Two years in review: National food systems certification next steps

Food systems practitioners are involved in a variety of activities related to local and regional food systems across the country ranging from increasing food access to developing new markets for producers. This article shares insights from two foundational courses developed by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach to support individual skill development as well as community process for strategic planning in food systems. In 2016, Local Food Leader certification was developed in Iowa to address needs for skills in equity, leadership, evaluation and facilitation. Following these workshops, and due to successful implementation of the Community Food Systems process (formerly Agricultural Urbanism Toolkit), the Food Systems team received funding through the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center to develop two certification programs: Local Food Leader (LFL) and Community Food Systems (CFS) to launch nationally. They were piloted with 14 state partners between 2018-2019 as blended delivery platforms of in-person workshops followed by online modules. Local Food Leader had a total of 429 participants and Community Food Systems had a total of 297 participants. Local Food Leader certification continued to build on its initial emphases of individual skills and Community Food Systems emphasized a process-based framework for food systems development transferable to any community to enhance their place-based food system. Multi-disciplinary audiences participated in each certification, including Land-Grant Extension agents, businesses and non-profit with the goal to provide training related to place-based development for food systems. Additionally, train-the-trainers for both certifications were developed for certified partners to offer the certifications in their own communities and create place-based capacity for development and outlets for revenue generation. This paper will review each certification and how they support food systems practitioners. It will highlight the curriculum development process, successes and challenges and evolution based on evaluation. Changes to the curriculum and new standards for teaching will be shared in hopes to provide considerations to colleagues considering new curriculum development. Last, it will detail the impact the certifications can have on community and opportunities for continuing certification work through COVID-19

The Agricultural Urbanism Toolkit: Using Health and Wellness to Create New Urban Infrastructures

Poverty, obesity, and vacant land are characteristics of neighborhoods lacking adequate access to healthy, affordable food, frequently referred to as “food deserts” or “food swamps” (USDA, 2013). While small-scale local food efforts such as community gardens are often present in these areas, they are often isolated and not connected to systems including production, processing, and distribution. The Agricultural Urbanism Toolkit links these aspects of agricultural systems with underutilized spatial assets and local food efforts to create more comprehensive healthy food systems. This paper presents results from the first year of the Toolkit

Food systems practitioner and education resource database

This report shares insights from The Food Systems Practitioner and Education Resource Database that was created in 2021 through a cooperative agreement with USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) in partnership with nine different organizations as a second phase of the Food Systems Core Competency project. The database aims to highlight and bring awareness to partner networks, educational resources, and food systems practitioners. It serves as an identification tool for individual to find mentors, peers, and learning opportunities related to personal and professional growth desires. This paper will review the database and its potential uses, profile types and network engagement opportunities

Grant, Monroe

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Page, John

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/pohp/1008/thumbnail.jp

Herman, Mikell

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/pohp/1004/thumbnail.jp

Part 1: Brackish Groundwater Desalination Technical Report

This Brackish Groundwater Desalination Technical Report examines the legal frameworks that affect desalination in Texas. The goal of this report is to provide insight into the legal and regulatory barriers, challenges, and opportunities for these technologies to go online. Each desalination implementation site has to find ways of complying with various laws and regulations. The information in this Report comes from the study of brackish groundwater desalination facilities currently operating in Texas, as well as extensive research into available literature and documents from various agencies. While there is no updated “one-stop-shop” resource that provides detailed information on all the necessary permits to build, operate, and maintain such facilities, this Technical Report aims to compile the existing, available information in an organized and accessible fashion. The Brackish Groundwater Desalination Technical Report is the first of three reports that make up the work product of a project undertaken by students at Texas A&M University School of Law in a select capstone seminar. These reports examine regulations surrounding desalination and water recycling. The companion report entitled Water Recycling Technical Report highlights building, operating, and monitoring requirements for water recycling facilities in Texas. Finally, the Case Study Report expands on regulations in San Antonio and El Paso where these water alternatives are in place