Subject: [permaculture] Gates and Kellogg Foundations Join Forces in Support of Local Food Enterprises
Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:46:34 -0500
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.