Market Farming

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http://foodroutes.org/press/article.jsp?item=3
FoodRoutes Network Launches National Initiative to Promote Locally Grown
Foods
Buy Local Campaign
April 20, 2002


MILLHEIM, Pa – FoodRoutes Network announces partnerships with 10
community-based nonprofit organizations from across the country to nurture
strong regional markets for locally grown foods. Each organization will
create and implement a “Buy Local” marketing campaign that will help
bridge the gaps between community farmers and consumers.

The 10 organizations chosen are dedicated to transforming the current food
system into one that is sustainable and capable of serving future
generations. They are as follows:

Alternative Energy Resources Organization, Helena, MT
Baton Rouge Economic and Agricultural Development Alliance, Baton Rouge, LA

Community Alliance with Family Farmers, Santa Cruz, CA
Eat Local Foods Coalition (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners
Association), Unity, ME
Ecotrust, Portland, OR
Land Stewardship Project, White Bear Lake, MN
Michigan Integrated Food and Farming Systems, East Lansing, MI
Mountain Partners in Agriculture, Marshall, NC
Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Millheim, PA
Practical Farmers of Iowa, Ames, IA
“These organizations are an obvious choice for this new initiative,”
said Timothy Bowser, Executive Director of FoodRoutes Network. “We
believe their commitment to local agriculture will ultimately lead to
vibrant, community-based farming and food systems that are ecologically
sound, economically viable, and socially responsible,” he added.

The Buy Local campaigns will utilize lessons learned from the “Be a Local
Hero, Buy Locally Grown” effort, supported by FoodRoutes Network and
implemented by Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture, a nonprofit
organization in Amherst, MA dedicated to sustaining agriculture in Western
Massachusetts. In an independent evaluation, 78 percent of the area
residents polled recalled the Local Hero campaign. Of those, 65 percent
reported that the campaign influenced them to buy locally grown food.
Further, 70 percent of participating farmers reported increased sales after
the campaign began.

FoodRoutes Network was established in 1997 to foster and promote
sustainable food systems in critical regions of the United States by using
state-of-the-art communications techniques and public policy innovations.
In 2000, FoodRoutes Network became a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization
focused on impacting the public policy arena, generating marketplace
opportunities, and stimulating partnerships around sustainable food
systems.