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Shasta Valley Community Food Conversation

Welcome to the Shasta Valley Community Food Conversation!

Renee Casterline, GNC Community Food Programs Manager, leads participants in discussing resources and opportunities.
Renee Casterline, GNS Community Food Programs Manager, leads participants in discussing resources and opportunities.

The conversation began with the meeting held May 20, 2013 at the Yreka Community Resource Center. Thirteen residents came together to talk about food resources, opportunities and challenges, and access in their communities. That discussion and sharing led to the creation of three action groups that started talking about projects and interests that those in the room had selected as critical. The goal of this meeting was to get community members connected and thinking about projects in their towns and even larger areas of the county.

Here you can review the  food resources identified at the meeting, the opportunities and challenges discussed and the work done by action groups at the meeting. If you are interested in joining a community-driven action group or would like to add to the list of , please contact Renee Casterline at GNS and she will put you in touch with group leaders.

Community Food Assets

Yreka

Food Production:

Rotary Garden at Fairgrounds                    EDC Commercial Kitchen

Community Gardens      Greenhouses    Harry & David’s

Extension Services          4-H raising animals

High School:  FFA, Life Skills class, Greenhouse (horticulture/floral)

Native plant nursery

 

Distribution:

USDA Commodities        Farmers Market               (A-1 Auto Wednesdays)

Community Resource Center     Tribal Commodities (N. CA Indian Development)

FEMA Emergency Food    Food Bank (Juvenile Hall)          Brown Bag Program ?

Schools Breakfast and Lunch Programs  Grub Club Garden Produce

Churches (7th Day Adventist, Mormon, St. Joes, Lutheran Church Emergency Food bags)

Processing:

Leftover excess food to FRC’s    Home Grower’s excess                 Dairy (Stan ?)

Amy Tamm (canning, gleaning gardening)            CalWorks for doing work

 

Consumer Resources:

Resources identified by residents.
Resources identified by residents.

Madrone Hospice            COS        St. Joseph’s hot meal (Sat noon)               Ministerial Food Pantry

Greenhorn Grange hot meals    Senior Center meal delivery        Senior Center meals       Fairchild Medical dietician               Caroline Brask cooking classes    SisQ Domestic Violence

Grant writers and Grant managers           Lynne Schafer (cooking, gardening, canning)

Healing Arts Center (cooking classes)      W.I.C.    Cal Fresh and Farmer’s Market Coupons

County Public Health expanding SNAP-Education program and facilitating Community Nutrition Advisory Council (CNAC) Molly classes on less familiar vegetables

Lions Club            Woof apprenticeship (Paz)          COS greenhouse (Richard Giordanengo)

Plant based horticultural alliance (COS ASB Club)               SNAP-Ed Michelle Harris

Cliff Munson – Golden Fair

Shasta Valley General

Food Production:

Rockside Ranch                 Bel Campo          4 Brothers           Prather Ranch

CSA Community supported Agriculture (Kate O’Brien)    Seed production (Kate O’Brien)

Hunter’s Orchards Shasta Valley Resource Conservation District

Wild and feral foods, seed and dried food bank, gardener, farmer, forager (Paz)

Distribution:

Rays       Raleys   Siskiyou Distributing       Fair auctions       Grub Club

Gazelle Commodities

Processing:

Bel Campo

 

Consumer Resources:

Kirsten Olson – organic certification education

 

Montague

Production:

Montague farmers          FRC Garden        Ann Robinson (meat)

Devon Strong 4 Eagles Farm

 

Distribution:

HUB Family Resource Center      GNS Commodities Maranatha nut butter donations

Methodist Church (Emergency Food)     Farmer’s Market Saturday AM

Consumer Resources:

SNAP-Ed              Help Your Neighbor

 

Shasta Valley Opportunities

Prioritizing issues for Yreka and the Shasta Valley.
Prioritizing issues for Yreka and the Shasta Valley.

