July 2024 Newsletter
Published July 15, 2024
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Dear OCFSN Membership:
We have had a year of incredible growth and development at the Oregon Community Food System Network (OCFSN). First, we want to say thank you to our amazing staff, board of directors, leadership team, and our members for the collaborative space we have cultivated together. We look forward to everything we will build in the food system together.
We want to inform you of some internal changes in the day to day operations at OCFSN during the next few months. Shin Lee, the OCFSN Executive Director of Network Development, is on leave until September 9, 2024. Shin’s email address and info@ocfsn.org are being monitored by staff and the leadership team chair, and messages are being forwarded to the appropriate folks for each request. Andrew Collins-Anderson (Farming for the Future Working Group Coordinator) will be acting as OCFSN’s Interim Operations Manager to cover our obligations and is ready to work with you to support your needs.
Points of Contact:
OCFSN events, current grant relationships, payment and contracts - contact andrew@ocfsn.org
For working group member content questions and meeting info please contact your working group lead:
Farming for the Future: Andrew Collins-Anderson - andrew@ocfsn.org
Veggie RX: Kaely Summers - summerka@ohsu.edu
Food Hubs: Sydney Deluna - sdeluna@luna-bird.com
Policy: Currently Andrew but will have an updated chair to contact soon - andrew@ocfsn.org
Questions for the OCFSN Board: Board President, Sara Miller - saramiller@neoedd.org
All other inquiries - info@ocfsn.org
The Farmer & Rancher Disaster Resilience and Food Hub Worker Safety and Infrastructure Grant programs are proceeding as planned, and Andrew will be the point of contact for both of those programs at this time.
We are in the process of evaluating our capacity to host the OCFSN full network in person convening in November as originally planned. It is likely we will need to reschedule the fall in-person convening. We are thinking of creative ways for working groups and programs to come together this fall to provide updates to the network.
Part of the work we do here at OCFSN is to cultivate a culture of care and build human capacity within the food system. If you have a program or potential partnership that you want to work with OCFSN on during this time, we invite you to bring your idea to your working group, and find member groups to partner with, and bring your goals to life. Please continue to reach out to OCFSN to discuss how we can support your work, but recognizing that new programming may take longer to plan and implement. Check out the resources on our website at www.ocfsn.org.
The strength of OCFSN is in our membership - which is full of amazing people and groups - dedicated to strengthening local and regional food systems to deliver better economic, social, health, and environmental outcomes across the state.
Thank you for your support and patience at this time.
- OCFSN Board and Leadership Team
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OREGON COMMUNITY FOOD SYSTEMS NETWORK’S FARMER & RANCHER DISASTER RESILIENCE AND FOOD HUB WORKER SAFETY & INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT PROGRAMS AWARD $2.3 MILLION TO OREGON FARMERS, RANCHERS AND FOOD HUBS
The 2023 Oregon Legislature allocated to the Oregon Community Food Systems Network (OCFSN) $2.65 million for the Farmer & Rancher Disaster Resilience Grant Program and $1.5 million for the Food Hub Worker Safety & Infrastructure Grant Program for the 2023-2025 Biennium. The first round of grants from these programs were made in May 2024.
The farmer and rancher grant program awarded $1.6 million to 114 small and historically underserved farmers and ranchers across Oregon to implement projects to increase their resilience to disasters like extreme weather, heat, smoke and drought. Funded activities include implementing irrigation, shading, cooling, soil health and other resilience projects.
“The survival of our farm – and that of countless others grappling with climate disasters – is at stake. Farming has never been easy, but climate change is making it exponentially harder every year. We tip our hats to the Oregon legislature for allocating these urgently needed funds to support local and regional food systems, small family farms, and diversified, climate-forward agriculture in our state,” commented Zoe Bradbury DeSurra of Groundswell Farm LLC, a grant recipient.
The food hub grant program awarded $700,000 to 20 Oregon food hubs and regional food system infrastructure projects to invest in expanding the capacity of disaster resilient local food economies. Funded activities include purchasing and installing infrastructure and worker safety and efficiency equipment such as: refrigerated vehicles, walk-in coolers and freezers, commercial cooking equipment, ventilation systems, pallet jacks, vehicle safety retrofits, hydraulic carts, anti-fatigue mats, protective gloves, and shade equipment. “OCFSN’s funding would greatly increase the capacity of our food hub, Oregon’s smallest, most remote food hub. Increased capacity means more people in Wallowa and Union counties accessing high-quality, nutrient dense food grown by their neighbors. It means paying local farmers and ranchers a living wage,” shared a food-hub grantee.
