December 27th, 2016

Our email blasts have a new look! Please be patient with us as we find our footing with the new technology. We hope that it will be a better way to communicate with you and manage our contact list.

Our next meeting will be held January 26, 2017 from 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Central Time. We have an awesome line up of speakers that will share their expertise on habitat restoration, child nutrition, food hubs and mobile food deliveries.

Also, below you'll find links to recent news, resources and grant opportunities. Please see below for details.
What is GoodGreens?

GoodGreens is a collaboration facilitated by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service Midwest Region to share resources and best practices that support sustainable local foods production and increase consumption of healthy, locally grown foods. GoodGreens meetings are held monthly in person at the USDA Midwest Regional Office in downtown Chicago and via conference call.

Interested in a specific topic or speaker at a future GoodGreens meeting? Please email alan.shannon@fns.usda.gov to let us know!

January 26 Meeting Agenda

  1. Noel Bielaczyc, Food Hub & Meat Value Chain Specialist at Michigan State University, will talk about his work coordinating the Michigan Food Hub Network. 
  2. Krista Kirkham, Assistant Aquatic Ecologist, The Nature Conservancy, will talk about the organization’s agricultural conservation work in central Illinois, focusing on cover crops, constructed wetlands, and habitat restoration on the Franklin Research and Demonstration Farm in Lexington, Illinois. The Conservancy also conducts outreach to the local agricultural community about opportunities and programs for farmers/landowners interested in conservation agriculture.
  3. Michelle Horovitz, Appetite for Change, will talk about her organization’s work to build health, wealth, and social change in North Minneapolis using food. The organization works through multiple avenues, including sponsoring food-related workshops, urban agriculture, providing high-quality kitchen spaces, and training youth in a number of food-related skills. 
  4. Chicago’s Urban Canopy will share information on the business’ work to establish and grow farmers markets in food deserts in Chicago. During the past year, its efforts resulted in major increases in SNAP, Senior Farmers Market and Farmers Market Nutrition Program redemptions. 
  5. Stephanie Folkens, Director of Programs at Common Threads, will share tools and resources from her organization’s evidence based global cooking and nutrition programs for pre-K through 8th grade students. The featured resource will be its newest online learning platform for nutrition and cooking, www.commonbytes.org.  Common Bytes, is an interactive web application for children to explore healthy recipes and behaviors. Common Threads provides cooking and nutrition education for schoolchildren, teachers, and families to cook healthy and economic meals. 
  6. Sherrie Tussler, Executive Director at Hunger Task Force, will share information about the partnership between her organization and Roundy’s on the Fresh Picks Mobile Market. The Market, which recently leveraged the USDA Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive grant program, sells 40+ seasonal fruits and vegetables and 10+ high-demand meat and dairy items (no canned items or processed foods) through a NASCAR trailer and fifth-wheel pickup truck styled as a grocery store to targeted low-income Milwaukee County neighborhoods with limited access to fresh and healthy foods. The Market is paired with the Commodity Supplemental Food Program and SNAP Outreach and accepts debit cards, credit cards, and SNAP benefits. 
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    How To Attend Meetings

    We will send additional information, including call-in (to hear presenters) and Live Meeting (to view presentations) closer to the meeting date. 


     
    News, Resource, Grants and More...
    (click on the links below to see more)