Tune in Tony Damico from Long Beach Fresh on #IndieCreatorsintheJoyZone Hosted by Tom Ardavany and Suzanne Toro
Check out their great work at http://LBFresh.org
About Long Beach Fresh...
Map Needs & Opportunities
Constantly obtain wish lists, needs, opportunities from stakeholders and potential partners. Matchmake and publicize those needs & opportunities. Our goal is not to “be the solution” but instead, “bridge the solution.”
Inventory Assets & Create Directory of Local Food
Inventory local farms, businesses and organizations who comprise the Long Beach food scene. Promote, educate and recruit using this information.
Establish Metrics
Establish key performance indicators including: local meals eaten; food grown; urban farm acreage; survey habits and attitudes; etc. Publicize data via infographics and reports.
Establish Relationships to Greater Community
Outreach to hundreds of businesses, neighborhood groups, city officials and education institutions to connect them to local food resources.
Best Practices/Models Library
Archive templates, models and best practices to help the public initiate food projects such as starting a community garden, hosting tree plantings, sourcing farm-to-table menus, etc.
Capacity Building
Work with food community stakeholders to build their capacity, overcome obstacles, and connect with new programs, resources and people who can help them grow.
Consumer Awareness Marketing
Leverage local news, social media and our partners to help the public find and use local foods at multiple price points, at any time of year.
Convening of Local Food Leaders
Meet face-to-face with local feed leaders for two-way communication and whole-community open collaboration. Form Workgroup meetings for Eaters, Feeders and Seeders to concentrate on more specific issues. (Visit our Events page for upcoming Workgroup meetings, or Contact Us for more information.)
Local Food Website
Archive all of the above information on a website that connects local eaters, feeders and seeders with information, resources, and each other. (This is that website…stay connected with us to watch new resources come online.)
What We Don’t Do
LB Fresh is a facilitating group. It’s important to note that we will not do the following:
Duplicate Existing Programs and Services
We do not replicate existing services or launch competitive fundraising campaigns. For example, we will not open the “Long Beach Fresh Community Garden;” instead it is our job to support existing and burgeoning gardens.
Create New Bureaucracy
We enable people in the local food movement to self-start new initiatives and collaborate directly with one another to solve problems.
Gatekeep Access to Resources
We will be fully transparent about opportunities, statistics and resources that we identify.
Dictate to the Food Community What It Needs and Who It Is
Our goal is to help organizations fulfill their own missions and connect organizations more deeply with all aspects of the local food economy.
#suzannetoro #thomasardavay #icjztv #IndieCreators #joyzone #longbeachfresh #tonydamico #farmfreshfood #foodaccess #equality
Connect with Suzanne Toro and Thomas Ardavany
