Newsletter

Dear City Harvesters,

Autumn has come to London and the apples and pears are falling of the trees. Here, we have been busy making jams and pickles. We hope you enjoyed our last news letter about planning and we would love to know of any other initiatives in your town that promote urban agriculture in planning. This new newsletter is a mix of academic and practical news.

We hope you enjoy it!
Paola, Seb, and Ben

 

In this issue

1. Foodpool: Distributing fresh produce to low income families
2. Community-Based food Systems Online Course
3. Call for presentations - American Community Gardening Association, San Francisco, August 2012
4. Food and the City conference, Boston University, February 2012
5. Climate Change and Sustainable Development Conference, Tübingen, Germany, May- June 2012

 

 

1. Foodpool

 Home food growing has become so popular in America and Canada that sometimes home gardens have too much produce for the individuals to cope with. At the same time there are many families in America that don’t have access to fresh vegetables. With these two elements in mind Andre Sigal launched foodpool. It’s mission is to create small, local groups to gather backyard garden produce and deliver it to food banks and food pantries. Food banks and pantries are organisations that distribute mostly donated food to a wide variety of agencies that in turn feed the hungry. These "FoodPools" are modeled on carpools - neighborhood based, easy to set up, and easy to run. By creating numerous small, local groups, they feed our neighbors while strengthening our communities. You can see more information at http://www.foodpool.org/default.html

 

2. Community-Based Food Systems-Online course: Feb 24 – Mar 30 2012.

The cultivation, preparation, distribution, and consumption of food are rich processes that shape how we organize ourselves socially, economically, and politically. Control over food systems at the community level is central to self-determination and sustainability. In this seminar, you will learn about various approaches to building community-based food systems and movements for food justice around the world. You will evaluate successful efforts at food system relocalization and the protection of community food resources, as well as the factors that threaten these efforts. With a special consideration for the needs of indigenous, marginalized, low-income, and migrant communities, students will develop a conceptual toolkit and set of resources that will allow them to assess the limitations and possibilities of their own community’s food system. http://www.colostate.edu/Orgs/IISD/courses/Food_Systems.html

 

3. Call for presentations: ACGA Annual Conference, San Francisco 2012

The American Community Garden Association is seeking a diverse group of presenters to share a wide range of information about community gardening and greening for workshops that includes themes like

• Sustainable construction in the garden and open spaces
• Effective water and soil practices for 21st century gardeners
• Garden micro-enterprises, workforce development, economic impacts of garden and open space
• Best practices in community engaging and neighbourhood greening

To find out more visit http://www.communitygarden.org/docs/sf_call_for_presenters.pdf

 

4. Food and the City Conference, Boston University: Feb 24/25 2012

The Boston University History Department is pleased to host its first Food and the City Conference on Friday, February 24 and Saturday February 25, 2012. This two-day conference welcomes scholars from a broad range of disciplines to explore the history of the relationship between food and cities within a global framework.  For more information visit http://www.bu.edu/history/news-events/conferences/food-and-the-city-conference/

 

5. Climate Change and Sustainable Development Conference, Tübingen, Germany, 30 May – 2 June 2012

The 10th Congress of the European Society for Agricultural and Food Ethics (EurSafe) conference, entitled The Climate Change and Sustainable Development: Ethical Perspectives on Land Use and Food Production, will address the topics of climate change and sustainable development under 4 thematic areas: (1) food production, (2) preservation of natural resources, (3) lifestyles (4) general philosophical and historical issues of climate change, sustainable development and food ethics. For more information visit http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/einrichtungen/internationales-zentrum-fuer-ethik-in-den-wissenschaften/Eur.html