FEATURED ORGANIZATION: Go Austin Vamos Austin
Go Austin Vamos Austin (GAVA) is a group of community leaders and partners working to tackle the health issues facing the 78744 and 78745 area codes of Austin, Texas. GAVA was born out of one physician's mission to help her patients overcome their health problems. Dr. Aliya Hussaini was a resident physician at People’s Community Clinic where she saw patients who were dealing with obesity and obesity-related diseases. These patients had nowhere to turn to for handling these problems and faced obstacles that prevented them from getting healthier. Her position as Health Director at the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation gave her the support she needed to come up with a plan to help her patients and others in the community overcome obesity and its diseases.
Other leadership organizations in the Dove Springs community combined efforts with Dr. Hussaini and her team to employ this plan. In 2012, the initiative officially launched its efforts to decrease rates of childhood obesity and diabetes in the 78744 area code and have expanded into the 78745 area code.
FEATURED TOOL: Fellowships for Food Systems Professionals
Funding opportunities for professionals wishing to expand their horizons.
Applied Community & Economic Development (ACED) Fellows Program, Illinois State University
The Applied Community & Economic Development (ACED) Fellows Program at Illinois State University's Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development is a two-year fellowship program leading to a master's degree in Applied Economics, Political Science, or Sociology, each with an interdisciplinary sequence in Applied Community/Economic Development. Fellows complete one calendar year of on-campus study. During their professional practice internships in their second year, fellows receive community and economic development field experience in urban and rural communities. The ACED Fellows Program includes full tuition waivers, plus stipends for the graduate assistantship and internship.
BOOK REVIEW: Good Food, Strong Communities
Strong Book on Building Community Through Food
Review by Amy Crone, Maryland Farmers Market Association — originally published in the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development (JAFSCD), volume 8, issue 4
A Review of Good Food, Strong Communities: Promoting Social Justice through Local and Regional Food Systems, edited by Steve Ventura and Martin Bailkey. (2017).
Published by University of Iowa Press. Available as paperback and ebook; 304 pages. Publisher’s website: https://www.uipress.uiowa.edu/books/ 9781609385439/good-food-strong-communities
First paragraph:
Good Food, Strong Communities: Promoting Social Justice through Local and Regional Food Systems is a book borne out of the Community and Regional Food Systems (CRFS) project, which began in response to a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) request for proposals regarding food insecurity. Guided by Wisconsin-based academic institutions, the CRFS has program participants in seven cities (Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Boston; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Chicago; Detroit; and Los Angeles). While the book contains examples from all seven cities, it is primarily focused on efforts in the Midwest. I have participated in a number of such regional efforts, including food policy councils, and have both responded to and reviewed USDA proposals focused on food insecurity.
Read the full book review HERE.
New Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems Major Announced at NC State University
Events and News From NAFSN's National Founding Partners
NC State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has a new major program. The new Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems is a cross-departmental program offered through the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences and Horticultural Science.
