The Wallace Center has selected the following eight organizations from a field of 31 proposals across 21 states, to serve as initial Regional Lead Teams for the National Good Food Network, a Wallace Center initiative funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, designed to connect and support efforts to overcome basic barriers in moving more good food to more people. Those barriers include a lack of distribution options for farmers, the absence of grocery stores in many urban and rural areas and the lack of appropriate scaled food processing facilities for meats, dairy and vegetables.

Teams represent a variety of geographic areas and bring a range of experience, audiences and operational scale to the table. Under the one-year grant, each team will pursue specific, regional approaches to the work of building a new kind of food supply chain, one that incorporates -- all the way from field to plate -- stewardship of the environment, healthy food, fair labor practices, equal access and strong local economies.

Read the full press releases for the NGFN Regional Lead Teams and Advisory Council

2008 National Good Food Network Regional Lead Teams

Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA)

Area of focus: ALBA’s priority as a Regional Lead Team is to further develop their earned-income fresh produce sales venture, ALBA Organics, by identifying and establishing infrastructure needs, diversifying sales outlets, and working to overcome supply-demand barriers. Other priorities include training and technical assistance to achieve expanded distribution, development of a Small Farm Business Incubator Manual, and negotiating food safety protocols to meet the needs of scaled-up markets. Read the full proposal (PDF).

Contact: Brett Melone, Executive Director
P.O. Box 6264
Salinas CA 93912
brett@albafarmers.org
(831) 758-1469

American Friends Service Committee

Area of focus: AFSC and regional partners seek to connect diverse communities of farmers, ranchers, and stakeholders in a more formalized value chain system, actively networking those most poised to scale-up operations, determining what gaps/barriers exist along the chain, evaluating marketing and cost-effectiveness, and using current demonstration sites to expand on training and technical assistance. Read the full proposal (PDF).

Contact: Don Bustos, New Mexico Area Director
1600 5th Street NW
Albuquerque NM 87102
dbustos@afsc.org
(505) 514-1662

Appalachian Sustainable Development

Area of focus: ASD has built the Appalachian’s most comprehensive value chain for good food, utilizing a market-driven, field to table strategy to link consumers with producers and create good economic opportunities along the value chain. RLT priorities include accessing a diversity of large, well-paying markets and securing demand from them; developing grower networks which help train, support, and capitalize limited resource farmers; developing infrastructure essential to linking small scale farmers to large markets; and building community support to ensure healthy foods are reaching a wide audience inclusive of those of lesser means. Read the full proposal (PDF).

Contact: Anthony Flaccavento, Executive Director
PO Box 791
Abingdon VA 24212
aflaccavento@asdevelop.org
(276) 623-1121

Area of focus: This Southwest RLT’s work plan focuses on outreach and networking with producers, extension, retailers, consumer and community organizations, local and state government, and other stakeholders; training in business and organizational development, alternative marketing, and asset development; as well as developing innovative projects in marketing, distribution, infrastructure, access, and policy development. Overarching aims are to hone successful models and publicize them widely. Read the full proposal (PDF).

Contact: Pamela Roy, Co-Director Farm to Table
3900 Paseo del Sol
Santa Fe NM 87507
pamelaroy@aol.com
(505) 473-1004

Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Area of focus: The Upper Midwest RLT's objectives include determining what regional NGOs and universities know and do not know about capacity building for scaling up; developing a research agenda with a clear path for ramping up the Good Food system in this region; determing what other partners are needed; developing best practice strategies for collaboration across state boundaries; and formulating a set of recommendations for inter-organizational collaboration. Read the full proposal (PDF).

Contact: Rich Pirog, Associate Director
Iowa State University
Ames IA 50011
rspirog@iastate.edu
(515) 294-1854

Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group

Area of focus: NESAWG and partners seek to establish broader and more lucrative markets in the Northeast, markets featuring supply chain infrastructure strengthened by the investment of state government and economic development agencies. Specifically, this group will evaluate the regional capacity for food system development beyond local/direct markets – with marketing, networking, and T & TA priorities established by RLT consensus; will connect existing models of successful regional value chain enterprises with those newly emerging; and will address the most pressing of policy barriers and opportunities. Read the full proposal (PDF).

Contact: Kathy Ruhf, Coordinator       
PO Box 11
Belchertown MA 01007
kzruhf@verizon.net
(413) 323-9878

Occidental College, Center for Food and Justice

Area of focus: In Southern California, this team’s priorities are in farm-to-institution market expansion, including identifying model distribution strategies to move more good food through wholesale channels and into underserved communities, and conducting the necessary distribution-related outreach and technical assistance. Read the full proposal (PDF).

Contact: Vanessa Zajfen, Southern California Farm to Institution Coordinator
Urban and Environmental Policy Institute
1600 Campus Road, MS M-1
Los Angeles CA 90041
vzajfen@oxy.edu
(323) 341-5092

Sustainable Food Lab

Area of focus: Through the GFN, SFL and partners propose to develop pilot projects to increase procurement of regional foods by NYC specialty shops and bodegas; increase procurement of NYS produce and other products by large retailers in upstate NY; and disseminate best practices to interested stakeholders in the region. SFL will serve as supply chain intermediary to bridge the gap currently frustrating farmers and retailers looking to scale up. Read the full proposal (PDF).

Contact: Karen Karp
Karp Resources
52875 Main Road
PO Box 515
Southold NY 11971
Karen@karpresources.com
(631) 765-9406

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For more information about this initiative contact:
Marty Gerencer
Manager, National Good Food Network
Marty@morsemarketingconnections.com
231.638.2981