Kick-off meeting for the Utica/Oneida Food Policy Council (12/2010)

Today, Rust To Green Utica announced the creation and kick off meeting of New York State’s first local Food Policy Council to work toward these goals.

Spearheaded by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County and Rust To Green Utica, the Utica/Oneida County Food Policy Council is a coalition of city and county governments in concert with over two dozen not-for-profit organizations, educational institutions, community coalitions, private sector businesspeople, farmers and local citizens.

“Food is a basic human need along with adequate shelter, a safe environment and clean water. Yet, our local governments in New York have no comprehensive planning process to ensure access to healthy foods for all residents. No local government has a ‘Department of Food’ and the programs that address hunger, nutrition, agriculture and food sector labor conditions are spread across many agencies and jurisdictions. Systemic problems such as hunger, nutrition and agricultural sustainability can be better addressed with a more coordinated approach. In short, we can do more together than alone”, said Ron Bunce, Executive Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County.

The goals of the Food Policy Council are to decrease food insecurity, improve health, and increase the sustainability and profitability of our local and regional food system. The Council will undertake a comprehensive food system assessment in order to identify priority areas for developing policy and program recommendations, educating and engaging the public, leveraging resources for food system improvements, and strengthening linkages among food system components to develop a plan to achieve a hunger-free community.

“Food Policy Councils are popping up across the Country to strengthen markets for farms of all sizes, create viable retail and institutional markets, improve the environment and public health and most importunately, to improve access to healthy, locally grown food for everyone,” said Jamie Vanucchi, Cornell University instructor and Rust To Green Project co-creator.

Specific tasks of the Food Policy Council will include:

-Supporting and developing creative food resources, such as community gardens, food cooperatives, community-owned and operated grocery stores, and farmers’ markets
-Coordinating food services with park and recreation programs and other community-based outlets to reduce barriers to access
-Creating nutrition education programs for at risk populations to enhance food-purchasing and food preparation skills and to heighten awareness of the connection between diet and health
-Supporting and developing sustainable networks for distributing food
-Providing outreach and assistance to increase participation in existing nutrition assistance programs
-Conducting survey research or other data collection activities to assess the extent and causes of hunger in the community
-Resource mapping to identify available assets and gaps in resources necessary to end hunger in the community
-Developing tools to assess hunger on a one time or continual basis
-Planning activities

“We see this as an innovative, grassroots solution to our food crisis. The USDA recently reported that over 49 million people in the U.S. are now ‘food insecure’. Locally, we know that the use of food stamps is growing rapidly, and our food banks are serving record numbers of people –many from working families– who just can’t make ends meet anymore. Additionally, the prevalence of chronic diseases that are caused and/or complicated by malnourishment is growing astronomically. This is creating a pandemic that reaches even our youngest people, and has placed strains on the current long-term care system. The Food Policy Council will help us ‘connect the dots’ between the growing number of local food initiatives for just, healthy food systems. We all feel like its time to roll up our sleeves and dig in to help to make this a reality,” said Debra Richardson of RCIL’s Leaf, Loaf and Ladle.

Food Policy Kickoff Meeting 12/2010

The Cornell-based projects will deal with the creation of an Ecological Citizenship Curricula for Oneida County, and a Green Infrastructure Mapping Project of Utica. The Curricula project will use “smart board” technology to educate adult learners in potential ways of fostering ecological citizenship at personal, community, city and regional scales. A separate curriculum dealing with the same subject will be developed for K-12 students. Both educational tools will be free and available to the public.

The Green Infrastructure Mapping Project will create detailed maps of existing assets and liabilities in the built environment to conceive and advance future Rust To Green projects, which are aimed at making Utica an increasingly green and livable city. Maps will be made available for free through shared open-source applications such as Google map, Google earth, and the Internet in order to facilitate community engagement and use. This approach will allow for collective input into and maximize use of mapping resources by a diverse set of users around the world, including local citizens, agencies, researchers, planners, developers and decision-makers.
“It is our hope that the mapping will benefit Utica as it rethinks its identity, settlement patterns, economy and infrastructure to better integrate urban, ecological and community systems and needs,” said Cornell University lecturer and Rust To Green co-creator Jamie Vanucci.

