Glynwood

The Fifth Annual Glynwood Harvest Awards Honor Creativity and Leadership in the Sustainable Food Movement

September 28, 2007

COLD SPRING, NY – September 27, 2007 – Glynwood Center, the not-for-profit organization whose mission to support community stewardship is advanced through educational and community-based agricultural initiatives, will honor the winners of its 2007 Harvest Awards with a ceremony at Beacon restaurant in New York on October 22. The luncheon will showcase a menu of locally-produced ingredients prepared by top chefs across the country.

The 2007 Harvest Award Winners

“It is a testament to the growth of the sustainable agriculture movement that Glynwood Center received over 60 nominations from more than 20 states to consider for our annual Harvest Awards,” says Judith LaBelle, President of Glynwood Center.

“We were inspired to see a raising of the bar as to what is regarded as special and exemplary: five years ago a farmer conducting a CSA program and playing an active role in public policy was a real contender. Now many, many farmers have transitioned to that multi-faceted role. This year we saw a trend towards efforts designed to encourage strengthening of the infrastructure that small farmers need if they are to remain viable in a changing and consolidating marketplace. Additionally, there has been an increase in projects designed to encourage urban agriculture — including efforts to help youth understand how food is produced as well as to make healthy food more available to underserved populations.”

The Glynwood Farmer Harvest Award

The 1000+ Family Farmers of the Organic Valley Family of Farms, LaFarge, WI

In 1988, seven farmers founded a cooperative that became the largest farmer-owned cooperative in North America in less than 20 years, selling more than 130 premium products under the brand name Organic Valley. Organic Valley is committed to sustainability: the economic stability of the farmer, the environmental stability of farming practices, and the social stability of rural communities. The farmers from 29 states and one Canadian province who own and control this cooperative have taken a visionary approach to working together to benefit themselves and, in so doing, provide a prime example of how small and mid-size farmers can work together to remain viable in a changing marketplace.

The Glynwood Good Neighbor Harvest Award

Grow Montana, Butte, MT

Administered by the National Center for Appropriate Technology in Butte, Grow Montana is a broad, collaborative project that is making community-based food systems a centerpiece of the State of Montana’s economic development policy. Grow Montana’s central message – the value of local food as an economic development strategy and the importance of directing state and local resources to rebuilding the infrastructure needed for an efficient community-based food system – should be of interest to policy-makers across the nation. By forging a coalition among many diverse groups and people, Grow Montana has helped catalyze significant change in only two and one-half years, including:

conducting nationally-recognized research on the state’s food system;

working with the Governor of Montana to host a 300 participant summit on food and agriculture;

creating new multi-million dollar potential markets for Montana farmers and ranchers by revamping state procurement laws; and launching the nation’s first FoodCorps, a team of full-time AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers creating farm to cafeteria programs across the state.

The Glynwood Harvest Award for Connecting Communities, Farmers and Food

Community Food Security Center, Tucson, AZ

The Community Food Security Center is a program of the Community Food Bank, which serves Pima County, Arizona (an area the size of New England). The Center believes that a sustainable local food system is possible when all community members, regardless of income, are participants. Its multi-faced program includes:

Managing a 7,000 square foot chemical-free garden, greenhouse and hen house, and a 10-acre farm on the outskirts to promote appropriate methods for food production in the desert (including habitat restoration), provide produce for sale at the farmers’ and mobile markets and provide bi-lingual training.

Encouraging home garden production, by providing education and training in sustainable gardening methods; the program also purchases garden material in bulk and sells it at cost to gardeners with low incomes. The Center believes that home gardening is the healthy food “equalizer” for people with low incomes and that growing some of your own food is the first step to participating in the local food system.

A Community Foods Consignment project through which home gardeners and small scale growers can sell extra produce at farmers markets without having to manage their own stand.

Managing a “Good Groceries Mobil Market” that provides low cost, high quality products to rural communities with limited access to healthy foods.

Education and advocacy projects that include working with Southern Arizona Legal Aid Benefits Clinic and with faith communities about food security, economic and food justice, and lifestyle integrity.

The Glynwood Harvest Award as the Wave of the Future

Added Value and Herban Solutions, Red Hook, NY

Added Value and Herban Solutions combines the best of after school programs, summer school, job training, nutritional classes and food security in 2.75 acres of converted asphalt in a Brooklyn neighborhood that now overflow with eggplants, lettuce, squash, flowers, cucumbers and even a few fruit trees. Added Value is based on the belief that nature is the best teacher – that making food grow is an achievement that can change a child’s life. Its youth programs include:

an intensive 8-week training program designed to help young people develop a strong sense of self and community while learning the skills necessary to grow food from seed to sale;

an academic-year program that includes operation of a farmers’ market and education on issues including obesity;

the Community Farm, operated by staff, students, interns and volunteers, an intergenerational space and experiential educational environment that creates meaningful work for neighborhood teens, generates economic activity and improves the health and well-being of the community.

About the Harvest Awards

The Harvest Awards were created by Glynwood Center in 2003 to highlight the creative work by individuals and organizations from across the country that do an exceptional job of supporting local and regional agriculture and increases access to fresh, healthy food. The Awards help to identify and promote “best practice” ideas with the goal of inspiring others to take action within their own communities and build urban-rural coalitions in support of regional farms.

Past winners have included small family-owned farms like Huguenot Street Farm in New Paltz, NY; Niman Ranch, for its success in nurturing and marketing a national network of small producers; Carolyn Mugar, the Executive Director of Farm Aid, and large corporate organizations like Kaiser Permanente, for its program to increase access to healthier food for patients, employees and visitors at its health care facilities.

To arrange for an interview with Judith LaBelle of Glynwood Center or any of the Harvest Award winners; to receive a Fact Sheet on Glynwood Center and major programs that supports its Agricultural Initiative; or if you are interested in attending the October 22 Harvest Awards event at Beacon restaurant:

Please contact Geralyn Delaney Graham, Resources Communications

[email protected] or tel/ 281. 980. 6643.

To find out more about Glynwood Center, visit www.glynwood.org.