Cascade Harvest Coalition in Crisis

Dear friends,

The meltdown in financial markets and the increasingly weak economy have hit us hard here at Cascade Harvest Coalition. As of today, we will lose 75% of our operating budget (approximately $230,000) for 2009. This is largely local government grants that won’t be funded because of operating shortfalls.

We need your help!

For ten years, Cascade Harvest Coalition has been fiercely dedicated to building a sustainable food system in our region. Each year, we have reached millions of consumers with messages on the critical importance of local farms and food to our economy, our communities and our environment. We have given them the tools they need to directly connect with local farmers – through the Puget Sound Fresh Farm Guide, CSA directory, searchable database, and by directly supporting Farmers Markets and restaurants, local retail grocers and others who source locally.

We have made it our mission to more directly connect farmers with local food buyers, helping support sustainable farming operations and increasing their bottom line.

We have provided thousands of hours of one-on-one assistance to current and beginning farmers as they try to access land, start new farm businesses, and develop new markets. We have helped maintain over 500 acres in active agricultural production and provided many hundreds of farmers with the resources, tools and information they need to be successful.

And our efforts to support new processing infrastructure in the Puget Sound region are starting to bear fruit. Working with our collaborative partners, we’ve identified existing processing capacity and are helping farmers get new products to market as well as examining the potential for other processing facilities. We are adding considerably to the fundamental base of information about production, processing and infrastructure in our region that will serve us for years to come.

Importantly, we have also provided significant financial support to other organizations promoting sustainable food and farming systems by helping fund workshops, conferences and other community events as well as acting as fiscal sponsor for organizations just starting to build capacity.

And, we provide a crucial conduit for information – through this and our other email lists – to make sure that those interested in issues affecting local food and farms are informed. This list – started nearly 10 years ago – has grown from reaching a handful of individuals and organizations – to reaching an estimated 2,000 directly and through information sharing. Almost daily – organizations ask to post information to this list because they know you care about the issues. And yet, the majority of people on this list are not members of Cascade Harvest Coalition.

We urge you to become a member or make a contribution, individually and through your business or organization to support our efforts at this critical time. Your support is crucial in helping us maintain the momentum we’ve built and the successes we’ve achieved.

Thank you for your support!

Mary Embleton, Director

Tabling...is it just a word or is it a lifestyle?

I know, two posts in two weeks...this "blog" is starting to become a habit. Let's hope that the cure is....something delicious.

This week, Mary and I were out and about in the community, spreading the word about CHC and local ag. On Tuesday, we visited the Edmonds Rotary Club, an interesting, diverse group of folks dedicated to building community and recognizing local achievements. Mary's presentation was very well received. Many of the Rotarians expressed interest in finding ways to partner in the future, including working with their "First Harvest" program.

On Wednesday, we stayed in the city and traveled to a King County Food and Fitness Initiative (KCFFI) meeting in far-off downtown Seattle (far off for us, anyway). I presented an overview of our regional food system, CHC's role and mission, and my subjective view of the future of food and farming in our region. My brief talk prompted a great group discussion, highlighted by one of the White Center community representative's frank opinion about food access issues in his community. While the meeting attendance was somewhat low, I think that the discussion helped push the group toward understanding which food systems data will be useful when we start formulating our Community Action Plan. For instance, one issue raised was that there is a perception in the target communities (and in general) that food at Farmers Markets is expensive to buy and time-consuming to prepare...two factors that push it off of most grocery lists. The question in response: are there any studies that dispel that perception? If so, we need to get our hands on them, synthesize them into an easily digestible format and get the word out. If not, do we want to commission a study? This is exactly what the group needs more of: working with the community reps to figure out how the KCFFI collaborators can help specific, community-based issues. We can only day-dream about what we'd LIKE to see happen for so long. Good to see that our community reps are active and vocal.

Last night, we we tabled at the 30th Anniversary Celebration for Seattle Tilth, our friends in philosophy and across the hall. Anna Lappe, daughter of Frances Moore Lappe, who wrote "Diet for a Small Planet,"and an author herself, spoke about issues in our national food system. It was a good speech, but I think it lacked power due to the high level of awareness and expertise in the audience. It's hard to give a speech designed for "average" citizens when you are preaching to the choir...the hardcore food/farming/environmental choir!

For me, the best part of the evening was hearing Seattle City Councilman Richard Conlin speak. Not only was he eloquent, well-rehearsed and upbeat, but his message was pitch-perfect for the choir: he presented his food system sustainability and security resolution and zero waste strategy. Too often, we hear industry buzzwords and high-minded, fanciful concepts from our "leaders." It's always exciting when a politician is able to accurately and insightfully talk the talk. We shall see if he can walk the walk.

Mark

Howdy (PSF) Partner!

The word is plastered all over the 24-hour news channels, newspapers, magazines, blogs, etc. :

CHANGE

2008 is the year of change. Ambitious, huh? Well, CHC is jumping on the Change Bandwagon.

How will we change? One example will be the revamped Puget Sound Fresh "Partner Program." One of our stated goals for Puget Sound Fresh is to increase the value of the program to the program participants (farmers, chefs, grocers, farmers markets, and consumers).

To start the revamping process, we will focus on encouraging more area chefs and restaurants to become PSF Partners. We will work collaboratively with some of the area's top chefs to build PSF brand recognition with the overall goal that when a person in the Puget Sound region wants a great dining experience made with locally grown food they will be able to quickly seek out our partner restaurants that work with local farmers and serve Puget Sound Fresh food.

Just like that, the ability to access Puget Sound Fresh Food is changed for the better! That's one way that CHC is working to make 2008 our best.

Mark