permaculture

[Brent McMillan <brent@gp.org>]

Gates and Kellogg Foundations Join Forces in Support of Local Food 
Enterprises

Contact:
Cari Beth Head, CBHead@winrock.org or 703 525 9430 ext. 674
Communications Manager for the Community Food Enterprise Initiative at 
Wallace Center

ARLINGTON, Virginia (February 15, 2008) – In a joint funding venture 
between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg 
Foundation, the Wallace Center at Winrock International, in partnership 
with the Training & Development Corporation (TDC), has launched a 
$400,000 project showcasing locally-owned food enterprises from around 
the globe.

Leading the effort to document successful strategies for small- and 
medium-scale community-based enterprises are John Fisk, director of the 
Wallace Center, and Michael Shuman, author and vice president for 
enterprise development at TDC.

The project, Community Food Enterprise: Local Success in a Global 
Marketplace, builds on evidence worldwide that local ownership is a 
fundamental building block for long-term prosperity—and that market 
shifts in favor of local food offer small farmers and other 
entrepreneurs a promising new path to economic security. Project 
highlights include a practitioner’s guide featuring 24 case studies of 
successful locally-owned food enterprises, as well as an online resource 
center for community development through locally owned food enterprises. 
A DC-area launch event is also scheduled for Fall 2008.

Community Food Enterprise will combine the Wallace Center’s expertise in 
the field of triple-bottom-line agriculture, where success is based on 
environmental, social and financial performance--with Mr. Shuman’s 
field-leading research on locally-based economic development. Mr. 
Shuman, the project’s primary analyst, is the author of a number of 
respected books on the subject, including Going Local: Creating 
Self-Reliant Communities in a Global Age and The Small-Mart Revolution.

And as Dr. Fisk explains, “Local ownership and local food, together, 
offer communities significant opportunities for building a sustainable 
future, one that operates on a triple bottom line of social, 
environmental, and economic benefits.”

A growing body of literature highlights the importance of local 
ownership for economic development. Compared to non-local businesses, 
locally-owned enterprises generally produce more community wealth by 
spending more money at home, build stability by staying put for the long 
term, contribute to rising labor and environmental standards by adapting 
to new expectations more readily, and foster greater community 
resilience by reinforcing political participation and entrepreneurship. 
Community Food Enterprise will be a key tool in helping practitioners 
build and strengthen local food enterprises.

“We are pleased to be partnering with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation on 
this project, which will provide practical lessons and models of what it 
takes to build locally-owned, vibrant and viable food systems that reach 
and work for the smallholder farmer, not just in the US, but also in 
Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. This work will provide a mechanism to 
share experiences and test new ideas,” said Melissa Ho, Associate 
Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is supporting this work as part of its Food 
and Society initiative. The initiative is focused on supporting 
thoughtful interaction with the global food system to ensure that it 
provides all segments of society a safe, affordable, nutritious, and 
fair food supply.

"When locally-owned food enterprises produce food that is healthy, 
green, fair, and affordable, they are embodying what we call 'good 
food'," says Kellogg Foundation Program Director Ricardo Salvador, "and 
we're pleased to be working with the Gates Foundation to highlight the 
ways in which 'good food' can positively impact our society's most 
vulnerable members."

Community Food Enterprise will help move communities toward that ‘good 
food’ future by offering strategies that market forces support, while 
providing positive social and environmental outcomes for communities.

According to Dr. Fisk, “This project will find the best examples of 
community owned food enterprises worldwide and analyze why they work and 
how others can make them work.”

To learn more about Community Food Enterprise, or to sign up for project 
updates, please contact Cari Beth Head, Communications Manager for 
Community Food Enterprise at Wallace Center: CBHead@winrock.org or 
703-525-9430 ext. 674.

You may also visit the project website: Community Food Enterprise

Wallace Center at Winrock International was established in 1983 to 
increase opportunities for small and mid-size agriculture through 
sustainability. Today the Center’s research, policy analysis, 
educational outreach, and leadership development is focused on 
market-based strategies for sustainable food systems; that is, food 
production, processing, and marketing that builds social, environmental, 
and economic health. Winrock International is a nonprofit organization, 
with main offices in Little Rock, AR and Arlington, VA, which works with 
people in the United States and around the world to increase economic 
opportunity, sustain natural resources, and protect the environment.

Training & Development Corporation (TDC) is a national not-for-profit 
think tank, design shop, and management company founded in 1975 to 
improve the performance of people and institutions in the economy. TDC’s 
work is animated by two ideas: sustainable employability and global 
community capitalism. It designs innovative solutions to the problems 
individuals, families, and communities face as they pursue economic 
well-being. TDC designs are tested in action every day in urban and 
rural settings, among people of a wide range of ages, performance 
capabilities, in residential and non-residential environments, here and 
abroad.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, Bill & Melinda 
Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive 
lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health 
and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme 
poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all 
people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the 
opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, 
the foundation is led by CEO Patty Stonesifer and co-chair William H. 
Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

W.K. Kellogg Foundation

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930 “to help people help 
themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources 
to improve their quality of life and that of future generations." To 
achieve the greatest impact, the Foundation targets its grants toward 
specific areas. These include: health; food systems and rural 
development; youth and education; and philanthropy and volunteerism. 
Within these areas, attention is given to exploring learning 
opportunities in leadership; information and communication technology; 
capitalizing on diversity; and social and economic community development.

1621 North Kent Street, Suite 1200 Arlington, Virginia 22209-2134
P: 703.525.9430 F: 703.525.1744 www.wallacecenter.org
©The Wallace Center, 2008