PSFN Goes Live!

After many months of development, the Puget Sound Food Network has officially launched at PSFN.org.  Our official launch takes place at Focus on Farming VI conference in Tulalip, WA. NABC staff along with PSFN project coordinators will be on hand to showcase the new tool with live demos at the NABC trade show booth. If you are able to attend the conference make sure to stop by the booth for a demo. PSFN will present a Powerpoint presentation at 2:30pm

One of the PSFN primary features is to provide a forum for producers to easily locate processing opportunities that exist. This will enable regional producers to meet the increasing demand for locally produced food. With a simple area search producers will be able to locate commercial kitchens, cold storage, and miscellaneous processing programs. Examples of this include cooler space that is available for long-term rent/lease at Mike & Jeans Berry Farm, processing space at Skagit Valley Organics new WSDA certified commercial kitchen, or the long running NABC poultry processing equipment rental program. The PSFN enables real-time communication between food producers, consumers, and other participants in the Puget Sound regional food system with the ultimate goal of facilitating transactions.

Thanks to all for following our development blog. Please go to our live site at psfn.org

Vote Eat Local for Thanksgiving at Brighter Planet

Eat Local for Thanksgiving is a campaign led by the Cascade Harvest Coalition to drive local purchases and eating in Washington this Thanksgiving. Currently Eat Local for Thanksgiving is in the running for support from the Brighter Planet Project Fund with the potential of winning up to $2500. What is the project fund?

Over the past few years, [the Project fund has] been continually inspired by the thousands of individuals and community organizations growing the climate movement from the ground up. The Brighter Planet Project Fund will provide seed money each month to motivated Americans for community projects that help people fight or adapt to climate change.

Brighter Planet members decide—as a community—which project to seed. The project(s) with the most votes at the close of a voting period receive grants, until the fund is exhausted.

Help support Eat Local and CHC by signing up at Brighter Planet and voting for the Eat Local campaign. Currently we’re in 3rd place with 39 votes.

Also, if you haven’t already taken the pledge to eat local this Thanksgiving, head over to eatlocalforthanksgiving.org and help CHC grow local communities, offset carbon emissions and reach their goal of 5,000 pledges.

Minnesota’s Evolving Food Industry

A new study by the Crossroads Resource Center analyzes the importance of food relationships to Minnesota’s economy.  Here are some highlights from the press release:

Emergent Food Businesses Build Trust

A new study, “Mapping the Minnesota Food Industry,” concludes that an emerging cluster of food businesses drives economic change by building trust with their commercial partners.

Ken Meter, president of Crossroads Resource Center and author of the study, said, “The most successful firms are creating new ways of doing business, not only providing higher quality foods.  They do this by building relationships of trust with both suppliers and customers.”

Meter’s study was based on a thorough financial review of the state food industry combined with close interviews with key local firms.  The report was commissioned by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota’s Center for Prevention, which has launched a Healthy Eating Minnesota initiative.  The full study is available for free download at http://www.crcworks.org/mnfood.pdf.

…

Minnesota is a global center for food business.  Of the state’s top 20 manufacturing firms, seven are food manufacturers and distributors.  These seven earn $114 billion of revenue each year, two-thirds of all revenue earned by the state’s leading firms.  The state has 17,000 food-related businesses, hiring a combined 316,000 employees who earn $7.8 billion of wage and farm income.

…

The study also documented that outcomes for consumers have not been positive.  Two of every three Minnesotans are overweight.  Nearly a third of all residents are obese.  The Centers for Disease Control estimates the costs of treating obesity-related diseases in the state to be $1.3 billion — and other researchers report twice those costs.  Food-related medical conditions, combined with a lack of exercise, have become a leading cause of death.  Although mortality rates for diet-related diseases in the Twin Cities are among the lowest for metro areas in the U.S., only 24% of adults eat the recommended five servings of fruit and vegetables per day.

Full press release here.

Red Light Eating

The Food and Drug Administration is making efforts to remove leading labels from the front of food boxes in stores. More notably, the label “Smart Choice”, used by big name companies like Kellogg’s on cereal boxes like Froot Loops.

What’s more, according to an FDA announcement Americans could expect to see dramatically clarified front-box labeling in the form of a traffic light system. This system is currently used in Britain to show different content levels of salts, sugars and fats.

