FFN Regular Business Meeting

January 21, 2015 – Traverse Area District Library

Also Live Streamed Using Zoom Meetings

1. Welcome/Introductions

2. Grants
   1. Susan – Working on a special project funded by Kellogg and the Center for Regional Food Systems. Working with 3 regional food development systems to test out strategies and loan product to reach farmers of color. Shreveport, California, and North Carolina. Goal of the project is to develop a case study on how to include farmers of color in the design of loan products, land linking, land acquisition, foreclosure issues, etc.
   2. Food and Farm assessment came up with collective projections. Priorities and grant seeking meeting following the Small Farms Conf. Looking for partners! Would like to collaborate, no reason for isolation. Contact Sharon May with ideas – lakestoland.org
   3. Lakes to Land Initiative – Connected with 18 regions of government to collectively work on their master plan. Allows us to look at collective priorities of Manistee and Benzie County.   Farm viability projects are a top priority in the region.
   4. ISLAND RMA Grant in collaboration with NCMC to do work on Farmers Markets.
   5. Local Food Alliance in collaboration with Petoskey/Harbor Springs looking for funding Food Hub Coordinator for the region.
   6. Regional Conservation Partnership Program for the Lake MI Fruit Belt (CRA, Tribe, Leelanau Conservancy, GT Conservancy, GTCD) did not receive their grant.
   7. Acme Millage Extension on their ag land farmland conservation protected land
   8. Farmer and Rancher Development Grant? Is anyone pursuing this? Contact Brian Bourdages
3. Project Team Reports
   1. Summit / 2020 Goal –
   2. Measurement Conversation – Report / Definitions
   3. Summit – DATE CHANGE – MARCH 13 – Art Exhibit, Sombrero Verde, Inside Out Gallery, Similar Approach to last year.
   4. Institutional Goal –
4. Diane is sick for official report
5. Heather – Kelly Lively’s report showed local sales tripled locally, new organizations exist… these reports are going to be fun, what we’re doing is working.
   1. Ag Bus Report
6. Mark Coe – Surveyed 9 places local farm markets, about history, growth. Objective is to show newer farm markets growth potential in comparison to large family farms/markets growth potential, find space for collaboration.
7. Rick Gleason from the Farm Bureau will be joining the Network and has some really cool ideas.
   1. Food Equity
8. Kris is helping to provide a cross over for us, to connect our network with this goal. Following the study that was released and presented in December, they began looking for partners for a food security council. Asset Mapping has begun of available resources, with the help of Tom Emling. Next meeting is February 12th, 1pm at Michigan Works. to hear update on asset map, collective impact, and forward movement for a Food Security Council – benziesunriserotary.org
9. Sharon – Room for collaboration now that both of these wonderful studies have been completed. Join us at Jan 27th at 10:00 at Benzie Resource Center
   1. Farmland Preservation
10. Brian – Committee met and created a list of categories that could be measured to illustrate this goal:
    1. Temporary and Permanently Preserved Farmland
    2. Land that goes through the PA116
    3. Ag Census Information
    4. Affordability – tracking assessments
    5. Compare protected land, with land use of unprotected land
    6. Zoning Initiatives

1. Goal is that a year from now there could be numbers attached to those categories. Conservancy is hoping to acquire an intern to help collect that data (among other things)
   1. Measurement – See below
2. Movement towards measurement is definition of terms – we’ve been pushing the Good Food Charter to ask similar questions to be defined statewide. Their report will help us to define questions like are we measuring pounds, dollars, cases, etc…
3. Definitions
   1. Food – Any nutritious substance that people eat or drink in order to maintain life and growth.
      1. Define nutritious.
      2. Org. Latin

• Maintain life or growth… at a certain age we should not aspire to growth. Replace and with or.

1. Caution to even define the word. Response that definition is not needed universally, instead to help us measure our goals effectively

1. Institution: Schools, Hospitals, Colleges, Universities, and other large employers or facility operators with a food service component.
   1. Adult foster care?
   2. reverse. add such as
2. Agribusiness: The businesses collectively associated with production, processing, and distribution of agricultural products.
   1. Retail Sales addition
3. Access: The ability to procure something readily with few physical, economic, or intellectual barriers
   1. relative ability? this definition defines good access… remove few?
4. Affordable: The purchase and/or acquisition of a product or service matching the resource capability of the buyer.
   1. no comments
5. Sustainable: The ability to maintain something continually at a certain rate or level without detriment to someone or something.
   1. COMMENT VIA EMAIL
6. Movement to close the conversation during the meeting. One month comment period open via email discussion. Conversation will be opened to make comments through the lens of defining these terms through the lens of measurement. Final Definitions displayed at Summit

5. State of the Ag Region Report
   1. 47 reports submitted. Report will be organized by goal. Photo/Charts will be included in report.
   2. MLUI received a gift in the name of the Network, to print the report. $600 to pay for reports at Summit. Extra copies can be paid for by our partners.
   3. Numbers/Charts – no consistency requested, but hopefully this can help us find the consistencies
6. See you at the Small Farms Conference – Adjourn