Chautauqua County, NY has been selected as one of Growing Food Connection’s eight Communities of Opportunity.  As part of the three year partnership, they will receive training and assistance to link family farmers and local residents who lack access to healthy food.  This partnership will bring national expertise in food policy and planning to assist Chautauqua County’s local governments, planners, family farms, and consumers create a healthier and more sustainable food system.

Dr. Samina Raja, GFC Principle Investigator and Associate Professor at the University of Buffalo, says, “These COOs were selected from a competitive nationwide search and application process. The selected local governments will blaze a path for more than 30,000 local governments in the United States that have traditionally overlooked the problems and opportunities in their communities’ food systems.” 

See what local media outlets have to say about this landmark collaborative effort.

GFC is a five-year, $3.96 million research initiative funded by award #2012-68004-19894, Agriculture and Food Research Initiative of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.