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Food and Health Network of South Central NY
March, 2015 E-Newsletter
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Food for Thought 
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Happy National Nutrition Month! During the February FaHN meeting members voted to identify the 2015 Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR 2015) as our national level policy issue. Below you can learn more about the importance of CNR 2015 from our partners at the Food Bank of the Southern Tier, and about the 2015 Farm to School Act. We are still looking to identify local and state level priorities, and would love to get your input. You can access a survey below.
FaHN 2015 Public Policy and Advocacy Survey:
Please take a few minutes to fill out a brief survey on your food and health related priorities this year. Your input will help us identify a local and state priority this year, and inform education, communications and priorities in future years. Take the 5 minute survey here.
Policy Alert: Child Nutrition Reauthorization and the 2015 Farm to School Act:
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Earlier this month we attended the National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference in Washington D.C. We learned a lot about the importance of the upcoming Child Nutrition Reauthorization for so much of the critical work being done to improve health, food security and farm to consumer connections in our region and across the state.
Pictured from left to right: Kathy Pfaffenbach, Catholic Charities of Broome County; Nancy Eckstrom, Food Bank
of the Southern Tier (FBST); Nancy Brand, Catholic Charities of Chemung/Schuyler; Ruth Williams,Tompkins Community Action; Lyndsey Lyman, FBST; Natasha Thompson, FBST; Randi Quackenbush, FBST; Erin Summerlee, FaHN.
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From the Food Bank of the Southern Tier:
"The Food Bank of the Southern Tier will be focusing a lot of their advocacy efforts in 2015 on the upcoming Child Nutrition Reauthorization legislation. Every 5 years Congress must re-authorize funding for all federal school meal and child nutrition programs, which provide funding to ensure that low-income children have access to healthy and nutritious food. Programs impacted by this legislation include the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program which provides meals in afterschool programs, the Summer Food Service Program, and WIC.
Reauthorization provides an opportunity to improve and strengthen the child nutrition and school meal programs so they better meet the needs of our nation's children in pre-school, school-based and out-of-school time settings. The Food Bank of the Southern Tier calls on Congress to fully fund these programs and to also allow communities more flexibility in reaching children during the summer."
You can subscribe to the Food Bank's new Advocacy Alert ENews list here.
You can also learn more about CNR 2015 from the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) here.
Farm to School Act of 2015:
The Farm to School Act of 2015 builds on the success of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 by proposing an increase in funding from $5 million to $15 million for the USDA Farm to School Grant Program. The bill would also ensure that the grant program fully includes preschools, summer food service sites, after school programs, and tribal schools and producers while improving program participation from beginning, veteran and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.
To learn more visit the National Farm to School Network website.
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2015 Membership & Sponsorship: Join us today! 
We are half way towards our 2015 membership and sponsorship goal of $10,000! Your pledge of support is critical towards reaching this goal, and is an investment in a healthy, just, and vibrant regional food system. You can join FaHN today as a member or sponsor by visiting our website here.
Thank you to all of the organizations and individuals listed below who have submitted their 2015 membership and/or sponsorship contributions.
Hobart Rotary & FaHN collaborate for another successful Farmers' Lunch!
On Saturday, March 7th the Hobart Rotary hosted their annual Farmers' Lunch and partnered with FaHN for the fourth consecutive year. The half day event drew producers from around Delaware and Otsego Counties to learn about the organic certification process, running an organic farm, and potential business benefits. We also heard about new marketing opportunities for local food, and enjoyed a delicious lunch and lots of networking. A very big thank you everyone involved!
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March Food and Health Network Meeting
Date: Thursday, March 26, 2015
Location: Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County
840 Front Street, Binghamton, NY 13905
Please join the Food and Health Network for our March monthly meeting and collaborative resource development forum! Please note the change in our normal meeting time. RSVP to fahncoordinator@rhnscny.org or 607-692-7669 by Tuesday, March 24th.
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The Million Dollar Question:
What is break-even and viability for different food hub models? National Good Food Network Webinar
March 19, 3:30 - 4:45pm. Register here. TEDxCortlandSalonMarch 31, 7:00 - 8:30pm 37 Church Street, Cortland, NY RSVP here.
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Save the Date: Thursday, May 7th, 2015
2015 Hunger Solutions NYS Anti-Hunger Conference
When: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Where: Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY
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NY Agricultural Literacy Academies
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This conference, to be held at the Empire State Plaza in Albany, will serve as a platform to bring together policy makers, elected officials, advocates, service providers, and interested individuals from across New York State for the purpose of fighting hunger.
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Grants, Opportunities, and Resources
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Let us know if you are interested in applying for a food/health-related funding opportunity! The Food and Health Network is here to facilitate effective, regional collaboration. We'd love to assist in connecting you with other organizations in our region that can strengthen your application and build your project's capacity and resources.
Crew Members, VINES Grow Binghamton: Applications due by April 13, 2015. Learn more here.
Grow Binghamton seeks 14 Crew Members to farm land on the Urban Farm in Downtown Binghamton and the CHOW Farm in Conklin, NY. Young people MUST BE ages 15-21 and live in the City of Binghamton to apply. This program runs for 6 weeks from July 7 - August 14, 2015. Participants will also participate in various training opportunities including nutrition, agriculture, food systems, and job readiness.This program is designed to empower young people through community involvement, while building skills to be applied to future jobs or college.
USDA Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program, Due March 17, 2015. View the RFA here.
USDA 2016 Farm to School Grants: the RFA is expected to be released in March. Keep a look out for the
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Food Security Grants, letter of intent is due April 2, 2015, and full applications are due June 4, 2015. View the RFA here.2015-2016 School Breakfast Grants, Action for Healthy Kids, Due May 1, 2015. Learn more here.
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Everyone is a food system stakeholder, and we invite you to join FaHN as a 2015 member
or sponsor.
Thank you to everyone who has already joined for 2015. Your support is critical to our shared efforts to reduce hunger, improve health, and promote sustainable economic development. If you haven't joined yet, become a new or renewed member or sponsor TODAY!
2015 Members and Sponsors
Organizational Members
Broome-Tioga BOCES Food Service
Center for Agricultural Development and Entrepreneurship (CADE)
Chenango County Health Department
Cornell Cooperative Extension Broome County
Cornell Cooperative Extension Tioga County
Delaware Opportunities Inc.
Family Enrichment Network
Food Bank of the Southern Tier
Hatherleigh Foundation
Healthy Lifestyles Coalition (United Way)
Rural Health Network of South Central New York
Seven Valley's Health Coalition
Tioga County Hunger Coalition
Tompkins County Food Distribution Network
VINES: Volunteers Improving Neighborhood Environments
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Individual Members
Susan Adair
Diane Albrecht
Richard Andrus
Donna Bates
Mark Bordeau
Christina Boyd
Ray Denniston
Nancy Eckstrom
Matthew Griffin
Sonia Janiszewski
Kevin Millar
Ann Moring
Peaceful By Nature Farm
Jeffrey Piestrak
Tony Preus
Amy Shapiro
Lauren Tonti
Rose Zonetti
Sponsors
Diane Albrecht
Greg Albrecht & Victoria Zeppelin
Susan Beaudoin
Elizabeth Bossong
Diane Crews
Ray Denniston
Nancy Eckstrom
Jeffrey Piestrak
Charles and Mary Place
John and Linda Roush
Jack Salo
Linda Seeger
Doris Summerlee
Lauren Tonti
United Health Services (UHS)
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