ECD

Chicago's Local Food Initiatives

On March 18, 2008 I attended the 3rd Annual Chicago Food Policy Summit at the Chicago Cultural Center. For the past year I've made multiple trips to Chicago (25 miles away) for inspiration on how a large urban center is able to build stronger communities through healthy, local food initiatives. The city has a number of innovative organizations that integrate urban agriculture as a community and economic development activity. Some of these organizations work with at-risk youth or homeless adults and are teaching them gardening techniques, entrepreneurship, and increasing their self-esteem in the process.

For example, here is the working policy objectives  for the Chicago Food Policy Council.  Also the City of Chicago  Dept. of Planning  & Development is invested in  integrating community food systems in their  plan of action.  Last year they came out with a  report, "Chicago: Eat Local, Live Healthy" that looks at integrating locally grown produce and value added food products into Chicago's neighborhoods.

Overall I've been impressed with how progressive Chicago has been on this issue. Imagine if Indiana's metro areas like Gary, South Bend, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, or Evansville integrated local food systems in their plan of work. What if Purdue Extension was able to think outside of the box and support programs like urban agriculture or community gardening and provide impact to those adults and youth who are at-risk.

What if ECD programs looked at local food systems as a way of developing and supporting community entrepreneurship in our urban areas as well as rural communities. We have a great opportunity to move forward in this new and exciting area. Below are some of the Chicago organizations who are doing urban agriculture in the context of community development. Some helpful links are below. Please share your thoughts with me on this issue. Email me here.Thanks.

• Growing Home
• Growing Power, Chicago
• Green Youth Farm
• Heifer International, urban agriculture
• Advocates for Urban Agriculture
  Article on Urban Agriculture in the US

Impact: Helping Communities Identify Issues and Plan for Action

There are many issues facing Indiana communities - land use, changing demographics, quality of life. There are especially significant issues resulting from the growing number of Hispanic and Latino residents calling Indiana home. Hispanic/Latinos comprised the largest group of immigrants coming to the State of Indiana.  The latest census data demonstrates that the Hispanic/Latino community has grown 117% in the last decade and midterm demographic projections show this trend to continue. The three counties with the largest Latino populations are: Lake, Marion and Allen. Many smaller rural counties are also experiencing an influx of Latino residents. These communities face significant challenges related to the changes that can result from this phenomenon.

In 2007, Extension staff, both specialists and Educators, worked with 274 communities to help them identify community and economic development issues and to develop action plans to address those issues. A wide range of programming has been offered in this area covering a great many community issues including land use, and changing community demographics. There are many examples of Extension’s work in this area. The following is an example of one such activity that took place during the reporting year.

Responding to the need to provide reliable information to communities on Latino immigration and Latino culture, the Purdue Extension in Marion County has created, The Changing Face of Indiana, a program to educate Hoosiers about the immigration, the cultural and economic contributions of Latino immigrants, the economic and quality of life issues that can result for both Latino and non-Latino residents, and facilitation of the actions communities can take to address these issues. During the reporting year, 575 individuals attended The Changing Face of Indiana educational program.

A comprehensive evaluation of this program was conducted and among the findings were that 93% of participants identified specific actions their community could take to manage the transition. Some of the action items appearing most often include  language training for non-Spanish speakers, English as a New Language training for Spanish speakers, find and create opportunities for cultural exchange, and the implementations of efforts to make their communities welcoming environments.

Impact: Helping Communities Create More-Sustainable and Competitive Local Economic Development Systems

The community and economic development literature is increasingly pointing to the significant impact entrepreneurship can play in economic development. Few Indiana communities, however, have articulated an entrepreneurship strategy. Indiana communities, especially rural communities, cannot rely exclusively on industrial attraction activities to grow their economy. Instead, they must look within to foster environments in which new enterprises can be launched and existing small businesses can grow. Communities with strategies that include a focus on entrepreneurship are a proactive step in creating sustainable and competitive local economic development systems.

In 2007, Extension staff, both specialists and Educators, has worked with 56 communities to help them create more sustainable and competitive local economic development systems. Several programs have been conducted in this area that have focused on entrepreneurship in general and in specific areas like food entrepreneurship.  There are several examples of Extension’s work in this area. The following is an example of one such activity that took place during the reporting year.