The Hamilton based project will be conducted through the Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center, and will focus on the refugee population in Utica and its unique potential as a tool for economic development. The research will consider three main themes: the economic integration of refugees; positive and negative factors affecting that integration; and spillover effects of refugee integration.

The data will then be analyzed, and appropriate strategies will be developed to capitalize on the assets and opportunities. These types of “LEADS”, or Local Economic Alternative Development Strategies, have a demonstrated effectiveness in helping struggling cities nationwide reverse economic decline. Research has shown these smaller forms of development can become larger resources for citywide change, if supported.
“In a city such as Utica that has limited resources, understanding how to cultivate these smaller, more grassroots or entrepreneurial forms of development must become a top priority for those of us working on the economic renewal of the city and the region,” said Utica Mayor David Roefaro.

The project will be directed by Hamilton College Professor George Hobor, who is an expert in the economic transformation of cities in the “Rust Belt” region of the United States. Professor Hobor has conducted research on cities in the struggling Upstate region for the last six years, and is currently writing a book about his efforts.
The establishment of this research project was inspired in part by the Community Foundation’s own initiative entitled Herkimer-Oneida Indicators, which collects statistics about ten conditions or ‘indicators’ in the two Upstate New York counties.

“Rust to Green’s research goals echo the Community Foundation’s long-range approach, and we’re pleased to play a role in their efforts,” said Peggy O’Shea, President & CEO of The Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties.

Looking at the urban landscape through the lens of sustainability and landscape architecture, Rust To Green Utica’s goal is to explore and advance green futures for New York’s rust-belt cities, allowing them to become more livable and resilient places. Composed of a wide range of community stakeholders from private business, government, education and non-profits, this all volunteer grassroots group identifies and implements appropriate, context-specific solutions to a range of obstacles facing struggling cities.

“This grant, and the research that it supports represent a potentially significant area of untapped human and economic potential. It is unique assets like Utica’s existing infrastructure and its refugee population that make it ripe for renewal,” said Cornell University Professor and Rust to Green co-creator Paula Horrigan.

Read more:

Utica Observer Dispatch
WIBX 950
WKTV

reUtica will be shown on Tuesday, December 14th at 6:30PM at the Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute in Utica, NY. This screening is free and open to the public.

reUtica is a collaborative work by two Utica-born brothers, Matt and John Dean Ossowski. This short documentary explores sustainability-focused community initiatives in Portland, OR. The viewer is invited to explore these options with the filmmakers and consider how they might translate into viable alternatives for urban development in Utica.

more info and view the trailer here
http://ourutica.wordpress.com/

Rust to Green In Upstate New York: Re-envisions Upstate NY Cities Through Sustainable Urban Design, Place making and Green Infrastructure Approaches

This session presents theories, concepts and practices associated with urban resilience. It provides an overview of specific planning and design research processes and practices resulting from the first year of the R2G Project in the cities of Binghamton and Utica, NY.

More info here and Saturday’s schedule

(Photo by Rachel Philipson)

“So far, Rust to Green has been greeted with enthusiasm in Utica — Mayor David Roefaro described the relationship with the project to me as a “great marriage” and said he intends to make Utica “one of the greenest cities in upstate New York” — but there are no illusions about the obstacles the city faces. The road to recovery in a city like Utica will be long and hard, but with the right combination of planning and resources, members of Rust to Green hope to make Utica a test case for other Rust Belt cities struggling to overcome economic adversity.”

Read the article.

Rust to Green Civic Research Fellows Kevin Alexander, Matt Gonser, and Dan Bursuck (L-R) plant sunflowers for Utica Monday Nite attendees, June 21 2010.

Read about Hamilton College’s first R2G Civic Research Fellow Kevin Alexander:

“…No function, however, is as important as talking directly to the people of Utica, and they are pleased with the work Rust to Green is doing. “Utica has a lot more potential now than it did in 2000,” Alexander observed. “People have been looking for different ways to try to do things and are really starting to realize the value that Utica has in its historical buildings, history and diversity.”

Read the full story here:

http://www.hamilton.edu/news/utica-transforms-gritty-to-green

Saranac Brewery (Image by Lin Xue)

We’ll be at Saranac Thursdays tomorrow night, fill out a survey and get a prize! Celtic rock band Enter the Haggis will be playing at 5:00 and a portion of the $5 admission benefits The United Way of the Valley and Greater Utica Area, see you tomorrow.