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Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative Launch

The project facilitates faith communities sharing models to produce and access healthy, local food. The project advances policy activism by congregations to strengthen sustainable agriculture movement.

Leader

Steve Schwartz

Location

1 N. Main Street Sebastopol, CA 95472

About the project

The Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative’s Mission is to advance the production of and access to healthy food produced in a sustainable, socially just manner by empowering faith communities with models and resources to impact local food systems and advance public policy.

The project empowers congregations to develop programs through networking, technical assistance and financial assistance. The ISFC is building the movement of people demanding healthy, sustainable food by facilitating cooperation with and among faith community leaders.
 
ISFC will provide ‘how to’ resources, and professional technical assistance to implement a range of practices to connect congregants with sustainable food systems in a manner that amplifies faith practice. The project will provide direct financing in the form of mini-grants to start-up projects among congregations to improve food access. The project will serve faith communities and their neighbors by providing resources and guidance for developing programs including:
  • Community Gardens, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Drop-off sites with formal Congregation/Farm Relationships, farmstands to coincide with religious school.
  • Sharing of best practices and networking among interfaith groups active on food and faith matters.
  • Congregational food policies calling for serving fair trade and organic products
  • A speaker’s bureau, and teaching resources to assist clergy and lay leaders talk about the food and agriculture system in a manner consistent with their faith tradition.

The Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative is led by Steve Schwartz an experienced food systems advocate with over 20 years of professional leadership working with farmers and farm.

The Steps

We have been working to develop and advance this new project for almost a year. In the next 45 days we will facilitate congregations in Sonoma and Marin counties participating in World Food Day to raise awareness of food access and sustainable agricultural issues. The next steps include completing the web-site by September 30th; securing an office by October 1st and beginning working with congregations to bring in speakers around the 2012 Farm Bill and other issues related to advancing more healthy food systems. We are currently recruiting  interns and hope to have full-time VISTA volunteers be part of the team this Winter. The Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative will be hosting roundtable discussions beginning in November and a conference in February to facilitate sharing of models to improve food systems across the spectrum of the faith community.

Why we‘re doing it

 

The Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative is needed to:
 
  • Change farm and food policy by broadening the base of the sustainable agriculture movement!
  • Reconnect religious people to a sustainable food system through their faith community!
  • Help farmers access new customers!

$0.50 still needed of $2,607.00