Farm to School Movement Benefits Delta Farmers and School Children

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Lauren Bucher

Today is World Food Day, and organizations worldwide are taking collaborative action to end global hunger. Agricultural co-ops, this year’s focus, help smallholder farmers increase their yields and income while providing nutritious food to local populations. Read about a co-op in east Arkansas working with the Farm to School Movement to bring produce to its local school district.

Even though the Arkansas Delta boasts fertile soil and farmland, it stands as one of the most impoverished areas of the United States. Many of its people suffer from food insecurity, malnutrition and diet-related illnesses, such as heart disease and diabetes. Smallholder farmers, once plentiful in this region, endure diminishing markets and struggle to make ends meet.

Heifer’s Seeds of Change program has partnered with the National Farm to School Network to address hunger and poverty in the U.S. The movement seeks to connect local farmers to school cafeterias with the objectives of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing agriculture, health and nutrition education opportunities, and supporting local and regional farmers.

Farm to School Benefits Delta Farmers

Willie McKinney, an east Arkansas farmer and first-year participant in the Farm to School movement, estimates that his coalition sold 1,500 to 1,600 pounds of watermelon to the Forrest City School District this year.

“I like what I’m doing; it’s got a future,” McKinney said. “We had to learn a lot, but it’s really coming this way now.”

Photo by khanb1. Used under Creative Commons license.

A lifelong farmer and Arkansas native, McKinney produces peas, watermelons, okra, cantaloupe, tomatoes and various greens on his 15-acre farm just a few miles west of Caldwell, Ark. He joined a coalition of farmers that formed a few years ago. The operation grew and eventually connected with the Farms to School movement last year through the East Arkansas Enterprise Community (EAEC). The EAEC works as a marketing agent for agricultural cooperatives. It buys their produce and sells it to a local market —in this case, the school district.

Farm to School Benefits School Children

In this 2011 article about the Farm to School movement, Forrest City School District Supervisor of Child Nutrition Evelyn Rayford said the watermelons they received from the EAEC through Farm to School were much better tasting and a better price than what they had been getting.

“One of the biggest benefits of the program we hope will come from the fact that the produce we’ll get will be fresher which will give us a longer shelf life. Instead of it getting harvested one day and shipped to us, which can take a very long time, it will be harvested right here in St. Francis County and to us within a day or two which will then give us more time to work with fresher food,” said Rayford.

The EAEC began with the Farm to School initiative last year and sold watermelons to the district for the high school. McKinney predicted the fledgling program will continue to grow and eventually, the farmers will each have one crop they are responsible for providing to the school district. This year, four farmers participated out of the 15 co-op members.

“The community buys straight from the farmers, and it’s a great help,” McKinney said. “It gives you a little pocket change and gas money.”

McKinney said he already sees increased economic development. He said he is now able to hire more people, including some of his grandchildren, and to hire people from the community, keeping jobs in the area. McKinney, who also works as a bus driver for the school district, said he feels hopeful.

“Things are getting better and better. It looks like it really is going to turn out alright.”

Heifer’s Seeds of Change program trains Delta farmers in sustainable production methods that lead to higher yields. Heifer began work in the Delta in 2011, and 15 individual producers have received sustainable agriculture training at the Heifer Ranch. Heifer plans to work more with the National Farm to School Network as the Seeds of Change program continues to develop.

For more information about the Farm to School Network, visit http://www.farmtoschool.org/. To learn more about World Food Day, visit http://www.worldfooddayusa.org/learn.

To help support Heifer’s Seeds of Change program, visit our Fund a Project page.

Do you know of a Farm to School program in your area? Tell me about it in the comments section below.

From the Field: Heifer’s Work with Cooperatives Around the World

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Erin Snow

This weekly post shines a light on a handful of stories from Heifer.org’s “From the Field” section.

