Building Successful Community-Based Food Initiatives

A Community Food Programs Planning Workshop for the Bay Area

• Have you started a project that involves gardening, small-scale farming, food processing, nutrition education, farmers' markets, or similar community endeavors?
• Are you planning to organize a food policy council, a farm-to-school program, a beginning farmer training initiative, food processing incubator, or a similar program?
• Are you a non-profit organization (or similar entity) that wants to be more involved with developing successful community-based food and farm programs?

This workshop is for you! Join us to build your project planning skills and learn how to develop successful new projects. Through a USDA Community Food Projects grant, Tufts University in Boston and of the Institute for Conservation Leadership are offering this full-day training on design and development of successful community-based food and farm initiatives.

We are also offering a one-on-one 'hands-on' technical assistance to any group with specific needs, including help with Community Food Projects proposals for 2008 and beyond.

LOGISTICS

• Your local hosts:California Food and Justice Coalition http://www.foodsecurity.org/california
• Date: Monday March 3rd. 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
• Location: Preservation Park/Ginn House, 660 13th Street, Oakland, CA 94612. Directions and parking instructions are available at: http://www.preservationpark.com/maps/index.html
• One to one assistance: Tuesday, March 4th - one hour meetings scheduled during the previous day's workshop or with prior registration
• Location: To be announced
• Time: one hour slots, to be arranged in advance.

Workshop presenters:

• Hugh Joseph, PhD, is an assistant professor at Tufts University in Boston and a long time trainer and technical assistance provider for community food projects. He has prepared several guides on community food topics and community food assessment.
• Barbara Rusmore, PhD, is the senior Program Associate at the Institute for Conservation Leadership in Bozeman, MT. She provides consulting, facilitation and training for nonprofits and has been working with sustainable agriculture and community food projects for 25 years.

Workshop content: This participatory workshop will help participants to plan a new or emerging project, or improve an existing one. All participants will receive a Community Food Initiatives Planning Guide to accompany the presentations. Topics covered:

• Creating a shared project vision: Steps in getting started on community food or farming projects. What levels of planning, time and resources are needed?
• Community-oriented needs assessments: Strategies to identify your community's needs. Identifying and involving stakeholders in the assessment process.
• Assessing the potential viability / success potential of a project: Assessing your organizational size and capacity (resources, infrastructure, personnel, etc.). Environmental scans / SWOT analysis and similar tools to identify where you need to build organizational capacity.
• Leadership: Building a leadership team and a culture of shared leadership with multiple partners. Assessing partner capacities and deciding everyone's organizational roles. Linking components of a multi-facetedproject for each partner.
• Strategic Design Approaches: Establishing realistic goals and focusing on outcomes with SMART strategies. Defining clear workplans to achieve the desired outcomes before you get started.

March 4th - Individualized Consultations:
Onsite technical assistance will be available for up to one hour for 6-8 organizations that request it in advance (to allow for scheduling). Organizations can bring multiple members - staff, board, etc. - and use the time for follow up individualized planning, to discuss CFP proposals, or for any related assistance. Location to be announced.

HOW TO REGISTER

Please complete the following registration - one for each person attending. Email your registration (s) to hjoseph@tufts.edu with the heading: CF Workshop Registration:

Do you have any special food needs (e.g., vegetarian, no-lactose, etc)?

Registration fees: The advance registration fee is $25 per person, and $12 for any additional persons from the same organization. Lunch and other refreshments are included. An addition $5 per person is charged for payment at the door.

Registration fee includes a copy of the Community Food Initiatives Planning Guide by Hugh Joseph and Barbara Rusmore

Payments: Make out check or money order to: Trustees of Tufts University

Mail payment with a printed registration form to:

Hugh Joseph, PhD
AFE: Friedman School of Nutrition
Tufts University
150 Harrison Ave., Room 121
Boston, MA 02111

Please mail registration fees on or before February 25, 2008. After February 25, please bring your payment (cash or check) to the workshop.

Questions or for more information:

Please contact Hugh Joseph: hjoseph@tufts.edu

Tel.: 617-636-3888