Source: THE CORPORATION FOR FINDLAY MARKET OF CINCINNATI submitted to
CULTIVATING HEALTHY ENTREPRENEURS AND FARMERS
 
PROJECT DIRECTOR: Pickford, R. Brown, C.
 
PERFORMING ORGANIZATION
(N/A)
THE CORPORATION FOR FINDLAY MARKET OF CINCINNATI
CINCINNATI,OH 45250
 
NON TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Food insecurity, whether related to actual food insufficiency, nutritional quality, or anxiety about a future lack of food, affects the quality of life of urban residents in far reaching ways. Community-based food systems can successfully utilize public markets like Findlay Market to be the very centerpiece of a local food system, helping to drive customer demand and to catalyze local production. The Corporation for Findlay Market recognizes the potential in urban farming and youth gardening. Urban farming is an essential tool that addresses the significant social, economic, public health, and environmental costs of our current food system. Environmental stewardship is enhanced through efforts to green our city and to reduce the carbon footprint of a food system where the average bite of food currently travels 1,400 miles to get to your table. Economic development and community revitalization are also achieved when neighborhoods take new pride in a community garden, when inner-city residents gain the ability to grow and market their own food, when our farmers market provides new opportunities for entrepreneurs and commercial farmers. Individual health and a new sense of empowerment and well-being are created when urban dwellers have access to local food and grater control over their own food system. The Cultivating Healthy Entrepreneurs and Farmers project and the Findlay Market Farmers Market are perhaps the most visible and viable means in Greater Cincinnati to achieve a better balance between efficiency on one hand and healthy urban-rural connections and wholesome diets on the other. We will expand the ECO Garden after-school program, where 8-10 youth ages 12-18 will learn from a proven curriculum about sustainable urban agriculture, food systems from production to consumption, micro-enterprise, and community leadership; and they will gain practical business experience in a student-run, for-profit fresh food business at Findlay Market. We will recruit, train and mentor 8-10 new urban farmers in order to expand the local, seasonal, cost-competitive supply and distribution network of fresh foods in our region. Farmers will remediate and cultivate privately and city-owned vacant lots and sell their produce and value-added products at the Findlay Market farmers' market and at other farmers' markets in our region. We will implement the action-oriented agenda of the Cincinnati Food Congress, a broad community network of food system stakeholders, to influence food production, distribution, consumption, and policy in the greater Cincinnati area. The CHEF project integrates economic, social, and environmental impacts through its job training activities for youth; entrepreneurial opportunities for low-income families in our urban core; and the coalition-building and outreach of the Cincinnati Food Congress. It promotes urban agriculture as a powerful instrument for building community food security and increasing economic development in Cincinnati.
 
OBJECTIVES: Project goals: Increase access to affordable and nutritious foods As proper nutrition has proven effective in building healthy families and assuring greater success in education and employment, there is a critical need to increase access to nutritious foods in Cincinnati's poorest neighborhoods. Improve the health of children and adults through better nutrition Widespread poor nutritional status among lower-income families endangers the cognitive, social, and physical development of these children. Support local farms and entrepreneurs and sustain the environment As demand for locally-grown food swells, a broad range of alternative production and marketing methods will capture this expanding market. Contribute to the revitalization of the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood in Cincinnati. Over-the-Rhine is clearly a "shifting sands" neighborhood - a community in the throes of a gradual economic decline - undergoing a period of attempted regeneration. As the neighborhood attempts to revitalize (often by external forces) the CHEF project will proactively help to prevent the displacement of its poorer residents and encourage positive social and economic integration and identity-building. Our outcomes are: Expand the student-managed food market at Findlay Market. In the ECO-Garden after-school program, approximately ten youth ages 12-18 will learn from a proven curriculum about sustainable urban agriculture, food systems from production to consumption, micro-enterprise, and community leadership; and they will gain practical business experience in a student-run, for-profit fresh food market. The youth gardening project will increase the competencies and qualities needed to be successful in life and work, including a hands-on approach to learning, making it easier for many students to master skills and concepts involving math, reading and writing. Train, equip and mentor 6-10 new urban farmers to participate at the Findlay Market farmers market and at other farmers markets in our region in order to expand the local, seasonal, cost-competitive supply and distribution network of fresh foods to meet the growing demand for it in our region. Participants will gain entrepreneurial business skills while contributing to the economic development of an impoverished neighborhood. Work with the Cincinnati Food Congress, a broad community network of food system stakeholders, to implement its action agenda to address food security issues and opportunities to improve the production, distribution and consumption within our food system. Specifically, we will update the "Food Ventures Center at Findlay Market" plan prepared by the Cincinnati Business Incubator and the City of Cincinnati Department of Economic Development in 2002 and secure a site for a shared-use commercial kitchen incubator in the Findlay Market District; and we will work with the Healthy Corner Stores Network and the Hamilton County Extension office to create and fund an incentive program for corner stores to offer fresh produce for sale in 6 stores in the Over-the-Rhine, Avondale and Price Hill neighborhoods.
 
