LOCAL FOODS, LOCAL PLACES: REVITALIZING COMMUNITIES BY GROWING LOCAL FOOD ECONOMIES 2018 PARTNER COMMUNITIES MAY 2019 UPDATE Local Foods, Local Places, established in 2014, helps cities and towns across the country protect the environment and human health by engaging with local partners to reinvest in existing neighborhoods using local food enterprise. Four federal agencies—the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Delta Regional Authority—selected 16 communities to participate in Local Foods, Local Places in 2018. In each partner community, a team of experts helped community members set goals and plan projects that can boost local economies and drive downtown and neighborhood revitalization. Projects included farmers markets, local food cooperatives, community gardens, and other food-related enterprises. By promoting better health, a cleaner environment, and stronger economies, Locai Foods, Local Places also supports efforts to alleviate poverty and boost wellness among children. In 2018, federal partners are investing more than $365,000 in Local Foods, Local Places. m m us DA Local Foods, Local Places 2018 Louisville, KY • • • Biddeford, ME r) Cortland, NY • m ® • r*^ v • Indiana, PA a * O • w • • # Phoenix, AZ •T\ / m Farmington, NM ® Silver City, NM Anadarko, OK t McCrory, AR ® % 0 0 Helen? ARQ Hindman, KY^ ® • V 'Hopewell, VA • # Duck Hill, MS North Charleston, SC • O Anchorage. AK # • Local Foods, Local Places 2018 • Local Foods, Local Places previous years Delta Regional Authority Appalachian Regional Commission Local Foods, Local Places helps communities create walkable, healthy, economically vibrant neighborhoods through the development of local food systems. Sources: Local Foods, Local Places U.S. Census Bureau LOCAL FOODS, LOCAL PLACES: REVITALIZING WWHUHfTtES BY GROWING LOCAL fOOD' ECONOMIES ------- Alabama Restoration 154/Foundation 154 in Elba, Alabama, worked with partners to plan for a central farmers market, enhance community coordination with the local food bank, and develop a makers market in a vacant downtown storefront to spur downtown revitalization and help attract people downtown after the opening of a highway bypass. Alaska The Alaska Food Policy Council furthered a plan to create a highly visible, working urban farm in Anchorage, Alaska, that serves as a site for food production, a job training center, a sustainable farming innovation and demonstration hub, and a community center. The project wiil help address real and perceived contamination on the site from a former leaking underground storage tank and a nearby former dry cleaners identified by the city as a candidate for brownfield cleanup funds. Arizona The city of Phoenix, Arizona, worked closely with residents and community groups in South Phoenix to pursue a more equitable, community-driven approach to activating a city-wide food action plan at the neighborhood level. The plan will be folded into other initiatives in the area, including creating a strategy for equitable transit-oriented development and restoring and improving access to the Rio Salado (Salt River). Arkansas In Helena, Arkansas, the Helena-West Helena/Philips County Port Authority began planning for a potential farmers market and events space in a long-abandoned building near downtown. Underground storage tanks have been removed from the property, and the Port Authority (the local economic development entity) has acquired the site and begun cleaning up contamination from its past use as a school bus repair facility. The city of McCrory, Arkansas, created a plan to comprehensively address barriers to good nutrition and physical activity by planning for a thriving farmers market that improves access to healthy, local foods; a central gathering place that anchors Main Street; walkable and bikeable streets that connect community assets and healthy places; and a strong local food economy. 'jltcnil'ih: TODAY loarDGrij The Silver City Food Co-op in New Mexico brings residents into the heart of downtown while providing a source of fresh, local food. 2 LOCAL FOODS, LOCAL PLACES: REVITALIZFNG COMMUNITIES BY GROWING LOCAL FOOD ECON'MlES ------- Kentucky Hindman Settlement School in Hindman, Kentucky, planned ways to strengthen the local farmers market and determined the next steps for several food-based initiatives, including a certified canning kitchen that can help address the loss of coal- based jobs and tax revenue by creating new opportunities for producers, food crafters, and entrepreneurs. The Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District sought assistance to help coordinate multiple revitalization and food security initiatives in a densely populated, demographically diverse area of downtown Louisville, Kentucky, that suffers from high poverty and unemployment, the recent closure of its grocery stores, and a significant number of abandoned and vacant properties. The planning incorporated strategies to improve the physical environment in ways that support walking and biking, reduce heat island effects, reduce flooding, and increase safety. Maine Engine, a nonprofit organization in Biddeford, Maine, planned for the redevelopment of a vacant Main Street building, made possible through a brownfields cleanup grant, to support revitalization of the historic Main Street and Mill District. The action plan includes strategies to improve access to healthy, fresh food and strengthen community engagement with events and initiatives that connect food and place downtown. Mississippi Working with the town of Duck Hill, Mississippi, and the Achieving Sustainability through Education and Economic Development Solutions Partnership, Action Communication and Education Reform created a plan to use green infrastructure to address longstanding stormwater and flooding problems, improve the condition of buildings and infrastructure, encourage healthy eating and living, and engage and empower the community. New Mexico In Farmington, New Mexico, the New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension, in collaboration with the city and community partners, coordinated efforts to expand local food production, improve food access, and revitalize the historic downtown. Supporting local food enterprises will help the city reconnect with its historic roots as a farming community while expanding access to jobs and business opportunities, increasing diversified local food options, and protecting natural resources. NOW SERVING BAGELS FROM ftDSE FOODS! LOCAL FOODS, LOCAL PLACES: REVITALIZING ZXfMM UNITIES BY GROWING LOCAL fOOD' ECONOMIES 3 ------- In Silver City, New Mexico, the Volunteer Center of Grant County brought stakeholders together to plan how to increase local food production and harvesting, help local producers bring products to market, create a culture of entrepreneurship, and include underserved residents in local food system planning and decision making. New York The Seven Valleys Health Coalition, working with the city of Cortland, New York, and the Cortland Food Project committee, developed a long-term strategy that ties growth and development of an equitable local food system into brownfields revitalization and other ongoing planning efforts in the city, Oklahoma The Delaware Nation focused on creating a community anchor for physical activities and healthy, local food in Anadarko, Oklahoma. The project aims to establish a permanent farmers market; develop a walking and biking trail; and create a community garden that will help manage stormwater runoff, improve air and soil quality, and reduce waste through composting. Pennsylvania The Sustainable Economic Development Task Force of Indiana County planned how to further diversify the local economy by helping entrepreneurs develop sustainable food-related enterprises and expanding outlets for local producers in downtown Indiana, Pennsylvania, Plans to improve walkability and connectivity from surrounding neighborhoods and other strategies will help residents recognize and strengthen downtown Indiana as a community asset. South Carolina The Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities in North Charleston, South Carolina, planned how to redevelop a former brownfield into a park with walking and biking trails and an open-air market that will create economic opportunities for farmers and businesses. Virginia In support of its goal to become a more healthy, walkable, and bikeable community, the Hopewell Downtown Partnership in Hopewell, Virginia, explored creating a new kitchen incubator in a downtown building that could support new food entrepreneurs and catalyze new businesses to locate in vacant storefronts. The community also planned how to strengthen the downtown farmers market and encourage healthy living for all Hopewell residents. For more information: https://www.epa.aov/smartarowth/local-foods-local-places LOCAL FOODS, LOCAL PLACES: REVITALIZFNG COMMUNITIES BY GROWING LOCAL FOOD ECON'MlES ------- |