FEAST on This! Community Organizes Around Healthy Food
By Cole Cottin, KRC’s Our Local Food – Kaw River Valley coordinator
On Monday, September 24, 2012, over 70 people gathered at Highland Community College’s historic Klinefelter Barn in Hiawatha, to engage in Kansas’ first ever “Community FEAST.”FEAST (Food, Education, Agriculture Solutions Together) is a model for community organizing created by the Oregon Food Bank to help involve people in addressing regional food systems issues. FEASTs held elsewhere in the nation have resulted in increased nutrition education efforts, farm-to-school partnerships, local food hubs, new farmers markets, food producer networking groups, community gardens, food policy councils, and more.
Child Nutrition Specialists with the Kansas Department of Education, Cheryl Johnson and Barb Depew, engage participants at Brown County’s Community FEAST. Several food service workers from local schools were in attendance. |
FEAST participants take a break to enjoy a locally prepared, locally sourced, there-course meal at Highland Community College’s historic Klinefelter Farm – Hiawatha, KS. |
FEAST Facilitator, Cole Cottin (right), collaborates in organizing topics for small group discussion with Chris Green (left) of the Kansas Leadership Center and Myles Alexander (center) of K-State’s Center for Engagement and Community Development. |
Above, a small group of FEAST participants engaged in a collaborative brainstorm on solutions to healthy foods access issues in Brown County. |
Kansas county-by-county 2012 Health Status Ranking results from the Kansas Health Institute. |
Participants dine on local winter squash soup with fresh baked rolls and local apple cobbler with local goat-milk ice cream, at Brown County’s Community FEAST. |