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| | | | | | “Communities Rising: Thriving Together in a Divided World” by Monte Roulier |
| North Sound Accountable Community of Health Collaborative Action Network convenes under theme of ‘Becoming,’ commitment to Thriving Together ethos and Vital Conditions framework |
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| | Photo credit:
Stacy Wegley, Community Initiatives Network, via National Civic League |
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| “How do we move from systems never intended for everyone to thrive to systems that honor every person’s potential? It begins with everyday people and organizations committing to something larger than themselves, acting as stewards of the common good. Together, stewards work to ensure that everyone, without exception, has the vital conditions they need to flourish.” |
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| In the Spring 2025 issue of the National Civic League’s National Civic Review, Monte Roulier, President of Community Initiatives Network, who also serves as Governance Board Chair of the Center for Good Food Purchasing, highlighted the North Sound Accountable Community of Health (ACH) Collaborative Action Network’s annual convening as a source of strength, resilience, and hope. ”Otto Scharmer reminds us that when systems collapse, people rise,” Roulier writes. “Perhaps even more accurately, when systems break, people rise together in community. History shows that this is precisely how meaningful change occurs: people see something good, something life-affirming and joyful, and they begin to copy it, spreading renewal from small circles outward. “At this critical moment, our deepest longing for connection, wholeness, and love can only be realized together, in community. Our common future depends on it.” |
| | Photo credit: Stacy Wegley, Community Initiatives Network, via National Civic League |
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| Read more
via the National Civic Review, Volume 114, Number 1: |
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| | Job posting: Contract Manager at Center for Good Food Purchasing |
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| The Center for Good Food Purchasing is seeking a Contracts Manager. This full-time role is responsible for managing the lifecycle of all restricted funding and direct revenue contracts, including coordination across all teams, ensuring contractual monitoring and compliance, and maintaining processes and tools that enable staff to effectively manage and perform contractual commitments. 📍Location: Remote within the United States (option to work from our office in Berkeley, CA)
📅 Deadline to apply: Monday, July 7, 2025
🍊 For more information on this opportunity, please see bit.ly/cgfp-contracts-manager |
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| | | | Budget reconciliation package fails farmers, communities |
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| The Center stands with partners including the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) in opposing the budget reconciliation bill approved by the Senate July 1.
“NSAC is deeply disappointed that the Senate has voted to approve a reconciliation bill that ignores the needs of the vast majority of American farmers and the communities they call home while providing billions for programs that only benefit a select few, all at the expense of programs that support nutrition access for hungry people,” said Mike Lavender, NSAC Policy Director. “By excluding farm loans, rural development, new market opportunities, research, and more, the Senate bill chooses to take a narrow view of agriculture.”
TAKE ACTION The Senate-amended bill now returns to the House of Representatives, where a version passed in May by just one vote and a final vote is expected to take place shortly. Contact your member of Congress to voice your opposition.
STAY TUNED For analysis of the full budget reconciliation bill, stay tuned to the NSAC blog. |
| | | | | Good Food California Procurement Calendar bridges farm-to-institutions gap |
| The Good Food Purchasing California collaborative continues to advance Good Food Purchasing across the state through strategic partnerships, advocacy efforts, technical assistance, and other interwoven approaches. Center Director of Institutional Impact Molly Riordan recently presented the Good Food California Procurement Calendar at the Southwest Regional Food Business Center All Partner Meeting, highlighting a new resource developed by the Center and its Good Food Purchasing California partners to address a common barrier to developing farm-to-institution relationships: knowing when solicitations like bids, RFPs, and small order purchases for food are announced by public institutions. This calendar can be used by good food vendors and suppliers to identify what goods and services institutions contract for, and can help them plan to submit a bid or proposal in advance. Additionally, this calendar can be used by technical assistance providers and value chain coordinators to identify potential matches between farms, food hubs, or values-based distributors and Good Food Purchasing Program-enrolled institutions. |
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| | This resource will be updated regularly on our website, goodfoodpurchasing.org, under the Resources tab (see Technical Assistance + Set Goals in the “Support at Each Phase” page section). If you have additional solicitation information to add, please contact us. |
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| | | GFPP headlines, appearances, & announcements |
| ICYMI: In Case You Missed It |
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| | “The importance of food equity and food justice are becoming increasingly major issues in Buffalo. Recently, a food forum was held, where mayoral candidates James Gardner (R), Anthony Tyson-Thompson (D), Michael Gainer (I), and Sean Ryan (D) all weighed in on the topic. Democratic candidates Chris Scanlon, Garnell Whitfield, and Rasheed Wyatt were unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts (but they did submit statements).