APPROACH: We will recruit 8-10 project participants, especially from our growing Hispanic community. A combination of the New England Small Farm Institute's new farmer training curriculum and the "Building a Sustainable Business: A Guide to Developing a Business Plan for Farms and Rural Businesses" developed by the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture will be used for participant training. A vacant urban lot for cultivation as well as start-up equipment, materials and supplies will be provided once participants complete the training. Participants will be given the use of a stall at our farmers market for free on Tuesday and Sunday during the farmers market season (May-October). The urban farm manager will work with the Business Development Specialist from the Ohio State University Extension and local growers to develop a wholesale produce auction at Findlay Market. The existing ECO-Garden will serve an additional 8 students. Under the supervision and instruction of trained professionals and the program's coordinator, youth are responsible for the planting, watering, weeding, fertilizing, and harvesting of fruits, vegetables and herbs. Under the mentorship of the Findlay Market Urban Farm Manager, participants will develop a business plan to sell their produce at our expanded farmers market on Sundays and Tuesdays. The Cincinnati Food Congress will coordinate 2 projects, prioritized by its stakeholders: 1) Create a task force to plan, fund and create a shared-use commercial kitchen incubator at Findlay Market. 2) The Hamilton County Extension office will collaborate with local stores to implement fresh food options by subsidizing the purchase of new equipment and initial produce stock while store owners test local demand for the food, and by providing technical assistance concerning how to purchase, display, and market perishable foods. The University of Cincinnati Evaluation Services Center will conduct the project evaluation. They will provide formative (process) and summative (outcome) evaluation of the project's goals and objectives. The evaluation will measure these outcomes: Reduce family food budget by $600 annually for 8-10 CHEF project participants. (surveys and interviews with project participants). Generate average earnings of $5/year per square foot of cultivated land after 2 years (Urban farm manager will track weekly produce output). Increase family income of 8-10 CHEF project participants by 5% in year one and 10% in year 2 (surveys and interviews with participants). Increase number of farmers in Findlay Market farmers market from 50 in 2009 to 58-60 after 2 years (Urban Farm Manager will track). Produce 50,000 pounds annually of fresh fruits, vegetable and herbs (Urban Farm Manager will track). Increase the competencies and qualities needed to be successful in life, making it easier for many students to master skills and concepts involving math, reading and writing (Survey questionnaires and interviews with youth participants). Surveys and focus groups will be conducted with Food Congress stakeholders to assess its progress.
 
CRIS NUMBER: 0219938 SUBFILE: CRIS
PROJECT NUMBER: OHOW-2009-03710 SPONSOR AGENCY: NIFA
PROJECT TYPE: OTHER GRANTS PROJECT STATUS: EXTENDED MULTI-STATE PROJECT NUMBER: (N/A)
START DATE: Sep 1, 2009 TERMINATION DATE: Nov 30, 2011

GRANT PROGRAM: Community Food Project
GRANT PROGRAM AREA: General Budget Funds Extension

CLASSIFICATION
Knowledge Area (KA)Subject (S)Science (F)Objective (G)Percent
704609910105.2100%

CLASSIFICATION HEADINGS
KA704 - Nutrition and Hunger in the Population
S6099 - People and communities, general/other
F1010 - Nutrition and metabolism
G5.2 - Promote Healthier Eating Habits and Lifestyles


RESEARCH EFFORT CATEGORIES
BASIC (N/A)%
APPLIED (N/A)%
DEVELOPMENTAL 100%

KEYWORDS: urban agriculture~youth gardening~shared use kitchen incubator~food policy~farmers market~public market~entrepreneurial skills~produce auction~vacant lots

PROGRESS: TO
(N/A)

IMPACT: TO (N/A)

PUBLICATION INFORMATION: TO


PROJECT CONTACT INFORMATION
NAME: Pickford, R.
PHONE: 513-665-4839 - 13
FAX: 513-721-3480