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Corporate Social Responsibility
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9.27.2007 - 05:25pm ET
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The Fifth Annual Glynwood Harvest Awards Honor Creativity and Leadership in the Sustainable Food Movement
Ceremony at Beacon restaurant in New York City on October 22 to Honor Winners from across the Country with a Local Harvest Luncheon
(CSRwire) COLD SPRING, NY - September 27, 2007 - Glynwood Center, the not-for-profit
organization whose mission to support community stewardship is advanced
through educational and community-based agricultural initiatives, will
honor the winners of its 2007 Harvest Awards with a ceremony at Beacon
restaurant in New York on October 22. The luncheon will showcase a menu
of locally-produced ingredients prepared by top chefs across the
country.
The 2007 Harvest Award Winners
"It is a testament to the growth of the sustainable agriculture movement
that Glynwood Center received over 60 nominations from more than 20 states
to consider for our annual Harvest Awards," says Judith LaBelle, President
of Glynwood Center.
"We were inspired to see a raising of the bar as to what is
regarded as special and exemplary: five years ago a farmer conducting a
CSA program and playing an active role in public policy was a real
contender. Now many, many farmers have transitioned to that multi-faceted
role. This year we saw a trend towards efforts designed to encourage
strengthening of the infrastructure that small farmers need if they
are to remain viable in a changing and consolidating marketplace.
Additionally, there has been an increase in projects designed to encourage
urban agriculture -- including efforts to help youth understand how
food is produced as well as to make healthy food more available to
underserved populations."
The Glynwood Farmer Harvest Award
The 1000+ Family Farmers of the Organic Valley Family of Farms,
LaFarge, WI
In 1988, seven farmers founded a cooperative that became the largest
farmer-owned cooperative in North America in less than 20 years, selling
more than 130 premium products under the brand name Organic Valley.
Organic Valley is committed to sustainability: the economic stability of
the farmer, the environmental stability of farming practices, and the
social stability of rural communities. The farmers from 29 states and one
Canadian province who own and control this cooperative have taken a
visionary approach to working together to benefit themselves and, in so
doing, provide a prime example of how small and mid-size farmers can work
together to remain viable in a changing marketplace.
The Glynwood Good Neighbor Harvest Award
Grow Montana, Butte, MT
Administered by the National Center for Appropriate Technology in Butte,
Grow Montana is a broad, collaborative project that is making
community-based food systems a centerpiece of the State of Montana's
economic development policy. Grow Montana's central message - the value
of local food as an economic development strategy and the importance of
directing state and local resources to rebuilding the infrastructure
needed for an efficient community-based food system - should be of
interest to policy-makers across the nation. By forging a coalition among
many diverse groups and people, Grow Montana has helped catalyze
significant change in only two and one-half years, including:
conducting nationally-recognized research on the state's food system;
working with the Governor of Montana to host a 300 participant summit
on food and agriculture;
creating new multi-million dollar potential markets for Montana
farmers and ranchers by revamping state procurement laws; and launching
the nation's first FoodCorps, a team of full-time AmeriCorps VISTA
volunteers creating farm to cafeteria programs across the state.
The Glynwood Harvest Award for Connecting Communities, Farmers and
Food
Community Food Security Center, Tucson, AZ
The Community Food Security Center is a program of the Community Food
Bank, which serves Pima County, Arizona (an area the size of New England).
The Center believes that a sustainable local food system is possible when
all community members, regardless of income, are participants. Its
multi-faced program includes:
Managing a 7,000 square foot chemical-free garden, greenhouse and hen
house, and a 10-acre farm on the outskirts to promote appropriate methods
for food production in the desert (including habitat restoration), provide
produce for sale at the farmers' and mobile markets and provide bi-lingual
training.
Encouraging home garden production, by providing education and
training in sustainable gardening methods; the program also purchases
garden material in bulk and sells it at cost to gardeners with low
incomes. The Center believes that home gardening is the healthy food
"equalizer" for people with low incomes and that growing some of your own
food is the first step to participating in the local food system.
A Community Foods Consignment project through which home gardeners
and small scale growers can sell extra produce at farmers markets without
having to manage their own stand.
Managing a "Good Groceries Mobil Market" that provides low cost, high
quality products to rural communities with limited access to healthy
foods.
Education and advocacy projects that include working with Southern
Arizona Legal Aid Benefits Clinic and with faith communities about food
security, economic and food justice, and lifestyle integrity.
The Glynwood Harvest Award as the Wave of the Future
Added Value and Herban Solutions, Red Hook, NY
Added Value and Herban Solutions combines the best of after school
programs, summer school, job training, nutritional classes and food
security in 2.75 acres of converted asphalt in a Brooklyn neighborhood
that now overflow with eggplants, lettuce, squash, flowers, cucumbers and
even a few fruit trees. Added Value is based on the belief that nature is
the best teacher - that making food grow is an achievement that can change
a child's life. Its youth programs include:
an intensive 8-week training program designed to help young people
develop a strong sense of self and community while learning the skills
necessary to grow food from seed to sale;
an academic-year program that includes operation of a farmers’
market and education on issues including obesity;
the Community Farm, operated by staff, students, interns and
volunteers, an intergenerational space and experiential educational
environment that creates meaningful work for neighborhood teens, generates
economic activity and improves the health and well-being of the
community.
About the Harvest Awards
The Harvest Awards were created by Glynwood Center in 2003 to highlight
the creative work by individuals and organizations from across the country
that do an exceptional job of supporting local and regional agriculture and
increases access to fresh, healthy food. The Awards help to identify and
promote "best practice" ideas with the goal of inspiring others to take
action within their own communities and build urban-rural coalitions in
support of regional farms.
Past winners have included small family-owned farms like Huguenot Street
Farm in New Paltz, NY; Niman Ranch, for its success in nurturing and
marketing a national network of small producers; Carolyn Mugar, the
Executive Director of Farm Aid, and large corporate organizations like
Kaiser Permanente, for its program to increase access to healthier food
for patients, employees and visitors at its health care facilities.
To arrange for an interview with Judith LaBelle of Glynwood Center or
any of the Harvest Award winners; to receive a Fact Sheet on Glynwood
Center and major programs that supports its Agricultural Initiative; or if
you are interested in attending the October 22 Harvest Awards event at
Beacon restaurant:
Please contact Geralyn Delaney Graham, Resources Communications
geralyn@resourcescommunications.com
or tel/ 281. 980. 6643.
To find out more about Glynwood Center, visit www.glynwood.org.
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