Today is World Food Day and this year’s theme, as announced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is “Agricultural Cooperatives – Key to Feeding the World.” Heifer empowers families around the world to achieve food security, and bringing them together as agricultual cooperatives is an effective method to end hunger and poverty. Learn more about Heifer’s cooperatives in the video and stories below.

In Cameroon, members of two self-help groups formed a dairy cooperative seven years ago. In addition to giving them food security, member families have tripled their income.

Hongyu’s Pastured Chicken Cooperative in China recently opened its own store. Now members sell the chickens they raise directly to consumers, with no need for a middleman.

Corina de Jesús Ramirez lives in Nicaragua. Joining a coffee cooperative has given her access to credit, better prices and technical assistance to improve both quantity and quality of production on her farm. Claudio Hernández Vásquez also belongs to a coffee co-op in Nicaragua. His success with growing coffee has allowed him to expand farming activities to include poultry, pigs, vegetables and basic grains.

Marfusha Cooperative was founded in Ukraine in 2009. This milk co-op, which started out small, now provides collection and cooling services and sells high-quality milk to the local Danone plant.

CSA Model Helps Feed the World

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Brooke Edwards

Editor’s note: Today is World Food Day. This year’s theme is “Agricultural cooperatives – key to feeding the world.” The following post is from Ryan Neal, who runs the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) garden at Heifer’s Learning Center at Heifer Ranch.

Heifer Ranch CSA helpers with a bountiful harvest. Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

There are probably as many types of agricultural cooperatives as varieties of tomatoes. Whether consumer- or producer-run, cooperatives are a major player in feeding the globe. Locally run examples include your local agriculture co-op where farmers purchase supplies, or even farmers markets where those same farmers get together to sell their products. Cooperatives have proven to be successful models in development when small farmers can get together in order to fill large orders needed by grocery stores.

Our model here at Heifer Ranch is commonly referred to as Community Supported Agriculture or CSA. The basic premise of this type of cooperative is participants, or “shareholders,” buy a share of our garden for the spring and summer growing seasons. They do this in advance of the harvest in order to cover some of our upfront costs such as seeds, organic fertilizer, etc. In exchange we deliver to these shareholders a variety (typically seven to nine types) of vegetables each week, which changes as the weather warms. This type of cooperation allows the consumers a real connection to a farm and gives the farmer a chance to focus on production rather than marketing during the busy season.

Harvesting day on a CSA is a group effort.

Harvesting day at the Heifer Ranch CSA is a group effort. Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

Feeding the world’s expected 9 billion people in 2050 will take more than a one-size-fits-all approach, and local cooperatives such as the one supported at Heifer Ranch might prove critical in supplying the sufficient quality and quantity of food we have come to expect. CSAs are present in many communities around the United States as well as the world. In fact, this model originated in Europe and Japan more than 50 years ago. CSAs can be found that support multiple farmers as well as multiple types of farmers. A recent winter CSA started in the Little Rock, Arkansas, area, for example, includes meat, vegetables and eggs from three different farms.

Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

Check out localharvest.org/csa/ for examples in your area.

Are you a CSA member? Tell us about your CSA in the comments section below.

World Food Day 2012: Heifer International’s Cooperatives Will Help Feed the World

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Pierre Ferrari

Our fragile and beautiful Earth is home to seven billion people. Right now, the global food system is struggling, one in eight people goes to sleep hungry, and according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which declares October 16 World Food Day, “food prices still remain generally higher than last year and very volatile.”

So now what? Do we wring our hands and hope someone else will provide the solution?

Absolutely not! We take action and become a part of the answer to ending hunger and poverty.

World Food Day: Jibu Guoguo, collects cabbage from her garden.

Heifer project participant, Jibu Guoguo, collects cabbage at her garden near her home in Gudu village in China. Photograph by Russell Powell, courtesy of Heifer International.

Today Heifer International joins the FAO and others in observance of World Food Day. This year, the theme “Agricultural Cooperatives – key to feeding the world” highlights the efforts of smallholder farmers who have united to end hunger.

