Building Strong Communities with Local Food
Cumberland County Food System Summit
Thursday, May 19, 2016
Saint Joseph's College, Standish, ME 04084
CCFSC convened the Cumberland County Food System Summit to educate municipal officials to the opportunities food provides in building local economies and community resilience. Over 50 people attended including county commissioners, town managers, planners, economic development specialists, concerned citizens and others. This summit was supported through CCFSC’s participation in the Growing Food Connections initiative. Below is a list of speakers and related resources.
Opening Remarks:
Opening Plenary:
Ken Meter, President, Crossroads Resource Center
Ken Meter is one of the most experienced food system analysts in the US. His work integrates market analysis, business development, systems thinking, and social concerns. Meter holds 41 years experience in inner-city and rural community capacity building. His presentation addressed:
Final Report: Building Support for Community-Based Foods in the Lakes Region of Maine http://www.crcworks.org/melakes16.pdf
Food System Rotating Information Sessions: Tools and Techniques to Strengthen Your Community’s Food System
Food in Planning and Policy Development:
Buying Local: Food in Economic Development
You Don’t Need to Waste That (Food and/or Money)
Paying for Your Community’s Food Projects
Data and Advocacy: Using Evidence to Achieve Your Community-based Goals
A delicious lunch of local food was prepared by Pearson’s Cafe, the food service of St. Joseph’s College which sources about 30% of its food locally.
Closing Presentations:
Closing Discussion:
Cumberland County Food System Summit
Thursday, May 19, 2016
Saint Joseph's College, Standish, ME 04084
CCFSC convened the Cumberland County Food System Summit to educate municipal officials to the opportunities food provides in building local economies and community resilience. Over 50 people attended including county commissioners, town managers, planners, economic development specialists, concerned citizens and others. This summit was supported through CCFSC’s participation in the Growing Food Connections initiative. Below is a list of speakers and related resources.
Opening Remarks:
- Stuart Leckie, Senior Director of Sustainable Enterprises, St. Joseph’s College
- Peter Crichton, County Manager, Cumberland County
- Julia Freedgood, Assistant Vice President of Programs, American Farmland Trust
Opening Plenary:
Ken Meter, President, Crossroads Resource Center
Ken Meter is one of the most experienced food system analysts in the US. His work integrates market analysis, business development, systems thinking, and social concerns. Meter holds 41 years experience in inner-city and rural community capacity building. His presentation addressed:
- How a food system works
- Why the state of your food system matters for your town
- Applying research to our local food system
- What we are learning in Lake Region Food Study
Final Report: Building Support for Community-Based Foods in the Lakes Region of Maine http://www.crcworks.org/melakes16.pdf
Food System Rotating Information Sessions: Tools and Techniques to Strengthen Your Community’s Food System
Food in Planning and Policy Development:
- Voluntary Municipal Farm Support Program http://www.maine.gov/dacf/ard/farmland_protection/ voluntary_municipal_farm_support.shtml
- Portland Food Policy Assessment http://portlandmaine.gov/DocumentCenter/Home/View/9589
Buying Local: Food in Economic Development
- Roles of Municipalities in Institutional Buying http://www.mainefarmandsea.coop
- ME Federation of Farmers Markets SNAP EBT http://www.mainefarmersmarkets.org/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-programselectronic-benefits-transfer-snapebt/
You Don’t Need to Waste That (Food and/or Money)
- Municipal Organics Management (Mark King, ME DEP) DEP Compost Guide, http://www.maine.gov/dep/sustainability/compost/compost_guide2016.pdf
- Responsibilities of Municipal Government, http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/ 38/title38sec1305.html
- State’s policy in planning for an integrated solid waste management system, http:// www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/38/title38sec2101.html
- Keeping Household Food Waste from Landfill https://garbagetogarden.org
- Maine Harvest for Hunger https://extension.umaine.edu/cumberland/programs/horticulture/maine-harvest-forhunger/
Paying for Your Community’s Food Projects
- Food System Funders: http://www.safsf.org/who/members/
- Federal Programs: http://sustainableagriculture.net/publications/grassrootsguide/
- Cumberland County Community Development Block Grants: http://www.cumberlandcounty.org/148/CDBG-Program
Data and Advocacy: Using Evidence to Achieve Your Community-based Goals
- Community Food System Assessments http://crcworks.org
- Lewiston Auburn Community Food Assessment http://goodfood4la.org/resources/communtity-food-assessment/
- Maine Food Atlas http://www.mainefoodatlas.com/home/
A delicious lunch of local food was prepared by Pearson’s Cafe, the food service of St. Joseph’s College which sources about 30% of its food locally.
Closing Presentations:
- Anne Krieg, Director of Planning, Economic & Community Development Town of Bridgton, "Food and Community Development in Bridgton"
- Jim Hanna, Executive Director, Cumberland County Food Security Council, "Closing the Hunger Gap with Local Food"
Closing Discussion:
- How Growing Food Connections can support towns to achieve food system goals