“The standing room only event, which was held at the Northland Workforce Training Center, centered around the candidates’ plans to support urban agriculture, access to vacant lots, food chain workers, youth employment, and healthy food retail outlets.”
Read more via Buffalo Rising |
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| | RELATED READING:
GOOD FOOD BUFFALO COALITION
“Community food systems are crucial to the health, economy, and environment of the City of Buffalo. The future Mayor of Buffalo can leverage the City's food systems to generate jobs, reduce health-related expenditures, and improve the environment.
“The following community fair food access policy priorities for the City of Buffalo are derived from the results of Good Food Buffalo Coalition-hosted community listening sessions, reports written by the University at Buffalo’s Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab, and policy research conducted by the Coalition’s member organizations and close partners from across Buffalo. In total, over 50 organizations and 250 individuals participated in the listening sessions and research that gave rise to these policy priorities.” |
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| | | | MOVE EAT GIVE podcast by Interrupt Hunger: Revolutionary School Lunches!
Registered Dietitian Marissa Bell reveals Lake Travis Independent School District’s game-changing strategies to transform school food, including local food hubs delivering farm-fresh ingredients, strategic pricing making healthy choices cheaper than junk food, and hydroponic lettuce growing right next to lunch lines. |
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| | | Better Food Policy Fund Rapid Response Grant Program
The Better Food Policy Fund exists to support food policy councils – local, regional, or tribal groups who are working in the US to effect better food policy through civic collaboration. Despite the fact that food policy councils are often small and volunteer-led, they play a critical and outsized role in advancing progressive food policy in their communities. However, food policy councils often lack the financial resources to weather unexpected challenges.
The BFPF Rapid Response Grant program provides timely and responsive support to food policy councils facing unexpected funding challenges or revenue loss that impacts their work.
Grantees may ask for up to $15,000 in unrestricted funding to respond to an urgent need or critical threat facing their Council.
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| | Real Food Media 2024 Impact Report
In a beautiful Impact Report highlighting their work during 2024 with grassroots organizations, national coalitions, and international alliances, Real Food Media details three interconnected areas of focus: movement partnerships, community engagement, and storytelling through design.
“As always, we extend our gratitude to all our partners, funders, teachers, creatives, and comrades who make the path by walking it alongside us, our machetes wielded against the thick underbrush, with reverence for the untamable wilderness. Some of those partners are featured in the report that follows.
“Now is the time for a calm but dedicated ferocity and we will summon it together— not just for food system transformation, but for an expansive vision of solidarity and care in which good food is an integral pillar.” Tanya, Christina, and Tiffani Real Food Media |
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| | | WEBINAR - Food Hubs: Increasing Market Opportunities for Farmers, Ranchers, and Food Producers |
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| July 16, 3-4 p.m. PT During the USDA Southwest Regional Food Business Center‘s next quarterly webinar, speakers from the University of Nevada, Reno and Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program will spotlight the planning process of food hub programs to fulfill market gaps for small and mid-sized growers, as well as the need fulfill this gap. The webinar will also discuss a learning network based approach to technical assistance, in order to support collaborative learning and information sharing for and among food hubs across an entire state. This webinar series is free and open for all to attend. The series provides attendees with the opportunity to learn more about the Southwest Regional Food Business Center and partner-led initiatives related to business development and capacity assistance for local producers, farmers, and ranchers. |
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