Purdue Extension in Hendricks County joined with other community partners to plan and conduct an Entrepreneurship & Small Business Expo. The target market for this event was small business owners and prospective entrepreneurs in Hendricks and neighboring counties. This program seemed to be of greatest interest to people who are seriously thinking of starting a business, those who had started their business within the past year, and owners of established businesses who have plans for growth. The Expo included special speakers and opportunities for attendees to learn about firms and organizations that serve small businesses, including lenders, professional services, educational institutions, business development organizations, and others.

The event was attended by 168 individuals representing 102 different businesses. 30 business-support organizations were also represented. The overwhelming majority indicated that the event was helpful and attending entrepreneurs were surveyed and 98% indicated that they had learned one new thing that would be helpful in growing their business.

Impact: Helping People Build their Community Leadership Skills and Become Active in Community Problem-Solving

The people of Indiana have a long and distinguished history of grass-roots community problem-solving. As community issues become more complex, additional help is often needed to build leadership skills that will result in citizens’ abilities to be more effective in addressing their communities’ pressing issues. Nonprofit organizations play a vital leadership role in Indiana’s communities and the staff and volunteers need new tools be effective in serving their communities.

A recent report by the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy found that the most significant restraints on Indiana’s 60,000 nonprofit organizations include small staffs and limited financial resources. Forty-eight percent of the state’s nonprofits have no staff and 41% have just 1-2 employees. Half of Indiana’s nonprofits have revenues of less than $40,000. The report has several recommendations that could help strengthen Indiana’s nonprofit sector and among these recommendations are that nonprofits should collaborate and network to build on their strengths and to help them solve the problems facing their communities.

Extension staff, both specialists and Educators, has served 3,487 individuals by offering educational programming to help them build their community leadership skills and become more active in addressing their communities’ issues. A wide range of programming has been offered in both leadership training and organizational capacity building. There are many examples of Extension’s work in this area. The following is an example of one such activity that took place during 2007.

To meet the kind of needs described in the Indiana University study, Purdue Extension offered The Beginner's Guide to Grant Writing Program during the reporting year. This is a statewide program that pairs campus-based specialists with county-based Extension professional in the delivery of a two-way video, two-day workshop. Campus based specialists provide curriculum materials and coordinate administer the training, including the allocation of Continuing Education Credits for Indiana Certified Teachers, Indiana Public Accountants, Indiana Social Workers, and Law Enforcement officers.  Cost recovery via gifts, scholarships, and registration fees support general operating administration of a professional development mini grant program for county based Extension professional facilitating on-site training. The workshop was delivered in 23 counties. 

The program has built a solid reputation around the state for assisting nonprofits, especially small, community-based organizations. Attendees report that their participation in the program assisted them with applying for and receiving over $5.5 million in funding to address community issues. Grants have supported building renovations, infrastructure development, school-based programs and equipment, small business funding, environmental protection projects, health and human resource projects, programs to enhance computer and health education projects, youth programs, and general operating dollars supporting organization growth and sustainability.

Impact: Helping Communities Identify & Address Critical Issues

Community are complex organizations in which no single person or entity is “in charge.” Most communities lack the “civic space” in which to frame issues and identity ways to address them. In many communities, Extension provides that civic space acting as a neutral convener, providing the facilitation needed to engage stakeholders, and serving as an impartial source of research-based information to assist the community in making better-informed decisions.

In 2007, Extension staff, both specialists and educators, were involved in 370 communities helping them build their capacity to identify and address critical issues. The array of issues is wide and the ways in which Extension has assisted has taken a number of forms. Some of the areas in which community issues have been identified and addressed include local government finance, land use and natural resource, entrepreneurship, workforce development.

There are many examples of Extension’s work in this area. The following are two representative examples of Extension programming that took place during the reporting period: (1) Responding to the need for programming related to local government finance, two state-wide sessions were delivered on the topic. Over 600 local government officials attended these programs. (2) In Allen County, Extension assisted in forming a new coalition of youth-serving organizations that resulted in a youth summit. One of Extension’s contributions was to assist the helping the community’s youth conduct town hall meetings to identify priority community needs.

The following are some of the impacts and results from the programming related to this issue. (1) In the local government finance program 97% of participants indicated that the information from the session helped them identify important community issues related to local government finance and 88% indicated that their new knowledge would have an impact on the fiscal well-being of their community. (2) The adult advisers attending the Allen County youth summit indicated their perception of the significant benefits of a venue in which youth could identify community issues about which they are concerned and to communicate these concerns to adult civic leaders. As a result, the youth applied for and received three grants of $500 each (total of $1,500) to help address community needs.