Hello OCFSN members,
Relationship building. It's a phrase we use a lot in our Network. When I ask people what they want out of our 2019 Convening, relationship building always comes up. I've been putting a lot of thought into what relationship building actually means so that the Network continues to offer genuine opportunities to do so.
Relationships get their fuel not just from easy, positive interactions, but also from the nitty-gritty: from difference, disagreement, and even respectful conflict. In fact, according to this article in the Harvard Business Review (one of many excellent resources that the DEI Committee collected for your benefit on their webpage), disagreements and differences in teams lead to better outcomes.
I've participated in three different trainings around diversity, equity, and inclusion over the past two months, and a ground rule that all of them lay out is that each person has their own truth. I think that disagreement in relationships is an opportunity to understand another person's truth, share your own, and make decisions while honoring both. This can be extremely difficult. But I also think that working through disagreement in a relationship is absolutely key to building trust.
If disagreement is key to relationship building, I think that celebration and fun are, as well: those moments of lightheartedness in which we take pause from our difficult work and appreciate the people around us. And so celebration balances with disagreement, and both combine into nuanced, textured, and meaningful relationships.
So as we plan the 2019 Convening and continue to build the systems that make this Network function, I'm very interested in how we can continue to build relationships by working together and working through, celebrating our successes, and taking time for lighthearted moments in-between. I see so much of this happening already, in working groups and on committees, as our members respectfully engage with each other to tackle the wickedly insistent problems in our food system.
May your New Year be full of hope, celebration, and ever-deepening relationships.
Lauren
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Lauren Johnson
OCFSN Member Services Coordinator
ocfsn.coordinator@gmail.com
503-560-2548
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OCFSN's 2019 Convening on April 22nd-24th at Silver Falls Conference Center
Please reserve the evening of April 22nd through 5pm on April 24th for OCFSN's 2019 Convening. Registration will be in January or early February.
The Convening is an important opportunity to build face-to-face relationships, learn from each other, and grow as a Network. We hope to see you there.
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NW Tribal Food Sovereignty Coalition Gathering 2018
By: WEAVE-NW Project at the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board
The NW Tribal Food Sovereignty Coalition Gathering was held on Thursday, September 27 at Kiana Lodge in Suquamish, Washington. Holding this gathering was one of the first goals of the NW Tribal Food Sovereignty Coalition, which was formed in 2017 and is coordinated by the WEAVE-NW project of the Northwest Tribal Epidemiology Center. The Coalition’s goal is to increase access to traditional foods and medicines for all NW Tribes, leading to improved health and strengthened tribal sovereignty. Over 100 members from across the region bring their passion and knowledge to the group, and this gathering was an expression of their commitment to sharing those gifts.
This year’s gathering was the largest to date, with over 160 attendees. The keynote presentation was given by Andy Joseph, Chairman of the NPAIHB. He presented on the Colville Confederated Tribes First Foods, including information on salmon run restoration, lamprey recovery, wildlife reintroduction (Pronghorn, Big Horn Sheep and Elk). Three Communities from the Northwest presented on highlights from their communities. These included: The Northwest Indian Treatment Center; the Squaxin Island Community Garden; and the Nez Perce Food Coalition.
One of the highlights of the meeting was the Traditional Foods meet and greet, where tribal members from across the Northwest brought and shared samples of their harvests and tools for use when teaching about traditional foods. Participants spent the afternoon attending breakout sessions that featured the topics such as: Wild Edible Berries, The Gift of Greens from the Sea (seaweed workshop), Plant Technologies (featuring cat tail), Medicine of the Trees, to name a few.
The program also featured a “Native Chopped” competition. Five teams of three members each participated. They were given 90 minutes to create a meal when provided with a basket containing unlabeled pre-contact foods such as geoduck, seaweed, blue corn, hazelnuts, salmon, wild onions, berries, and beach asparagus. After a challenging start, the teams all stepped up to the plate and created an amazing variety of entrees and side dishes. The competition Master of Ceremonies was Josh Mason who did a wonderful job of keeping the audience and chefs engaged. Four elders were chosen as judges for the competition, and found themselves taste testing a feast. After a difficult (but delicious) decision, the winning team of Dean Dan (Swinomish), Sophia Hipp (Nisqually/Chehalis) and Toby Joseph (Navajo/Ute) won with their amazing dish of smoked salmon, geoduck fritter, and cooked fish skins topped with a huckleberry sauce and broth dip.
The event closed with a dinner featuring salmon, shellfish and other traditional foods. We are anxious to have this event next year and look forward to the collaboration and revitalization of traditional foodways for health.
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Beginning Farmer and Rancher Working Group update
The Beginning Farmer Rancher (BFR) working group is creating a graphic, outreach material, and a webpage that includes all the BFR service providers throughout the state. This will be a starting point for farmers and aspiring farmers to find resources that match their current stage of farming. The BFR group is discussing ways to secure funding for farmers of underserved populations to attend meetings and events.
Stu from Rogue Farm Corps is taking over coordination of the group. There is also a sub-award from OSU Small Farms NIFA grant to support this working group over the next three years. The funding will cover some salary of the coordinator, design and printing of outreach material, and support for one group meeting a year for the next three years.
