Contributed by Jan Newman, Grow Palmer
Area residents are invited to a Local Foods, Local Places action-planning session from 9am-5pm July 27th at the Palmer Depot. The gathering is part of the federal initiative in which Palmer civic association, Grow Palmer has been selected as one of 27 locations nationwide to lead an effort to develop a plan to strengthen the area economy and community through local foods.
The public work session is aimed at exchanging ideas and generating momentum for an action plan designed to promote local food access, economic opportunity and community livability in the greater Palmer area. The full-day session will be led by a consultant team from Progressive Urban Management Associates, which specializes in local food systems. The team will be crafting an action plan around the input and ideas generated during the community discussion.
This federal initiative is led by the White House in partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The initiative’s goal is to provide technical support to integrate local food systems into community economic action plans.
All interested residents are welcome to join the full-day session, especially those interested in directly working or contributing to the success of Grow Palmer or the general local food environment through involvement in the action plan to be developed. Those interested in attending the workshop are asked to RSVP to growpalmer@gmail.com or to Jan Newman at 907-232-5016.
About Grow Palmer:
Grow Palmer started in 2013. This is our fourth growing season. Grow Palmer is a grassroots movement dedicated to creating lasting change in our local food system, fostering connections with community, businesses and traditions of Palmer: including plants, animals, and soils that produce our food.