News
Local Foods, Local Places communities
26 communities across the country have been selected to participate in Local Foods, Local Places, and a federal initiative providing technical support to integrate local food systems into community economic action plans. The 26 Local Foods, Local Places communities were chosen from among 316 applicants. The initiative is jointly funded at $800,000.
Under this effort, a team of agricultural, transportation, environmental, public health and regional economic experts will work directly with the communities to develop specifically identified local food projects.
Project proposals include repurposing vacant land into local food production, developing year-round retail markets for local food products, and establishing food hubs to increase local food supply chains.
The 26 communities are:
Alabama
Tuskegee, Alabama will receive technical assistance to pursue a plan for economic
development and food security through downtown revitalization and regional marketing
initiatives.
Arizona
Ajo, Arizona will receive technical assistance to develop and implement an action plan
promoting local foods and entrepreneurship in order to create an economically vibrant
community.
Arkansas
The Flippin School District in Flippin, Arkansas will receive technical assistance to
transition chronically empty properties adjacent to the high school parking lot into a
farmers market.
The Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub and the community of North Little Rock,
Arkansas will receive technical assistance to create a Regional Food Innovation Center.
The center will increase downtown development opportunities by supporting food
entrepreneurs and creating a market for local rural farmers.
Osceola, Arkansas will receive technical assistance to connect the downtown historic
district with local food opportunities.
California
The Youth Policy Institute in Los Angeles, California will receive technical assistance to
create a community-supported agriculture program that can improve the health of lowincome
residents by increasing access to local foods, boost economic opportunities for
farmers and producers in the region, and help revitalize distressed neighborhoods.
Kentucky
Barbourville, Kentucky will receive technical assistance to expand its current farmers
market into a permanent facility where local farmers, gardeners, crafters, entrepreneurs,
and consumers can interact and local community organizations can meet.
Hazard, Kentucky will receive technical assistance to establish and sustain the Eastern
Kentucky Food and Farm Hub, a local food aggregation and distribution center located
in the downtown that will serve the area within a 50-mile radius.
Louisiana
Lafayette, Louisiana will receive technical assistance to develop rural-urban
partnerships with neighboring parishes to support a regional food alliance that can
improve the regional economy, public health, and sustainability.
The Friends of Lafitte Corridor in New Orleans, Louisiana will receive technical
assistance to create a permanent farmers market structure on its site, where farmers
and gardeners growing food along the Lafitte Greenway can sell their harvest several
times a week.
Maine
Unity, Maine will receive technical assistance to create a more connected, walkable
community; better market the community’s agricultural character; and create a local
food system that serves all residents.
Mississippi
Clarksdale, Mississippi will receive technical assistance to develop a job training
program based on vegetable farming and community gardens that will supply food for a
farmers market and a café.
Itta Bena, Mississippi will receive technical assistance to create a permanent grocery
store and lasting local food network.
Missouri
Jefferson City, Missouri will receive technical assistance to increase access to locally
grown food and products in a way that supports local farmers and businesses and helps
to make the downtown a vibrant neighborhood.
Nevada
The Churchill Economic Development Authority in Fallon, Nevada will receive technical
assistance to create a local foods hub in an abandoned grocery store in the historic
downtown.
New York
Canton, New York will receive technical assistance to build a robust, equitable, and
environmentally sound local food system that can help downtown revitalization efforts.
North Carolina
Rocky Mount, North Carolina will receive technical assistance to explore opportunities to
establish a new farmers market in an economically challenged part of the city, and to
develop urban community gardens on former brownfield sites and FEMA buyout lots
and nearby affordable housing developments.
Oklahoma
The Choctaw Nation in Idabel, Oklahoma will receive technical assistance to showcase
local food with nutrition education in conjunction with the creation of a downtown
farmers market.
Ohio
Youngstown, Ohio will receive technical assistance to integrate its local food activities
into the larger neighborhood revitalization efforts currently underway in the city.
Pennsylvania
The Rodale Institute will receive technical assistance to create a strategic plan to
transform Allentown, Pennsylvania into an urban agricultural center that includes a citywide
network of community gardens, farmers markets, and programming to promote
healthy living and eating.
Forest County, Pennsylvania will receive technical assistance to connect its downtown
revitalization efforts in Tionesta and Marienville with the county’s rich agricultural
heritage.
Tennessee
Tracy City, Tennessee will receive technical assistance to develop a comprehensive,
cohesive regional plan for economic stability that connects organizations and
stakeholders involved in the region’s local food economy.
Texas
Vinton, Texas will receive technical assistance to create the Village of Vinton Farmers’
market and Community Garden. By creating a physical space where Vinton residents
can interact and gain access to fresh, locally produced food, the Village of Vinton will
take the first steps in a multi-phase plan toward more economic opportunities for
residents in the region.
West Virginia
Wheeling, West Virginia will receive technical assistance to develop historic Vineyard
Hill into a productive public asset and to transform Wheeling into a regional hub for local
food.
Williamson, West Virginia will receive technical assistance to establish a Health
Innovation Hub that brings local foods to market to improve the health of residents while
building a vibrant local economy.
Wisconsin
Loyal, Wisconsin will receive technical assistance to help the Loyal Farmer’s Plaza
How can we receive technical assistance for our parish (East Feliciana Parish) in Louisiana? Explain technical assistance?