CalFresh EBT for local farmers

Double up Cal Fresh $

Food Co-op to sell local food

Economic Development Farm 2 School/Farm 2 Table

Map of all gardeners

Truck refrigeration to move food

Gleaning Program fruit trees

Gleaning Program veggies

Work for volunteers

TANF Cal Works workforce

KTTP      Karuk Tribal Program

Community Service hours

Connecting workers to work

Career development and job skills

Increased yield with help (time sensitive)

Mentors available for education – community gardens

Vacant land (fenced and H2O)

Composting plan

Organic certification

Eligibility education for growers

WIC program voucher distribution

Education for WIC recipients

Community garden – place to grow

EDC commercial kitchen

211 Program (needs development)

Neighborhood (Community) bartering exchange

GNS Distribution

Added value to local food

Revitalize plan at YHS for facility

 

 

Shasta Valley Challenges

No centralized network source facility for food distribution/education/storage/refrigeration

Insurance issues

Information distribution for needy

Fresh food in winter

Method and location to supplement food banks

Pool of volunteers at all levels – coordination missing

$ to pay for help

Legal food policy issues/regulations

Food safety modernization Act

Size of county and transportation and other related issues

Apathy

Need for cohesive community spirit

Easy access to less healthy food

Education for making healthy choices

 

 

At this Community Food Conversation, we asked the question: What do you want to do?

Below are those responses

number of votes received during the meeting in prioritizing opportunities and challenges indicated to the left)

5              No centralized network source facility for food distribution/education/storage/refrigeration

4              Map of all gardeners

3              Econ. Dev. Farm 2 School/Farm 2 Table

3              Gleaning Program fruit trees

3              Gleaning Program veggies

3              mentors available for education – community gardens

3              Legal food policy issues/regulations

2              Connecting workers to work

2              increased yield with help (time sensitive)

2              Fresh food in winter

1              Truck refrigeration to move food

1              Work for volunteers

1              TANF Cal Works workforce

1              Composting plan

1              WIC program voucher distribution

1              Insurance issues

 

South County action groups:

Working together in groups to talk about prioritized projects.
Working together in groups to talk about prioritized projects.

Group 1: Community Food Networking facility

Step One: Identify the primary goal and three activities to support the achievement of this goal over the next few months.

Identify location – visit successful programs (ACCESS OREGON)

Develop facility or append to existing facility

Develop distribution logisitcs

Greenhouses for year round food growing

Step Two: Who are your partners?

Brainstorm the potential partners for your activities. Consider Non-profit and public interest organizations, Community-based organizations, Neighborhood associations, Faith-based organizations, Ethnic and cultural associations, Schools, youth groups and parent groups, Colleges and universities, Government agencies, Elected officials and their staff, Businesses, Other

GNS     SCEDC COS     Senior Center             Resource Centers       Food Pantry

Gleaners    Churches      Schools

Step Three: What is your next most doable step towards your goal?

Discuss and identify three potential locations

Look for funding

Connect with partners

 

 

Group 2: Gleaning fruits and veggies

Step One: Identify the primary goal and three activities to support the achievement of this goal over the next few months.

A Gleaning Organization

Information Distribution

Workforce Sources (liability issues)

Scheduling

Thinning – Gleaner Training

Transportation – People – Product

Like “Plates for People” in Mt. Shasta

Food Providers for hungry people

Step Two: Who are your partners?

Brainstorm the potential partners for your activities. Consider Non-profit and public interest organizations, Community-based organizations, Neighborhood associations, Faith-based organizations, Ethnic and cultural associations, Schools, youth groups and parent groups, Colleges and universities, Government agencies, Elected officials and their staff, Businesses, Other

Community Gardens Farmers           Orchardists     Individuals

Step Three: What is your next most doable step towards your goal?

Interest assessment in community

 

 

Group 3: Mentoring

Step One: Identify the primary goal and three activities to support the achievement of this goal over the next few months.

Main Theme – gardening

Basics – preparing ground, designing and planting garden, seed production, growing plants for seed

Step Two: Who are your partners?

Brainstorm the potential partners for your activities. Consider Non-profit and public interest organizations, Community-based organizations, Neighborhood associations, Faith-based organizations, Ethnic and cultural associations, Schools, youth groups and parent groups, Colleges and universities, Government agencies, Elected officials and their staff, Businesses, Other

Snap-Ed program      County Health & Human Services    Senior Programs        Schools           COS     FRC’s            Faith based orgs

Step Three: What is your next most doable step towards your goal?

Monthly workshops

 

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310 Boles Street, Weed, CA 96094
(530) 938-4115
Office hours: Monday–Thursday, 9 AM – 4 PM

 

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