The New York State Council on Food Policy will be hosting its annual summer meeting and listening session Wednesday, July 23 in Council Chambers at Buffalo City Hall. “Farm, Food and Policy: Getting it Right in New York State” will include a presentation by the newly formed Buffalo and Erie County Food Policy Council, the Food Justice Working Group of One Region Forward, and the Growing Food Connections Project.  The session will run from 10am to 4:30pm and is open to the pubic.  More information on the event can be found here. 

The current issue of the American Planning Association’s publication, Planning, highlights several local food-based community case studies.

Healthier, Wealthier, and Wiser-Local food systems provide more than one kind of sustenance. 

Travis Norton, a Research Project Coordinator at the Food Lab, was recently honored with two awards at University of Buffalo’s Masters of Urban Planning graduation.  The Western New York Division of the American Institute of Certified Planners recognized Travis with the AICP Excellence Award for having the highest promise for professional excellence.  Additionally, the University of Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning also honored Travis with the Academic Excellence Award for having the highest GPA in the program.

Much of Travis’ work focuses on transportation issues.  His interests lie in the linkages between the built environment and human behavior, including the connections between transportation systems, health, and sustainability.  He is currently managing the Food Lab’s Safe Routes to School Program with Sweet Home Central School District and has been instrumental in the creation of Growing Together, part of One Region Forward, a report on creating sustainable food access and justice for Erie and Niagara Counties.

June 23, 2014

Will Becker, a dual Master of Architecture and Master of Urban Planning candidate, was recently featured in B/a+p Spring Magazine’s Student Profile.  A research assistant in the Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab, he is part of the Growing Food Connections Project.  His work focuses on documenting practices in GFC’s “Communities of Innovation“.  His design focus brings a fresh approach to the Food Lab.

Read the full article to learn more about Will’s work both in the lab and in the School of Architecture and Planning.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Community Services (OCS) will award up to $9.5 million in Community Economic Development (CED) discretionary grant funds to Community Development Corporations (CDCs) for community-based efforts to improve the economic and physical health of people in areas designated as food deserts. Additionally or as an alternative, applicants can point to indicators of need, such as poor access to a healthy food retail outlet, a high percentage of low-income residents, incidence of diet-related health conditions, or high concentrations of persons eligible for food assistance programs. Through the CED program and within the framework of the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (CED-HFFI), OCS seeks to fund projects that implement strategies to increase healthy food access, foster self-sufficiency for low-income families, and create sustained employment opportunities in low-income communities. To do this, the CED-HFFI program will provide technical and financial assistance for healthy food ventures designed to: (1) improve access to, and purchase and consumption of healthy, affordable foods; and (2) address the economic needs of low-income individuals and families through the creation of employment and business opportunities in low-income communities. CED-HFFI grants will be made as part of a broader strategy to address objectives such as decreasing dependency on Federal programs, chronic unemployment, and community deterioration in urban and rural areas. CED projects are expected to actively recruit low-income individuals to fill the positions created by CED-funded development activities, and to assist those individuals to successfully hold those jobs and ensure that the businesses and jobs created remain viable for at least one year after the end of the grant period. CED-funded projects can be non-construction or construction projects. The grant period for non-construction projects is 3 years; for construction projects, the grant period is 5 years. The CED program permits facility construction as needed to support business creation, business expansion, and/or job creation. However, it is important to note that short-term construction jobs associated with preparing for business startup or expansion are not counted when determining the number of jobs created under the CED program as they are designed to be temporary in nature.

Bonus points will be awarded for proposed healthy food projects that involve collaboration with other Federal HFFI Programs and Certain Additional Federal Programs that Address Healthy Food Access, target rural communities and that will be located in one of the following states or Trust Territories that do not have an active CED-HFFI project: Alaska, American Samoa, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Island of Guam, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Deadline: 7/21/2014

http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=255897

May 27, 2014

The School of Architecture and Planning recently celebrated the academic achievements of students. During the Awards Celebration, three members of the Food Lab were recognized for their work.

Maryam Khojasteh, MUP, and Sarah Sangiovanni, MUP, both received the Chair’s Award for Academic Promise in recognition of their potential for the pursuit of advanced learning beyond the Master’s degree and for future contributions to planning scholarship.

Jennifer Whittaker received the Academic Excellence Award in recognition of achieving the highest overall GPA in the MUP program as a returning student.

Three of the Food Lab members are also graduating this year.  Travis Norton received his Masters in Urban and Regional Planning in December and is now serving as a Project Coordinator in the Food Lab.  Maryam Khojasteh will also receive her Masters in Urban Planning in May, 2014 and is continuing her research on immigrant and ethnic entrepreneurs and their role in strengthening local food systems.  Sarah Sangiovanni also received her MUP in December and is currently assisting with the Growing Food Connections Project. 

A Practitioner’s Guide for Advancing Health Equity: Community Strategies to Preventing Chronic Disease (the Health Equity Guide formerly known as the Health Equity Playbook) was released in December. The Health Equity Guide, developed by Prevention Institute in partnership with the CDC, provides tips and concrete strategies to ensure that initiatives achieve good health for all. It also includes dozens of case studies that showcase the great work being done by local health departments and coalitions—including work in Buffalo, NY. Dr. Samina Raja’s work with the Massachusetts Avenue Project is highlighted in a piece titled Using Planning and Zoning to Create Access to Healthy and Affordable Food.

Click here to learn more about the publication and download the full guide. We hope you will share it with your colleagues, networks and partners and that it will spur further discussion and action to advance health equity.