These grant programs build off the successful OCFSN 2022 Farmer and Rancher Disaster Relief Program and Food Hub Network activities and were created with guidance from farmers and ranchers, food hub experts and other food systems experts and leaders from across Oregon.
“OCFSN and partners send our thanks to all the farmers, ranchers, organizations, agencies and the State Legislature for their participation and support in making these programs a success,” Andrew Collins-Anderson, OCFSN Farming for the Future Coordinator.
There will be a second round of funding for these grant programs. Program details and requests for proposals will be posted on the OCFSN website: ocfsn.org.
Farmer & Rancher Disaster Resilience Grant Program Outcomes:
110 applications awarded to English-language applicants
4 applications awarded to Spanish-language applicants
Characteristics of Awardees
89 - Beginning farmers and ranchers (first 10 years of farming)
41 - Black, indigenous or people of color producers
39 - Producers located in counties with a drought declaration in 2022 or 2023
13 - Military veteran producers
11 - Immigrant or refugee producers
8 - Single caregiver producers
7 - Trans or gender non-conforming producers
Location of Awardees
39 - Willamette Valley
21 - Portland Metro
20 - Southern Oregon (includes Klamath and SE Oregon)
13 - Central Oregon
8 - Northeast Oregon
7 - Mid Columbia
5 - North Coast
3 - South Coast
Total Acres of Awardees
Total cultivated acres of awarded farms - 4,766 acres
Number of Disaster Resilience Projects by Category (many awardees had multiple project types)
71 - Irrigation and Water Efficiency
50 - Shading and Cooling
40 - Soil Health Management
32 - Purchase, Rental or Refurbishment of Equipment
19 - Other Crop Management
15 - Other
14 - Ecosystem Management
3 - Monitoring or Research
2 - Planning
Food Hub Worker Safety & Infrastructure Grant Program Outcomes:
20 applications awarded to English-language applicants
Historically Underserved Food Hubs Awarded
9 Black, indigenous or people of color led food hubs
6 Single caregiver food hubs
5 Trans or gender non-conforming food hubs
3 Immigrant or refugee food hubs
Location of Awardees
Willamette Valley - 9
Southwestern Oregon - 5
North Coast - 4
South Coast - 4
Portland Metro - 3
Central Oregon - 2
Eastern Oregon - 1
Projects made possible by the grant
Refrigerated vans for delivery between regions
Walk-in fridges, chest freezers, scales, reach-in coolers
Rolling carts, anti-fatigue mats, protective gloves, canopy for outdoor pop-ups
Pallet jacks, electric jacks, rackable pallets
Produce boxes, bulk bins, mobile shelving, storage containers
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A huge thank you goes out to Tahoma Peak Solutions for their three amazing training sessions on Native American History, Indigenous Communications, and Outreach and Working with Tribes provided to OCFSN members. We will be sharing resources from that series as they are finalized. Below are the descriptions of the three sessions. Thanks to all who participated.
Session Descriptions:
Training #1 Native American History 101 (90 minutes) | June 13, 10am
Understanding the history and context that led to the contemporary Native American experience is essential when working across all sectors of U.S. society. In this course we cover 500 years of history, moments in history that have modern day implications, important policies that affect Native people and communities today and the fundamentals of Tribal Sovereignty.
Training #2 Indigenous Communications (90 minutes) | June 27, 10am
There is a great need for knowing how to appropriately communicate with and discuss Native communities and people. To do that well, it requires an understanding of contemporary Native people and communities. In this training we cover invisibility and institutionalized erasure of Native people in contemporary society, common myths and misconceptions about Native people and how to avoid these when discussing Native communities, the new emerging narrative about Native people, language to avoid, and terminology and communications best practices.
Training #3 Outreach and Working with Tribes (90 minutes) | July 11, 10am
The approach needed to meaningfully engage Tribes and Native communities is unique and contextual. In this training we cover the foundations of Tribal governance, outreach to tribes best practices, how to cultivate and sustain generative working relationships with tribes, and what not to do in outreach to tribes.