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Access to Land Team Meeting
Friday, January 18, 8am - 4pm followed by Happy Hour
At the Capitol Building in Salem
Come join the Access to Land Team for our winter meeting. We'll be discussing our current and potential policy priorities and hearing about how to engage in federal Farm Bill advocacy from Holly Rippon-Butler of National Young Farmers' Coalition. We'll hear about the ongoing research and land access curriculum of the American Farmland Trust, and hear from service providers who assist with farm transition and land access.
RSVP to Team Leader and Rogue Farm Corps Farm Preservation Program Director Nellie McAdams by Thursday, January 10th.
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SNAP Match Going Statewide (with your help)
SNAP Match or Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB – pronounced “dub-fub”) programs have been rolling out across the state of Oregon for over a decade. The names may change but they all have the same outline: provide struggling households with extra money to spend on fruits and veggies at farmers markets.
These programs are small in cost but can show big benefit to local communities. The $5-$20 matching dollars help families stretch their food budget; the emphasis on fruits and veggies incentivizes healthy eating habits; and the focus on local markets helps to support rural farmers and keep dollars circulating in local economies.
This local impact is especially important because SNAP is known to have an economic multiplier effect. Every dollar in new SNAP benefits yields $1.80 in total economic activity. However, farm direct spending in states like Oregon with a significant number of small farms, has been shown to double that result with $2.60 in total economic activity.
So far, these programs have been piecemeal across the state but exciting changes are coming in 2019. Farmers Market Fund is helping move two bills forward, one in the House and one in the Senate, each with strong, rural, bi-partisan support.
Another important change that would come with the new legislation is rural grocery access. Historically, DUFB has only been available at farmers markets but, where markets are unavailable, rural grocery stores will be added to the mix. Adding rural grocery stores helps ensure access to SNAP matching and encourages access to fruits and veggies even in very rural communities that don’t currently have farmers markets.
Contact: Molly Notarianni, molly@portlandfarmersmarket.org
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Bills to Watch For Webinars
B2WFW #1: Watch the recording here. The webinar featured presentations on 3 different bills that would provide funding for SNAPMatch, the Oregon Agricultural Heritage Program, and farm to school, respectively.
Upcoming webinars will present on bills that impact family farmers; a bill that would create liability for GE patent holders in the event of contamination; the Clean Energy Jobs Bill, a greenhouse gas cap and invest proposal that can benefit Oregon agriculture; a suite of bills that would impact land-use laws; and bills that would impact food security and access.
Have a bill you want present on a webinar? Let Lauren Johnson (ocfsn.coordinator@gmail.com) know.
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Funding for Farm to School Advocacy Efforts
The Oregon Farm to School and School Garden Network (OFSSGN) has an ambitious plan to pass an expanded Oregon Farm to School Bill during the upcoming 2019 Legislative Session! The Farm to School Bill passed in 2017 provided $4.5 million in grants for schools to purchase Oregon foods and for farm- and garden-based education. The bill we’re proposing for 2019 requests $4 million in additional funding from the legislature for a total of $8.5 million, which would provide additional funding for the Procurement and Education Grants, early childcare and education (preschool), summer meals, technical assistance and producer support.
We've got a lot of work to do to pass this ambitious bill! The Oregon Farm to School and School Garden Network will need to convene regular meetings of the OFSSGN Policy Workgroup, create communication materials for the legislature, engage stakeholders in advocating for the bill, and monitor the bill and respond to issues that may arise during the legislative session. We need to raise $30,000 to do all that will be needed.
The legislative session begins on January 22nd. That's about 5 weeks away. So far we've raised $3,000, but we have a long way to go to raise the $30,000 we need. We'll need support from our partners.
Or contact Megan Kemple, OFSSGN’s Director, megan@oregonfarmtoschool.org with ideas or offers of support.
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"Navigating Borders: The Evolution of the Cass Clay Food Partners": Takeaways from a case study of a food network engaging with policy development
By: Amy Wong
This article described the past eight years of evolution of the Cass Clay Food Partners (CCFP), an integrated network serving Cass County, ND and Clay County, MN, through the combined work of a food policy council, a action network, and a steering committee. The network evolved from project-based work to policy development to a partnership that integrates both programs and policy for greater impact. Some of the successes and challenges that CCFP experienced could be useful lessons for OCFSN as we continue to support our members' policy work:
1. Maintain a dual track of project-based work, as well as efforts to guide and influence policy makers. CCFP learned that the interplay of the two is necessary to keep up the community engagement and positive project track record needed to manifest eventual policy maker change.
2. Work to involve city, county, state and federal leaders into our work in a greater capacity.
3. Develop policy blueprints to circulate to governmental and policy leaders, even though they may not be adopted for some time.
3. Working with consultants may be necessary to craft cogent strategies for influencing policy makers and elected officials.
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Community Food Systems Mentorship Program
The Wallace Center's mentorship program provides food systems leaders with the opportunity to closely engage with proven leaders and experts as thought partners and coaches. The Mentorship Program is cost-free and includes 8 hours of one on one connection between you and your mentor over a 4-month period. It's designed to give you the flexibility to structure the program in a way that best supports your needs, goals, and work environment.
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