While adopting a traffic light system is only as perfect as the determinations of high and low content set up by the system itself, an Australian study shows that this system does deter the purchase of red or yellow light foods.

Spotted at Grist.com.

Good Agricultural Practices Workshop

November 5,2009

Sheraton Hotel Portland Oregon

To register online please click on register or visit our website: http://foodsafety.wsu.edu/ag/index.html

Agenda

7:45         Registration

8:15         Welcome

8:30        Produce Food Safety Update

Dr. David Gombas, Senior Vice-President, Food Safety and Technology, United Fresh

Legal Perspectives on Food Safety

Drew Falkenstein, Attorney, Marler Clark, LLP PS

9:45       Break

10:00    Produce Food Safety Issues

Dr. Karen Killinger, Assistant Professor, Washington State University

Farm to Retail Perspectives and Panel Discussion

Grower                                   Kenneth Kimes, New Natives Farm, Aptos, CA

Handler                                 Will Daniels, Vice President of Quality & Food Safety, Earthbound Farms

Distributor                             David Amorose, Director of Purchasing, Organically Grown Company

Farmers Market                   Ann Forsthoefel, Director, Portland Farmers Market

Retailer                                 Chris Harris, Produce Merchandiser/Local Buyer, New Seasons Market

12:00     Lunch Provided On-Site

1:00       Manure Management Practices

Speaker, To Be Announced, Oregon State University or Washington State University

Water Quality Practices

Andy Bary, Senior Scientific Assistant, Washington State University

Worker Health and Hygiene

B. Susie Craig, Area Faculty, Washington State University

2:30       Break

2:45       Food Safety in Harvesting, Transportation, and Storage

Dr. Richard Dougherty, Professor, Washington State University

3:15        Program Evaluation

3:30        Bringing It All Together: Panel Discussion

4:30        Adjourn

Value-Added Producer Grant: Application Workshop

For Immediate Release
Date: October 6, 2009

For more information contact:
Mary Anne Nurkiewicz
Mary_Anne@AgBizCenter.org

Northwest Agriculture Business Center
(360) 336-3727
www.agbizcenter.org

VALUE-ADDED PRODUCER GRANT APPLICATION WORKSHOP

(Mount Vernon, WA) The Northwest Agriculture Business Center in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture will host a half-day grant writing workshop to assist producers in applying for a USDA Value-Added Producer Grant. The class will be taught by Sharon Exley, USDA Business Programs Specialist, and will be held on October 20th from 8:30 am -12:00 pm at the Burlington Public Library located at 820 East Washington Avenue, Burlington.

This hands-on grant writing workshop for effective VAPG grant writing is for farmers & ag producers who have a value-added product idea they are ready to capitalize on. The workshop is designed to give participants the edge to compete for available grant money by providing practical assistance in putting together a complete grant application. It will include completion of forms, how to write a narrative for the project, document matching funds, and what to include in letters of support.

There is no charge to attend but space is limited and reservations are required. Applicants must confirm their eligibility by accessing the following website: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/coops/vapgea/step1.htm
Please contact the Northwest Agriculture Business Center office at (360) 336-3727 to reserve your seat in this workshop or if you need assistance in verifying your eligibility.

Information about the USDA Value-Added Producer grant can be found at: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/coops/vadg.htm

America’s Fruit and Vegatable Deficiancy

A recent CDC report highlights the lack of fruits and vegetables in American diets. The report offers brand new data with State by State breakdown of fruit and vegetable consumption. Using a standard of 2+ fruits and 3+ vegetables daily, Washington State’s consumption for adults is at 15.1% meeting that requirement, compared to a national average of 14%.  Washington State does not have data on adolescent fruit and vegetable consumption but national trends suggest that it is significantly lower in adolescent populations.

The report goes on to present paths to augment these numbers, noting the importance of supermarkets and farmers markets, but it also indicates the necessity of networks like PSFN:

A systems approach to food considers the many factors involved in getting F&V from farm to consumer including aspects of food production, processing, distribution, and retail…These [systems] can aid community F&V access by encouraging improvement of retail stores, supporting farm to institute programs, and designing model procurement policies and practices for schools, work sites, and other community organizations.

Read the full report here.