LOCAL FOOD EDUCATION & RESOURCES
http://www.localharvest.org
http://www.organicconsumers.org
www.foodroutes.org/buy-fresh-buy-local.jsp
“In Northeast Iowa, the Buy Fresh Buy Local group has helped double local food purchases among twenty-three institutional buyers, including hospitals, retirement homes, restaurants, grocers, and colleges. Together, these institutions spent approximately $465,000 on locally produced fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy and baked goods with dollars that otherwise might not have been invested locally.”
http://www.noharm.org/details.cfm?type=news&ID=290&contentRegionKey=us
Bartels Lutheran, about 15 miles north of Waterloo, was among the first nursing homes to sign a Healthy Food in Health Care Pledge, a framework designed to improve the health of patients, communities and global environment. Bartels Lutheran's efforts to buy local foods are profiled in a report released Thursday by Health Care Without Harm, an international coalition working to reduce pollution in health care.
The report notes that poor nutrition is a risk factor for four of the six leading causes of death in the United States: heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer.
"Nutrition-related chronic diseases are placing new demands on an already overburdened health care system, and taking their
toll on human productivity and quality of life," the report states. "Clearly, our industrialized food system, the way in which we
produce and distribute food, is failing to protect public health."
So far, 127 hospitals and other health care facilities in 21 states have signed the pledge. Frederick Kirschenmann, Distinguished Fellow at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Ames, wrote the report's forward, noting that until recently, it was rare to find health care professionals who expressed interest in the food system, "let alone in the agriculture that produced our food."
http://www.organicconsumers.org
www.foodroutes.org/buy-fresh-buy-local.jsp
“In Northeast Iowa, the Buy Fresh Buy Local group has helped double local food purchases among twenty-three institutional buyers, including hospitals, retirement homes, restaurants, grocers, and colleges. Together, these institutions spent approximately $465,000 on locally produced fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy and baked goods with dollars that otherwise might not have been invested locally.”
http://www.noharm.org/details.cfm?type=news&ID=290&contentRegionKey=us
Bartels Lutheran, about 15 miles north of Waterloo, was among the first nursing homes to sign a Healthy Food in Health Care Pledge, a framework designed to improve the health of patients, communities and global environment. Bartels Lutheran's efforts to buy local foods are profiled in a report released Thursday by Health Care Without Harm, an international coalition working to reduce pollution in health care.
The report notes that poor nutrition is a risk factor for four of the six leading causes of death in the United States: heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer.
"Nutrition-related chronic diseases are placing new demands on an already overburdened health care system, and taking their
toll on human productivity and quality of life," the report states. "Clearly, our industrialized food system, the way in which we
produce and distribute food, is failing to protect public health."
So far, 127 hospitals and other health care facilities in 21 states have signed the pledge. Frederick Kirschenmann, Distinguished Fellow at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Ames, wrote the report's forward, noting that until recently, it was rare to find health care professionals who expressed interest in the food system, "let alone in the agriculture that produced our food."
Program helps Florida schools buy local produce Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles H. Bronson has unveiled a new program to increase the amount of locally grown produce available to Florida schools.
The "Farm to School" program is designed to help Florida school district food service officials locate local farmers who want to sell fresh produce directly to schools.
"Every year, Florida schools spend millions of dollars for fresh produce," Bronson said. "The Florida 'Farm to School' program is intended to keep more of those dollars within the state. It also promotes healthy eating habits among students and assists local farmers."
A new Web site: http://www.Florida-Agriculture.com/FarmToSchool, helps interested Florida schools and farmers find each other so they can do business. The Web site provides a list of schools with contact information and the items they are interested in purchasing, along with a list of farmers and the food products they can provide.