September 2020 Newsletter

September 2020 - FPAC Newsletter

Next FPAC General Meeting

Wednesday
October 7th
3PM - 5PM

Closed to Members

In This Issue
> What's Fresh
> Subcommittee Spotlight
> Announcements

What's Fresh

Philadelphia Food Justice Initiative (PFJI)
2020 Funding Round is Now Open

If you have been feeding your community for a long time and need some support to scale up and take the next step, we want to hear from you. If you have been community organizing and capacity building and see a clear way to include healthy food in your work, we want to hear from you. If you are a budding entrepreneur with a fresh idea, we want to hear from you. If you make, grow, cook or sell food, we want to hear from you.

Led by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health’s Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention (CDIP), also known as Get Healthy Philly, and Reinvestment Fund, PFJI is open to anyone in the city of Philadelphia. Nonprofit organizations, for-profit businesses, cooperatives or collectives working on food justice are eligible to apply and can seek up to $100,000 for their project.

All projects must include at least one of the following: 1) deep roots in a neighborhood or (defined) community, 2) broad citywide reach, OR 3) potential for systems change or scaling up over time. Preference will be given to proposals: 1) led by Black, Indigenous and People of Color and/or people with lived experience with health injustice, including immigrants and people living with disabilities and 2) with authentic community ownership. Fair compensation of staff and partners is also key.

Applications are due on October 13.
Learn more about the initiative and how to apply: https://www.reinvestment.com/philadelphiafoodjusticeinitiative/

Subcommittee Spotlight

Urban Agriculture Updates
Community Compost Network
Philadelphia Parks and Recreation (PPR) launched the Community Compost Network (CCN) in 2019. The program includes and supports composting at 10 sites across the city. The compost systems are located at 2 schools, 6 community gardens and 2 farms. This program is successful because of the incredible partnerships with PowerCorpsPHL, Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), and the entire 2019 CCN cohort. PPR wants residents to know that this type of grassroots approach to waste is having a direct impact on neighborhoods and landfills, and is making a new resource for residents to participate in and have direct benefits from. The program recently received a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Community Compost and Food Waste Reduction (CCFWR) Initiative; which will support residential and commercial food waste diversion strategies carried out by PPR and The Office of Sustainability. Read more. Watch "PPR-PCPHL Community Compost Program" on Vimeo. Contact: Farm Philly.

Adverse Possession
Over the past several months The Public Interest Law Center has convened more than ten stakeholders to push forward state legislation reducing the statutory period for adverse possession from 21 years to 10 years for gardens. Most of Philadelphia’s gardens are land insecure and the lengthy 21 year statutory period prevents many from acquiring legal title for a variety of reasons, including inability to prove 21 years of continuous possession due to lack of access to witnesses, photos, and other documents. By reducing this period, we hope to make it easier for gardens providing crucial benefits throughout the city to secure their legal title. Contact: Ebony Griffin Staff Attorney at PILC and Co-chair of the FPAC Urban Agriculture Subcommittee.

Attend an Upcoming Subcommittee Meeting
Follow the links below for more info on each subcommittee.

Anti-Hunger
Tuesday, September 15th from 3:00 – 4:30
Email co-chairs to attend

Workforce and Economic Development
Tuesday, September 22nd from 5:00 - 6:00
Email co-chairs to attend

Good Food Procurement
Thursday, September 24th from 3:30 – 5:00
Email co-chairs to attend

Announcements

PPE for Urban Farmers and Growers
Urban farmers and gardeners: do you need PPE to operate safely through the rest of the growing season? FPAC is part of a partnership to provide PPE to farms and gardens. If your farm or garden needs PPE, please fill out this short form with an estimate of how much PPE you need through the end of the calendar year. We will respond on a rolling basis until we run out of supplies. If we are not able to meet your whole request, we will contact you to confirm that you are willing to receive a portion of the PPE you requested.

Digital Dialogue Series: Co-Learning to Build a Good Food System
In partnership with the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Division of Cultural and Civic Engagement, Get Healthy Philly will present 5 more conversations between good food leaders around the country and local good food advocates. These inter-city digital dialogues will showcase progress in developing a good food economy through anti-racist strategies, and inspire all of us to envision and work toward an equitable food system. Register today for these free events.

Job Opportunity: Ready Set Grow Project Coordinator
The Pennsylvania Head Start Association is searching for a part-time Ready Set Grow Project Coordinator. Check out the job description.

Caring for Friends Seeks Non-profit Food Distribution Partners
For the last 45+ years, our mission at Caring for Friends has been to provide food and friendship to those in need in the 5-county Philadelphia region. We are looking for more non-profit partners (including religious organizations) that distribute food to individuals in their communities to pick-up food from us at our warehouse at 12271 Townsend Rd. Please contact Alyssa Kalter by email or by phone at 908-692-5535 for how to sign on with us.

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