important role programs such as SNAP and WIC play in solving hunger. Guas recently took to Capitol Hill with two other celebrity chefs to champion these federal food programs. “We just banged down doors, chewed people’s ears and stressed the importance of protecting this [SNAP] program,” he relates. Be inspired by this impactful conversation among these social activists with real-time solutions to hunger in America.

To start the new year, we are revisiting one our most important episodes of Add Passion and Stir when we spoke with sociologist, poverty expert and author Kathy Edin ($2 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America) and Washington, DC area social entrepreneur Tom McDougall of 4P Foods have a powerful and timely discussion with Share Our Strength founders Billy and Debbie Shore about poverty in America. Kathy and Tom illustrate how our current systems - political, social, economic, geographic - keep poor people from succeeding. They argue for more equity in our social programs and a more dignified way of serving the poor. Kathy shares stunning statistics and touching anecdotes of the impoverished families with whom she has worked. When she asked one young girl what it was like to be hungry, her response was, "It feels like you want to be dead, because it’s peaceful when you’re dead." Tom believes, "We can't talk about fixing the food system unless we talk about money and politics... subsidies... institutional racism... the history of farming. … If we move the needle just a tad on food equity, it means we're moving a lot of other needles along the way." In Kathy’s work, she found that, "When it comes down to it, what people seem to want more than anything else is dignity. ... but a lot of our social policies deny people that.” Hear their recommendations on what we can do as individuals and as a nation to improve these dire circumstances for the poor in America.

Heritage Radio Network’s Kat Johnson attended this year’s James Beard Foundation Food Summit, aptly titled Consuming Power, where the conversation was far from simple. “The question before us in thinking about this year, is what to do with this muddle that is food,” said JBF Executive Vice President Mitchell Davis during his opening remarks. “So much has changed since last October,” he continued, referring to not only the election but also to Amazon’s game-changing purchase of Whole Foods. “But what hasn’t changed is people’s desire for access to fresh, healthful, delicious food to feed themselves, to feed their families, and to feed their friends.” In this first section of the event, industry experts and scholars discuss the psychological mechanisms involved with our decision-making around food, belief vs. fact, the influence of culture on consumer behavior, and breaking down big data. Listen in to this inspirational conversation between, as Davis puts, “people trying to make our food system more sustainable, more wholesome, more delicious, and more equitable.” This episode of Heritage Radio Network On Tour was generously supported by the Julia Child Foundation, which strives to continue the legacy of this culinary icon by educating and encouraging others to live well through the joys of cooking, eating and drinking well. Heritage Radio Network on Tour is powered by Simplecast.

Can one event feed hungry kids, promote fitness AND celebrate amazing food? This special edition of Add Passion and Stir was taped at Chefs Cycle, a 300-mile fundraising bike ride in Santa Rosa, CA for No Kid Hungry. Chef Jason Roberts and Bon Appétit Deputy Editor Andrew Knowlton joined Share Our Strength founder and CEO Billy Shore and Share Our Strength National Director of Chef and Culinary Relations Jenny Dirksen to discuss the true meaning of the ride. As one of the founders of Chefs Cycle, Jason says “We’re changing lives. We are creating futures and opportunities… We are not just connecting [kids] to food but also to opportunity.” Andrew underscores the importance of the mission in these uncertain times. “It doesn’t matter which [political] party you believe in – everything [Share Our Strength] is doing is for the kids.” Both citizen activist guests have been involved with No Kid Hungry for many years: Bon Appétit was the first major sponsor of Taste of the Nation for No Kid Hungry and opened a lot of important doors for the organization through their advertisers, and Chef Jason led the first ever Chefs Cycle - only a small handful of riders - four years ago. In addition to raising money for hungry kids, Chefs Cycle also represents an intersection of food and fitness for many of the chefs and culinary professionals who participate. “Chefs are trading bad habits for Lycra and clip-in shoes,” says Chef Jason. Jenny Dirksen has seen chefs of all fitness levels get involved, from hardcore chef cyclists to “everyone who said, ‘this is a good opportunity for me to push myself farther than I’ve gone before.’” Jenny also compliments the entire group of more than 230 riders. “Our chefs and culinary professionals are an amazing community of generous, warm, intelligent, giving people, and you put them on a ride together and these bonds form.” These bonds will support further iterations of Chefs Cycle, such as multiple rides, longer rides, and even a cross-country ride. Listen to hear all about it and tell us what you think!

In this episode of Add Passion and Stir, sociologist, poverty expert and author Kathy Edin ($2 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America) and Washington, DC area social entrepreneur Tom McDougall of 4P Foods have a powerful and timely discussion with Share Our Strength founders Billy and Debbie Shore about poverty in America. Kathy and Tom illustrate how our current systems - political, social, economic, geographic - keep poor people from succeeding. They argue for more equity in our social programs and a more dignified way of serving the poor. Kathy shares stunning statistics and touching anecdotes of the impoverished families with whom she has worked. When she asked one young girl what it was like to be hungry, her response was, "It feels like you want to be dead, because it’s peaceful when you’re dead." Tom believes, "We can't talk about fixing the food system unless we talk about money and politics... subsidies... institutional racism... the history of farming. … If we move the needle just a tad on food equity, it means we're moving a lot of other needles along the way." In Kathy’s work, she found that, "When it comes down to it, what people seem to want more than anything else is dignity. ... but a lot of our social policies deny people that.” Hear their recommendations on what we can do as individuals and as a nation to improve these dire circumstances for the poor in America.