But it isn’t just today that Heifer supports the world’s farmers, cooperatives and rural organizations – it is every day. We have always understood the critical importance of agriculture, and we have recognized that smallholder farmers are the best tools we have to help feed this hungry world.

There are 650 million smallholder farmers in the world, and according to the ETC Group, they produce 70% of the food eaten every day. By simply doubling their productivity, they can feed the world’s vastly growing population.

So how do we support the efforts of the smallholder farmers to improve their own lives, advance their communities and begin to feed to the world?

Earlier this year, on the United Nations International Day of Cooperatives, we highlighted Heifer’s work with cooperatives in Peru, Africa, Nepal and the Ukraine. Heifer is continually working to reach a rapidly growing group of smallholder farmers – mostly women – to inspire agroecological productivity, biodiversity, financial security and health to create the surplus needed to feed the world.

You also have a key role to play in feeding the world. Spread the message to family and friends, and join us in observance of World Food Day. But remember: hunger does not end when the day does. You can continue to play a role by getting involved in Heifer’s work.

Food Security in South Africa: A State of Crisis

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Claire Hawkridge

Food security in South Africa is more elusive than it may appear. Food security means knowing where your next meal is coming from. It means not having to worry about whether your children will get sick because they don’t have the right foods. Twenty years ago, most food insecure people in the world lived in the poorest nations. Today, on World Food Day, as much as three quarters of poor, food insecure households live in so-called Middle Income Countries like China, India and South Africa.

Help make food security in South Africa a reality

Photo courtesy of Heifer International South Africa

The South African government estimates that approximately 11 million people in South Africa are food insecure out of a population of 50 million. This is roughly 1 out of every 5 people. Children are particularly affected by food insecurity. More than 20% of children in South Africa suffer from stunting because of poor nutrition.

Although South Africa is a relatively wealthy country compared to many other countries on the African continent, the difficult history of apartheid has created a situation of extreme inequality. While some people can afford to eat in expensive restaurants, many others – often living just a few miles away – don’t know where their children’s next meal is coming from.

Food Security in South Africa: More Difficult for the Rural Poor

Rural South African families suffer the most. 70% of all poor people in South Africa live in rural communities. Most of them have a little bit of land and try to grow some food but their farming activities rarely meet even their basic food needs. These are the people Heifer International South Africa helps. Through improved agricultural production on a small scale, they can improve the food their families eat and produce a little bit extra to sell.
Over the past 12 years, Heifer International South Africa has seen the Heifer model work over and over again in South Africa. Julia Ngwana used to beg for work at her daughters’ school to be able to feed her family. Since joining Heifer’s Saambandou Project, she has been able not only to provide healthy food but also to send her youngest daughter, Dakalo, to university.

Mr Albert Makhohliso’s goat and vegetable production finally made it possible, at age 65, to earn enough income to support his sons’ education, after years of unemployment.
Mrs Nuleka Tinga, a single mother supporting 5 children and 4 grandchildren said, “It changed our lives for the better [when] I was given cows. I managed to feed my family and provide for them through the assistance of Heifer. I’m very grateful. Heifer helped me and my family very much; I was motivated to start my own homestead garden so that I could get nutrients from vegetables and sell them as well.” Mrs Tinga’s cow didn’t only help her family. As soon as her cow produced a female calf, she passed on (donated) the calf to another family, so that they, too, could enjoy the benefits. Mrs Tinga also passed on in June 2011.

South Africa’s thriving economy excludes people like Albert, Julia and Nuleka. No matter how hard they work, they simply do not have the skills, knowledge and resources to access the formal economy on their own. Through Heifer International South Africa’s projects, these poor, rural families can finally take part in economic development and benefit through increased production, earning an income and finally achieving regular access to healthy, tasty food for themselves and their families.

This World Food Day, support the work of Heifer to help make food security in South Africa a more attainable reality.

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