eXtension Community of Practice on Community, Local & Regional Food Systems

July 10, 2014

eXtension Community of Practice on Community, Local & Regional Food Systems

We are excited to announce the formal launching of the Community, Local & Regional Food Systems (CLRFS) eCoP!

http://www.extension.org/community_and_regional_food_systems

 

In its entirety, this resource is designed to provide information and networking opportunities for educators, community-based practitioners, policy makers, farmers/growers, families, and those individuals involved in building equitable, health-promoting, resilient, and economically balanced food systems. As a community of practice, we: 1) create new content; 2) compile and summarize information published by our member organizations; 3) and make it our goal to offer a unique, online meeting place for diverse groups and interests to share information and learn from one another.  CLRFS resources you can use and contribute to:

 

  • Feature and Resource articles on a number of relevant topics pertaining to local, regional, and community food systems. 
  • Links highlighting issues pertaining to local, regional, and community food systems. 
  • CLRFS frequently asked questions through eXtension's "Ask the Expert" 
  • CLFRS webinar series
  • Meet the CLRFS members through eXtension's "Expert Bios" 
  • Social media, including Facebook and an eCoP listserv (local-foods@lists.extension.org)

 

This launch coincides with the publishing of our first series of articles for our winter “call for articles!”

Each new eCoP article is posted to the eCoP site. Please see below for the list of our authors and their articles.  Many thanks to the authors for their contributions  on such topics as wholesale markets for local foods,  urban agriculture, food security, local food business models, and much more!   And a big thank you goes to our editorial team for their work in publishing the materials:  Phil D'Adamo-Damery (Virginia Tech), Jill Clark  (The Ohio State University), Cole Ehmke (University of Wyoming), Joanna Lelekacs (NC Cooperative Extension), and Kim Niewolny (Virginia Tech).   We are now accepting new articles on a rolling basis.  Please visit the CLRFS eCoP site for more information about submitting an article.   You may also see here for guidelines on writing Feature and Resource articles:  http://create.extension.org/node/98520

 

2014 “Winter Call” For Articles:

 

Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) Program Montgomery County Ohio working with a Dayton, Ohio Community Center to sustainably diminish a local “Food Desert”

By Suzanne Mills-Wasniak, Brad Bergefurd, &  Tony Nye 

 

Choosing Wholesale Markets for Local Food Products

By Dave Lamie, Matt Ernst, Tim Woods, Gary Bullen, & Blake Lanford

 

Diversity in our Food: A new youth-oriented diversity project book

By Brian Raison

 

Evaluation of  a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Rebate Program in Wisconsin

By Christie Balch

 

An Evolving Classification Scheme of Local Food Business Models

By Allie Bauman, Dave Shideler, Dawn Thilmany, Merritt Taylor, & Blake Angelo

 

Exploring Community and Local Food Systems by Means of Photo Elicitation

By Sarah A. Misyak, Meredith Ledlie, Mary M. McFerren, Kim L. Niewolny, Kathryn W. Hosig, & Elena Serrano

 

Hungry for Change: Partnering with Small Food Retailers to Increase Healthy Food Access

By Kara Lubischer & Kay Gasen

 

Local Food System Policy

By Lindsey Day Farnsworth

 

Local Meat and Poultry Processing: Business Commitments, Support Networks, and Policy Strategies to Expand the Sector

By Lauren Gwin & Arion Thiboumery

 

Marketing Specialty Cut Flowers

By Holly Scoggins

 

Michigan State University Extension Community Food Systems Workgroup Farm to School Resources

By Kendra Wills

 

Michigan State University Extension Resources for Local Food Entrepreneurs

By Kendra Wills

 

Urban food system projects in Extension

By Julie Fox

 

Using Collective Impact to Build a Local Foods System

By Kari O’Neill and Chris Zdorovtsov

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Membership and our CLRFS Leadership Team:  

The CLRFS eCoP is comprised of over 280 members and growing!  Our members include a number of extension agents/educators/specialists, university researchers, and food systems practitioners. Our numbers are growing steadily, indicating the widespread interest in this issue-area. Our community leadership team 'meets' regularly via conference calls. We also share information through webinars.  

 

Meet our leadership team: http://www.extension.org/pages/70465/clrfs-leadership-team#.U7Ms4U1OWM8

 

How can you get involved as a CLFRS eCoP member:  http://www.extension.org/pages/70466/more-about-community-local-and-regional-food-systems-cop#.U7Mr4k1OWM8

 

Thank you, from your CLRFS CoP Co-coordinators:

 

Sharon Lezberg   

Brian Raison

Kathy Ruhf

Kim Niewolny