Working Group Updates
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Missed a meeting? You can find recordings of working group meetings on OCFSN’s Youtube Channel and other materials in our Public Google Drive.
Stay looped into the latest news for each of the working groups by joining the mailing lists: How to Use OCFSN Google Groups. -
ICYMI: The Food Hub Network Working Group has had several great meetings in May and in June!
Check out the 5/28/24 meeting recording and transcripts. This meeting included a great discussion about the 1115 Medicaid Waiverlead by Kaely Summers and Sarah Sullivan.
We also hosted a session in May that was all about building walk-in coolers/freezers. Check out the video and transcript here.
Here’s the 6/25/24 meeting recording and materials. This meeting featured a presentation from the Oregon Manufacturing Entrepreneur Partnership and a follow-up conversation to the May meeting on building coolers.
We have recently kicked off our Worker Centered Culture Series featuring North Coast Food Web’s Director Yana Ludwig. Recordings will be shared with those who registered.
Upcoming Meetings:
Our next Food Hub Working Group Monthly Meeting will be on Tuesday July 23rd from 1pm - 2:30 pm | Zoom
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The Veggie Rx Working Group recently applied for Community Capacity Building Funding (CCBF) which comes from the Medicaid 1115 Waiver for organizations who are interested in providing Health-Related Social Needs (HRSN) benefits for Medicaid transition populations. HRSN benefits include climate devices, housing, and food/nutrition. We submitted applications to 5 different Coordinated Care Organizations (CCOs) to continue building a strong learning collaborative with partners around the state who are interested in becoming HRSN Food/Nutrition Benefit providers. Partners include: Adelante Mujeres (Washington Co.), CSA Partnerships for Health (Multnomah Co.), Familias en Accion (Tri-county), Feed ‘Em Freedom (Multnomah Co.), Feed the Mass (Multnomah Co.), Frontier Veggie Rx/GOBHI (Baker, Gilliam, Harney, Lake, Malheur, Sherman, Wheeler Co.), High Desert Food and Farm Alliance (Deschutes Co.), Lift UP (Multnomah Co.), Marion Polk Food Share (Marion & Polk Co.), Multnomah County Public Health, Thrive Umpqua (Douglas Co.), and Waterfall Community Health Center (Lane Co.).
The funds would allow OCFSN to hire a learning collaborative coordinator, compensate organizations for their participation and sharing of their knowledge in the collaborative, and help organizations navigate the new policy implementation. We should hear back about awards between July-September and this would be 18-month funding. We are grateful to our partners who helped support the project idea. Thank you!
Upcoming Meetings:
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Convening:
Members of the working group had a wonderful time May 30-31 in Corvallis for our annual working group convening! About 35 folks joined to learn about each other's projects, offer guidance and support, vision for a just farming future in Oregon and share stories and comradery over meals and fun tours.
Convening Recording
This is the recording of the first part of the day where working group members shared their projects. The rest of the day was more interactive, so not great for recording, but below are materials from those sessions.
Slideshow
Slides from the highlighted projects presentations can be found here.
OCFSN is starting to work on our new strategic plan and we want to hear from members of this working group. Please complete the quick survey here.
Upcoming Meetings:
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The Community Food Systems at the Legislature Working Group
In August or September the CFS at the Legislature Working group will meet to plan for the upcoming 2025 Legislative Session.
Policy, Engagement, Advocacy and Skills (PEAS) Working Group
This working group is on hold through the summer.
Upcoming Events & Opportunities
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Visit OCFSN's calendar page for details on all the upcoming working group or other OCFSN hosted events.
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OCFSN’s grants board will not be updated for the summer of 2024. If you have a grant to share with the network, please join the relevant listservs and share those opportunities on those lists. For collaborative grant proposal development, please work with your working group. Details on how to join OCFSN listservs can be found - https://ocfsn.org/connected
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OCFSN’s job board will not be updated for the summer of 2024. If you have a job to share with the network, please join the relevant listservs and share those job openings on those lists. Details on how to join OCFSN listservs can be found - https://ocfsn.org/connected
Please reach out to info@ocfsn.org with any questions regarding the content of this or future newsletters. To get email notifications when newsletter issues drop, join our mailing list below.