Talkin' FF4F with Kathleen Merrigan

On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of speaking with Kathleen Merrigan, Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Agriculture and creator of the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food campaign. She was visiting NC State University as a guest of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems and the Ten Percent Campaign. CEFS is a leading institution of the local foods movement in North Carolina, having developed the statewide action guide From Farm to Fork: A Guide to Building North Carolina's Sustainable Local Food Economy, which, in turn spurred creation of the North Carolina Sustainable Local Food Advisory Council.

I asked Deputy Secretary Merrigan directly about removing the regulatory obstacles blocking the success of the ‘Food and Fuel for the Forces’ (FF4F) initiative and permit Department of Defense procurement agencies to specify a ‘geographic preference’ for the purchase of agricultural products. Making this change to Federal regulations would accelerate the ability of distributors like Foster Caviness to purchase goods locally for direct consumption at Fort Bragg, Camp Lejuene, Seymour Johnson AFB, and other military installations. It would also open up a huge institutional market for farmers in NC’s military region, thereby strengthening local agricultural economies and helping keep farmers profitable and land in production. Furthermore, there is no better next-door neighbor for a military base than a farm or forest, so such a move would be a ‘win-win’ for North Carolina’s two largest industries – agriculture ($70B) and defense ($23B).

The precedent for local preference has already been established in the current (2008) Farm Bill, whereby school systems receiving federal funds under Child Nutrition programs can specify purchase of local products. This has been a boon to the emerging ‘Farm-to-School’ movement.

When I asked her about support for including ‘local preference’ language in the 2012 Farm Bill to address military procurement, her response was unexpected, but welcoming: “Why wait?” She directed her staff assistant to contact me in the next few days so that the appropriate USDA officials can engage with our partners, supportive institutions, and local activists. This is exciting, especially knowing the support that FF4F has from NC’s military commanders, the Governor’s office, and our congressional delegations. With some persistence (and perhaps a few phone calls and visits from our supporters!), we can make this happen!

Stay tuned!

A Green Future for Economic Development - the Dollars and Sense of Open Space

On January 26, 2011, I was pleased to attend the one-day conference 'A Green Future for Economic Development', presented by the Research Triangle Regional Partnership.  We've come along way in the past two decades - an Economic Development Partnership sponsoring an "open space summit" would have been an absurd notion 20 years ago.  This workshop was a confirmation that the market has responded to what people really want in their communities - trees, green spaces, parks, natural areas - and paths and sidewalks to take them there.  These are the aspects of 'quality of life' that will drive growth and real estate development going forward.

RTRP has kindly uploaded the three major presentations from the conference (scroll down to "Presentations from the Event").  These slides shows, courtesy of Chuck Flink, Ed McMahon, and Michael Kirschman, are a great primer for planners and citizens to use to convey the economic value of open space, parks, greenways, and natural areas.

Kudos to RTRP, Triangle Tomorrow, and their volunteers for an exceptional production.

Your Public Library - A Partner for Green Urbanism and Sustainability?

We’ve mentioned before how the traditional grid-street pattern of our downtowns represents ‘true urbanism’ (as opposed to ‘new urbanism’, a market-driven affectation that usually produces homes priced out of the reach of most working citizens): a structure that gives Region communities an inherent advantage toward establishing a greener economy (by implementing the best management practices necessary to reduce energy consumption, increase the manufacture and procurement of local goods (especially food), and enhance economic growth). Sustainable urbanism, green urbanism - both under the rubric of creating 'vibrant centers' - will drive community development in the 21st century.



No center can be vibrant without the venerable Public Library, commonplace in the downtowns of our 11 county seats, and many other cities and towns throughout the region (we boast 41 total branches, according to the Library Technology Guides website.)


This is especially good news, as these publicly-owned facilities could become ‘anchors’ for green communities and neighborhoods. "Public libraries are emerging as strategic partners with their local governments in shaping and achieving sustainability goals", according to this upbeat report by the Urban Libraries Council, which urges citizens to see the vital connection between the two. "They are cut from the same public service cloth, and share the same values and commitment to building strong, healthy, engaged, resilient, and sustainable communities."


What great reasons to support your local library, particularly in today's tough fiscal climate. The ROI (return on investments) of our libraries will only grow as we move toward green communities.


(Thanks to Kaid Benfield for inspiring this post.)