The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) and Rotary First Harvest (RFH) will replicate the "Produce Purchasing Project" that was piloted at three Harvest Against Hunger host sites in 2014. For 2015, the project will continue under a new title of “Farm to Food Pantry”, which will add new sites and incorporate matching funds from private sources.

2014 Produce Purchasing Project
Getting fresh produce into the emergency food system is an increasingly important part of hunger-relief efforts in communities across Washington.  It also plays a critical role in meeting Results Washington goals for ensuring all Washingtonians are healthy, safe, and supported. During the 2014 growing season, Washington Food Coalition, in partnership with RFH and its Harvest Against Hunger AmeriCorps* VISTA program worked with three sites to develop pilot programs to purchase produce locally from small farmers. 

Results from last season’s efforts in Carnation, Vancouver and Colville indicate that purchasing directly from a local farmer will increase the sale of local crops while improving access to healthier food choices for hungry families.  In addition, buying produce directly from the farmers dramatically strengthens the bond between farmer and food bank.  If a farmer has a strong relationship with a local food bank they will be more inclined to make additional produce donations.  

Additional best practice recommendations from 2014 pilot programs indicate that sites should consider creating contracts with growers, making payments before delivery (“seeds in the ground)”, and engaging multiple farms. By taking these steps, the sites should be able to grow new relationships and strengthen the existing ones that they have with local farms. 

2015 Farm to Food Pantry
In order to continue to develop the momentum gained last season, WSDA has dedicated funding for this year and has asked RFH to coordinate the project.  RFH received funds from the Thread Fund to help expand the project to additional sites.  This year, WSDA and RFH recommend that recipient sites use these funds to leverage locally matching funds to increase the amount available for these projects. While a match is not required, preference may be given to host sites that can come up with some form of matching funds. 

Operating in Eastern Washington, U.S., this value chain was supported by a combination of grants, investments, and contracts that connected local cattle ranchers seeking regional markets with efforts for school kids to consume healthier, local food. The left side of the chain shows two investment positions that connected ranchers with processing facilities operating at a regional level and who could meet the scale of demand from school districts. The right side of the chain shows a grant to help equip school cafeterias to use fresh rather than frozen or highly processed foods. A performance-based contract for advising value chain positions connected the two efforts.

Value chains are made up of independent enterprises that should eventually operate without ongoing grant funds. This requires that each enterprise operates as a well-functioning business that utilizes proper management, sales, and accounting practices. Management of any value chain enterprise should include individuals with experience producing that particular product or service. For example, a cooperative meatprocessing facility, owned by the cattle ranchers themselves, should be managed by people with experience processing and selling meat.

Traditional supply chains differ from regional value chains in that the latter have solid relationships between the interdependent businesses and other interested parties, such as foundations. It is through these relationships that opportunities for mutual success can emerge.

The value chain work highlighted above was not planned. The Thread Fund had an interest in developing regional-scale meat processing, while another funder was focused on improving children’s health through renovating school food preparation. The linkages became apparent only as each effort gained momentum and work expanded to the next link in the chain, with the investors ultimately joining efforts through a performance-based contract. This value chain has now generated a model that is being revised for a next round of strategic value chain engagement and investment.

The Pacific Northwest is a leader in food systems development with agendas that are innovative and rapidly evolving. As separate actors in the region generate plans and policies, it is important to view these agendas as connected and mutually affective. To gain a snapshot of what is moving in the area, this report analyzes the following documents for themes, trends, and distinctions:

• City of Seattle Food Action Plan
  
• King County Executive’s Top 20 Action Items for 2015-2017
  
• Washington Food Systems Roundtable Food Action Plan
  
• Multnomah County Food Action Plan
  
• Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) Food Action Plan 
  
• Luma Consulting Report Landscape Scan of Food Systems, for investors
  
• Whatcom Food Network Community Food Assessment
  
• Clark County Food System Council Policy Roadmap
  
• Snohomish County Sustainable Lands Strategy Report

In addition to the above list, several other regional actors are in the process of developing food action plans including the Kitsap Food Policy Council, Spokane Food Policy Council, and the Community Farm Connection (CFC) out of north central Washington. These actors and their goals thus far were analyzed based on website content rather than a published document.  

The documents were analyzed based largely on text related to goals, actions, and indicators. They range in format and detail, from fully formed food action plans to succinct bulleted lists to narrative research reports. The Snohomish County Sustainable Lands Strategy Report is particularly unique because it focuses exclusively on land management, but has implications for the food system nonetheless. The actors represent a full spectrum of stages in food action plan development. For instance, Clark County may have the gateway goal to “Develop/define a vision for urban agriculture in Clark County” while the City of Seattle fine-tunes the city property database to “develop additional site criteria to more readily identify vacant or underused parcels suitable for urban agriculture”. Together, they present the diverse yet cohesive picture of food system trends in the Pacific Northwest.

The plans call for a variety of actions to build a more sustainable and equitable local food system. This report does not cover every single action in the plans, but focuses on main trends and categories.  Upon analysis, nine key actions emerge:

• Preserve and improve rural farmland
  
• Support new and small-scale farmers
  
• Increase urban agriculture
  
• Improve regional food infrastructure
  
• Increase institutional procurement of local foods
  
• Increase access to fresh, healthy foods 
  
• Encourage a culture which values local food
  
• Prevent food waste
  
• Aggregate funds to support regional common agendas

For complete information, download the report below.