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07539 August 31, 2007
26 food security projects to share nearly $200,000
PHP grants help build more socially responsible food supply
by Evan Silverstein Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE - The Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP) has awarded grants totaling $196,300 to 26 organizations around the country working to alleviate hunger by creating a more just and healthier food system.
Funding for the grants, which represents a portion of awards given each year by PHP, comes from the One Great Hour of Sharing offering.
The grants will help support projects that focus on such issues as food accessibility for low-income families, justice for farm workers, strengthening local food economies, sustainable development, community organizing, and education and advocacy around food issues.
"Ultimately, the test of any food system and the policies that shape it is a moral one," said Andrew Kang Bartlett, the PHP's Associate for National Hunger Concerns. "We can ask ourselves: Do our consumer choices, our actions in church and in our workplace, and our public policies put the needs of people above fear-based concerns and profits? Do they recognize and protect the dignity of humankind and the integrity of God's creation?"
In New York City, a $5,000 PHP grant is helping the Rural Development Leadership Network implement community-based projects that focus on farm workers, establishing a mortgage lending company for Native American homeowners, and assisting small farmers in strengthening local markets.
The project is also assisting Native American fishers with a salmon processing plant, organizing a regional food fair in the northwest featuring Native American cuisine, and starting a residential program for people with special needs in Alabama.
Another grant of $5,000 was provided to Food Works at Two Rivers Center in Montpelier, VT, to link underserved consumers - children, families and seniors - with local food producers to improve access to quality produce and help them to become self-reliant in meeting their own food needs.
Thanks to direct purchasing arrangements with farmers and an ordering and distribution computer listserv, low-income consumers will be able to purchase food themselves from local producers.
The Missouri Rural Crisis Center (MRCC) in Columbia, MO, was awarded $10,000 to support family-farm-based agricultural systems and challenge industrial agricultural development.
MRCC advocates for fair food and farm policies at the state and federal level, and works to preserve family farms, promote stewardship of the land and environmental integrity while striving for economic and social justice.
Kang Bartlett said the programs receiving PHP grants complement Presbyterian initiatives that seek to build sustainable food systems. Efforts range from setting up farmers' markets in parking lots to calling for federal Farm Bill reforms that assist struggling family farmers.
PHP has developed Web sites providing resources, study guides, and avenues for taking action to build a more just food system - the Food and Faith Web site: www.pcusa.org/food; the Food and Faith Blog: presbyterian.typepad.com/foodandfaith; and the Farm Bill Reform Web site: www.betterfarmbill.org.
PHP, a ministry of the General Assembly Council (GAC), has provided about $110 million over the last 38 years in the fight against hunger and its root causes in the United States and around the world.
Through PHP, Presbyterians support efforts in the five PHP program areas: direct hunger relief, development assistance, public policy advocacy, lifestyle integrity, and hunger education.
The PHP Advisory Committee approved the grant recipients last year.
The Programs receiving grants:
Campbell Farm, Wapato, WA (Synod of Alaska/Northwest, Central Washington Presbytery): $4,000 to provide environmental and food system education and multicultural awareness for Native-American children.
Community Farm Alliance, Frankfort, KY (Synod of Living Waters, Mid-Kentucky Presbytery): $10,000 to develop a new farmer owned local food distribution business in west Louisville.
Community Food Security Coalition, Venice, CA (National scope): $4,500 to advocate for changes in federal policies to improve access to healthy food for all.
Co-op America, Washington, DC (National scope): $6,000 to identity fair trade advocates and provide them with resources and inspiration to connect with the communities.
CSA Learning Center, Caledonia, IL (Synod of the Lincoln Trails, Chicago Presbytery): $5,000 to partner with congregations linking food and farming and faith and justice through community action.
Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance, East Point, GA (Synod of South Atlantic): $20,000 to assist rural communities in implementing self-help strategies that will lead to community sustainability.
Food Works at Two Rivers Center, Montpelier, VT (Synod of the Northeast, Northern New England Presbytery): $5,000 to link underserved consumers with local food producers to improve access to quality produce.
Global Exchange, San Francisco, CA (National scope): $7,500 for the Sweatfree Institutional Purchasing Campaign to encourage local governments to pass sweat-free purchasing policies.
Hartford Food System, Hartford, CT (Synod of the Northeast, Southern New England Presbytery): $5,000 to work with small retailers in economically challenged communities to stock a healthier inventory of merchandise.
Hunger Grow Away, Rio Rancho, NM (National scope): $1,000 for the Santa Ana Pueblo Nutrition Program to use food produced from a community garden to improve diet and nutrition in Native American population.
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, New York, NY (National scope): $5,000 to build a more just and sustainable society by integrating social values into corporate and investor decisions.
Isles, Trenton, NJ (Synod of the Northeast, New Brunswick Presbytery): $5,000 to improve existing crop yields and foster greater self-sufficiency at existing community gardens.
Just Food, New York, NY (Synod of the Northeast, New York City Presbytery): $11,000 to foster secured livelihoods for family farmers, promote self-sufficiency and increase access to food.
Kingsport Citizens for a Cleaner Environment, Kingsport, TN (Synod of Living Waters, Holston Presbytery): $2,500 to mobilize youth and senior citizens to form community gardens and task teams to discuss community threats.
Missouri Rural Crisis Center, Columbia, MO (Synod of Mid-America): $10,000 to support family-farm-based agricultural systems and challenge industrial agricultural development.
National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture, Pine Bush, NY (National scope): $10,000 to provide increased support in the development of a new farm bill.
National Catholic Rural Life Conference, Des Moines, IA (National scope): $7,000 to support advocacy efforts regarding neglected social justice and corporate responsibility sections of the Farm Bill.
National Family Farm Coalition, Washington, DC (National scope): $10,000 to develop policy solutions that reflect the needs of family farmers and rural communities.
National Farmworker Ministry, St. Louis, MO (National scope): $10,800 to support a campaign to unionize the farm workers from 1,050 camps in North Carolina as a result of a break through with the North Carolina Growers Association, which signed a landmark neutrality contract.
Peace Through Interamerican Community Action (PICA), Bangor, ME (National scope): $10,000 to address the root causes of hunger by working locally to build a fair trade community.
Rural Advancement Foundation International - USA, Pittsboro, NC (National scope): $10,000 to advocate for agricultural policy, regulatory reform and education to advance contract reform.
Rural Development Leadership Network, New York, NY (National scope): $5,000 to implement community-based projects focusing on farm workers and globalization; forming a mortgage lending company for Native American home ownership; assisting small farmers in strengthening local markets; and assisting Native American fishers with a salmon processing plant, organizing a regional fair of Native American food in the northwest; and starting a residential program for people with special needs in Alabama.
Seattle Youth Garden Works, Seattle, WA (Synod of Alaska/Northwest, Seattle Presbytery): $10,000 to provide job training to youth experiencing poverty and homelessness through a market gardening program.
Student Action with Farmworkers, Durham, NC (Synod of the Mid-Atlantic, New Hope Presbytery): $7,000 to meet the needs of hundreds of Latino Farm workers, develop the leadership of student activists, and build bridges among farm worker, community and academic groups.
Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, Washington, DC (National scope): $5,000 to educate farmers and rural advocates so they can fully participate in the federal policy process.
SweatFree Communities, Bangor, ME (National scope): $10,000 to coordinate a national network of grassroots campaigns working for sweatshop-free purchasing.
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