Examples of Food Day activities by external partners

Puget Sound Food Network

Real Food. Real Change. [Photo Credit: Matt Wyatt]

Photo courtesy by: Matt Wyatt

Puget Sound Food Network (PSFN) is a project of the nonprofit Northwest Agriculture Business Center (a registered 501(c)(3). We focus on the business of farming--the work we do enhances the profitability and sustainability of family farms by providing innovative and multi-layered market facilitation solutions to help all scales of producers achieve a more secure future. Since inception, PSFN has facilitated direct sales between institutions and local producers, and the opportunities for working together are growing. PSFN is also part of a CDC-funded CPPW partnership led by Seattle Human Services Aging and Disability called Farm to Table to enhance the nutrition and health of some of our community's most vulnerable individuals: limited-access seniors and children. PSFN is developing a sustainable and affordable supply chain bringing fresh, local, affordable produce directly from growers to senior meal programs and low-income childcare centers, while opening up new marketing channels for farms to sell direct and get a fair price for their products.

For Food Day, PSFN is lending its expertise in regional farm-to-institution market relationships to students and foodservice staff at the University of Washington, one of the most exemplary universities in the nation when it comes to "Real Food." UW students involved in the Real Food Challenge will be hosting a showing of the films Carbon Nation and Zero Waste, then leading a discussion about how to affect environmental change through institutional food service.

To learn more about all the great projects PSFN is supporting, visit: www.psfn.org

Washington State Department of Agriculture, Farm To Institution projects

Magaña Farms delivered fresh vegetables and fruit to the Kent School District on Oct. 4, 2011.

Washington State Department of Agriculture, through its Office of Compliance and Outreach, supports links between farms and food service providers around the state to increase the purchase of Washington-grown food for schools and other institutions. An education and outreach team provide information and resources to Washington farms and schools to reduce market barriers and assist with food safety and regulatory compliance. Communities benefit by having fresh, healthy, seasonal food for children and seniors, as well as by strengthened relationships and food system networks in the region.

Using federal grants and local partnerships like the CPPW projects with Public Health - Seattle & King County, WSDA is able to pilot projects to learn best practices that can be shared around the state. WSDA staff work closely with Kent School District to assess opportunities, educate staff and source Washington-grown foods for their snack and meal programs. Students there have enjoyed over 6500 pounds of Washington-grown produce in the 2011 summer meals program and the early weeks of this school year, including apricots, blueberries, peaches, plums, multi-colored sweet peppers, Asian pears, and apples, corn. These purchases represented new purchasing relationships with four Washington farms.

For more information about this work, visit: www.wafarmtoschool.org

Healthy Foods Here

A partnership between Seattle Office of Economic Development, Urban Food Link, the University of Washington, and Public Health, Healthy Foods Here provides business support to small grocers in south Seattle and South King County to improve access to healthy foods. The program offers capital or loans for equipment, signage and displays, marketing, produce inventory improvement, business management, and more. More than 25 stores have been engaged in the program so far and are helping to improve neighborhood availability of fresh, affordable foods, while making a healthier business approach for stores.

To learn more, visit: www.healthyfoodshere.com

University of Washington NW Center for Excellence in Media and Boys and Girls Clubs of King County

University of Washington NW Center for Excellence in Media and Boys and Girls Clubs of King County

Soda Sucks So Save Your Bucks is the title for a media contest being held this October by the Boys & Girls Clubs of King County. The title was selected by a teen board representing 5 target area Clubs in King County. Members of all Clubs across King County are invited to voice their opinions about the contest theme using their medium of choice, whether it's video, digital art, anti-ads, comics, photos, a rap or a song. Entries will be shared via the Boys & Girls Clubs' virtual meeting place, the Media Clubhouse. Following the contest's closing date, October 31st, visitors to the site will be asked to vote for their favorite entries; the winner will be announced in early November.

The contest is part of a youth-led campaign that is gathering momentum within the Clubs. Behind the entertaining videos, anti-ads, raps and other media pieces members have been creating for their Media Clubhouse is a serious youth-led campaign to raise awareness about the importance of making healthy food choices. The Clubs' Media Clubhouse website is one component of this campaign. Teen presenters and staff at target area Clubs have been working to engage their members in media literacy-based activities intended to encourage everyone to take a critical second look at the kinds of food choices they're making and the role marketing of foods high in sugar, fat and salt plays in some of these choices. Boys & Girls Club teens and staff and the UW's NW Center for Excellence in Media Literacy who are leading the Clubs' campaign efforts acknowledge that changing eating habits is not easy. Asking members to eliminate sodas and energy drinks from their diets and helping them understand why this is so important is however considered an achievable goal for everyone as a critical first step in learning to make healthy food choices.