Food Systems Network NYC is a membership based organization designed to foster communication and cultivate community amongst various stake holders and professionals working across the food system. Members gather monthly for Open Networking meetings to encourage collaboration; share information; discuss public policy; and promote opportunities for individuals to partner on specific projects. We are pleased to launch our website to better fulfill our mission and to provide tools for our members to share resources and grow stronger. Please enjoy looking through what our site has to offer, and if you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to get in touch!

Open Networking Meeting on Open Accessible Space Information System (OASIS) and Community Mapping Efforts
 
For March, our monthly meeting will include a tour of the important OASIS system of maps by Steven Romalewski, Director, CUNY Mapping Service at CUNY Graduate Center, with a special focus on the recently updated community gardens layer completed by FSNYC's Mara Gittleman, a Compton Fellow working at CENYC. 

On OASIS: "The Open Accessible Space Information System (OASIS) website provides the richest source of community maps for New York City -- free and all in one place. It helps nonprofits, community groups, educators, students, public agencies, and local businesses develop a better understanding of their environment with interactive maps of open spaces, property information, transportation networks, and more."

Additionally, Kimberly Libman, a PhD candidate in Environmental Psychology at CUNY Graduate Center will demonstrate her work – which includes community/youth participation in field work and geocoding.  Her current research "Eating the City" looks at how people perceive, navigate and use urban food environments. She also coordinates a collaboration between CUNY and London Metropolitain University that examines how global cities respond to childhood obesity. She has taught at Hunter College and currently teaches at the New School.
 
DATE: Tuesday, March 9, 2010
TIME: 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Fund for the City of New York, 121 Avenue of the Americas, 6th Floor.
 

The Community Kitchen is the brainchild of Alexandra Lopez Reitzes, co-founder of Rise Up Baking, a collective of bakers, caterers, street vendors, restaurateurs and nutritionists based in New York City. Alexandra turned her hobby of creating specialty cakes into a business in 2007. Rise Up Baking’s worker/owners work from their own kitchens, as well as donated and rented kitchens, and pass on the money they save to their clients and customers. Working mostly rent-free allows Rise Up Baking to use predominantly locally grown, organic and sustainably processed ingredients while keeping prices affordable for the communities it serves. Rise Up Baking has expanded from made-to-order cakes to breads, pastries, catering, a Community Supported Bakery (based on the Community Supported Agriculture, or "CSA", model), and the Community Kitchen, a monthly cooking class and party.

by Sara Grady, Glynwood

A new tool for food system research was launched by the USDA last month, called the Food Environment Atlas.

The interactive map offers state and county level information on a wide variety of food and environmental indicators related to health and well-being.

Users can create maps that show how a single indicator varies across the country, and can view the results for all indicators in a selected county. With the advanced query tool, users can identify counties with combinations of indicators (for example, counties with both high poverty and high obesity rates).

The goal is to allow researchers, policy makers, and the public to find information on a range of factors that affect our food environment. Indicators include statistics relating to food choices, health and well-being, and community characteristics.

According to Elise Golan at the USDA, one of the primary authors of the project, this initiative was a top-down request from the USDA Under Secretary in response to the First Lady’s working group (and her Let’s Move! campaign). Golan commented that the tool represents “an effort to illustrate relationships between the built environment and health, signifying recognition within the administration about the importance of the built environment in influencing food choices.”