The Fort Greene / Clinton Hill Community Food Council extends a THANK YOU to all who came out to celebrate the release of the Fort Greene / Clinton Hill Community Food Assessment 'Get Fresh! Food Access, Food Justice and Collective Action in Fort Greene & Clinton Hill and to take a tour of the Child Development Support Corporation (CDSC) hydroponic farm on Thursday, 3/15/12!

The event was a great success thanks to your energy and support! We had a great turn out with over 50 people eager to network and move into collective action – Hunger Action Network, City Harvest, Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE), Greene Hill Food Co-op, Brooklyn Food Coalition (BFC), New York City Coalition Against Hunger (NYCCAH), Fort Greene Peace, Ingersoll Garden of Eden gardeners, St. Joseph's College, Child Development Support Corporation (CDSC) board members, Northeast Brooklyn Housing Development Corp (NEBHDCo), and many residents and entrepreneurs! We were also honored to have a representative from Council Member Tish James' office and State Committeeman Lincoln Restler.

We would also like to thank all the local businesses that donated food for us to share a delicious meal together! Thank you:
Bistro Lafayette
Choice Greene
Choice Market

Clementine Bakery
Dough
Fresh Fanatic
Heavenly Crumbs Bakery
Michael Allen at Fresh Fanatic
Nero Doro Cafe
Pioneer Supermarket on Lafayette Avenue & Grand Street

The Community Food Council is excited to move the 10 community food projects into action with those of you who have signed up to get involved! For those of you who were not able to join us its never too late for you to also move into action with us! The 10 community projects are:

INCREASE SNAP/EBT AND WIC ACCEPTANCE: Work with local food retailers to find out why they do not accept SNAP/EBT and WIC benefits, how we can encourage them to do so, or how these benefit programs might be streamlined to be more appealing to them.
TURN TO COLLECTIVE ACTION: Take collective action when stores are not responsive to the communitys needs.
BUILD A PANTRY COALITION: Building and supporting a Fort Greene-Clinton Hill Pantry Coalition would enable area pantries to share best practices, resources and information, coordinate joint programming, and strengthen the overall network for emergency food services in our community.
CLOSE THE LOOP: Some residents and advocates wonder what happens to the surplus food at farmers markets not sold by the end of the day? Likewise, are local dining destinations wasting food that could be used at soup kitchens to feed our community?
GROW IT YOURSELF: Community gardens, gardening programs and farm tours provide the community with the opportunity to connect with the growing process and raises awareness around the value of fresh foods.
PROMOTE EXISTING ALTERNATIVES: Work with local farmers markets, CSAs and co-ops to develop and promote affordable options, and assist with outreach to community residents.
USE CREATIVE MARKETING: Work with community residents and advocates to develop a healthy marketing campaign in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill to promote healthy eating and discourage unhealthy habits.
HOST HEALTHY TOURS: Residents also felt that not being able to discern nutrition facts makes it more challenging to make healthy choices. Offer free supermarket tours to inform consumers on how to read nutrition labels, be introduced to healthy products and talk to store managers about what products shoppers would like to see in their local stores.
FRESH INCENTIVES: Expand and promote Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) incentives, which could encourage the development of more supermarkets or benefit existing store owners interested in improving their presence in our community.

Contact Kassy Nystrom at kassy@myrtleavenue.org or 718-230-1689 to get involved.

Check out pictures of the event here .

Thank you again and cheers to collective action!

The Fort Greene / Clinton Hill Community Food Council invite residents to celebrate the release of the Fort Greene / Clinton Hill Community Food Assessment! The party is an opportunity for community members to learn more about our local Community Food Assessment (CFA) titled: 'Get Fresh! Food Access, Food Justice and Collective Action in Fort Greene & Clinton Hill and find out how to get involved in a community-driven project to improve access to healthy, affordable food! Members of the Community Food Council (CFC) Steering Committee will be there to tell you about the projects, give you an opportunity to ask questions, and sign-up to take action!

When: March 15th, 2012
Time: 5:30PM-7:30PM
Where:Child Development Support Corporation (CDSSC) 352 Classon Avenue Brooklyn, 11238.

Among several findings, the report concludes that access to quality, affordable fresh food is limited; SNAP/EBT acceptance by higher-quality retailers is low; and residents are ready and eager to learn more about ways of improving their own nutrition. Members of the Fort Greene-Clinton Hill CFC utilized the results to identify gaps in available services, and to generate 29 recommendations for new projects, policies and advocacy efforts to bridge those gaps, all of which are listed in the full CFA report, which can be downloaded from MARPs website here. The CFC Steering Committee has chosen 10 projects to support in the next year. Join us to find out more!

The event will also feature the Child Development Support Corporation hydroponic farm! Come take a tour and enjoy some salad made fresh from the farm. Appetizers and Michael Allen desserts courtesy of Fresh Fanatic will also be available.

Want to start taking action immediately? Great! Join the Close the Loop program by gathering your gently worn mens clothing and donating them at the party. All donations will go to Teen Challenge Rehabilitation Facility for Teens . This program ensures donations coming from our community stay in our community!

For more information and to RSVP please contact Kassy Nystrom at kassy@myrtleavenue.org or 718-230-1689.