What's 'MOO' At The Clearinghouse — May
2000
National Nutrition Summit
Upcoming Workshops and
Conferences
Stand For Children Day
Updates and Reminders
New Publications and Resources
from the USDA
* Mooore Moo
(Web-only articles) *
Summer Food Service
Programs
HUD Youthbuild Program
Funding
Food Assistance and Nutrition
Research Grants
National Nutrition Summit
Hunger and nutrition activists, take note! Thirty
years after the first Nutrition Summit, the USDA and
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are
co-sponsoring a National Nutrition Summit in
Washington, D.C on May 30-31, 2000. Food Insecurity
and Hunger will be among the primary topics covered
during the two-day summit, which will include public
addresses by government representatives, as well as
breakout sessions led by distinguished leaders in
the field of nutrition and hunger. Former U.S.
Senator Bob Dole is scheduled to address the
meeting, and President Clinton and Vice-President
Gore have been invited to speak as well. Although
registration for the summit is by invitation only
due to space limitations, the initial invitees are
required to register by May 5th. After that time,
invitations and registration materials will be
openly distributed to individuals on a first-come,
first-served basis, for which a waiting list has
been established. Hunger, food-security, and
nutrition workers in grassroots organizations are
encouraged to place their names on the waiting list
now in order to increase their chances of securing a
spot at the summit.
For more information or to be placed on the waiting
list, please fax contact information and an
explanation of your request to Elizabeth Lyman of
the USDA Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services at
(202) 690-3100.
Upcoming Workshops and Conferences
Community Food Security Training Workshops:
How food secure is your community? How does a
community undertake economic development through
food security initiatives? The Community Food
Security Coalition (CFSC) will conduct three two-day
workshops that will address questions like these.
The first day's workshop, titled Food System
Assessment, will provide participants with skills to
evaluate the status of food security in their
communities. The Community Economic Development
workshop on the second day will teach participants
approaches to building the capacity for economic
development in their communities through food
security initiatives. A field trip to a local
community food project will follow the first
workshop in each city. Participants may choose to
attend one or both of the two workshops. The
registration fee is $90 one day/$150 two day for
non-members or $65 one day/$115 two days for CFSC
members, plus $10 for the field trip. Workshop dates
and locations: June 22-23, Philadelphia, PA**July
10-11, Los Angeles, CA **September 21-22, East Troy,
WI
For more information or to receive a brochure on
CFSC workshops, please contact Andy Fisher of the
CFSC at
(310) 882-5410 or by email at
asfisher@aol.com
National Community Service Conference: The
Points of Light Foundation, in partnership with the
Corporation for National Service, presents its
annual National Community Service Conference from
June 24-28 at the Orlando World Center Marriott in
Orlando, Florida. The conference is intended as a
training opportunity for individuals who are
involved with volunteer management, community
volunteering and national service leadership in
nonprofit organizations, businesses, government
agencies and Volunteer Centers.
Stand For Children Day
For the fifth consecutive year, communities around
the country can promote the interests of children by
celebrating Stand for Children Day on June 1, 2000.
The central theme of the project for the year 2000
is "Building Healthier Communities for All
Children." Groups across the U.S. will sponsor local
events related to this theme, including health and
safety fairs, social service expositions, and
pennies for poverty campaigns. Through these events,
the Stand For Children organization hopes to create
awareness of the effects that community issues have
on children's safety and health and to find concrete
ways to improve the communities in which children
live.
Updates and Reminders
Federal Funding Action Alert: The House
Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee will
determine the spending amounts for FY 2001 at a
"mark-up" session this Thursday, May 4th. If you
live in the district or state of a representative on
the subcommittee (see below), contact him or her
directly and express your support for the
President's request for $5.25 million for a new
Anti-Hunger and Food Security grants program.
Committee members: AR Jay Dickey (R), CA Sam Farr
(D), CT Rosa DeLauro (D), FL Allen Boyd (D), FL Bill
Young (R), GA Jack Kingston (R), IA Tom Latham (R),
MO Jo Ann Emerson (R), NM Joe Skeen (R), NY Jim
Walsh (R), NY Maurice Hinchey (D), OH Marcy Kaptur
(D), TX Henry Bonilla (R), WA George Nethercutt (R),
WI David Obey (D)
Call the Congressional switchboard:
202-224-3121
Organic Standards Comments: The USDA released
the revised National Organic Standards on March 8,
2000. The last day to comment on the revisions is
June 12th.
For the revised text of the proposed standards and
information on how to submit comments, go to
www.ams.usda.gov/nop. For more information, call
202-226-4164 or visit
www.purefood.org
New Publications and Resources from the USDA
Increasing Food Recovery From Farmers'
Markets: This new report geographically matches
28 food recovery organizations with local farmers'
markets. It is intended as a tool to help connect
emergency food providers with regional farmers'
markets that may be able to donate produce. The
report can be obtained by calling
1-800-999-6779 (Reference # ERS-FANNR-4, $18) or
on the Economic Research Service website at
www.econ.ag.gov/epubs/pdf/fanrr4 Small Farmer
Success Story--Four Bulletins
Small Farmer Success Story--Four Bulletins:
These four bulletins follow the experiences of the
New North Florida Cooperative, a project in which a
group of small farmers formed the cooperative to
market their fresh produce to local school
districts. The bulletins are available at
www.ams.usda.gov/tmd/mta/publications.htm
WIC and the Nutrient Intake of Children: This
study highlights the impact of WIC on children's
nutrition, asserting that children receiving WIC
benefits have increased intake of iron vitamin B-6
and folate. The full study is available for $14 by
calling 1-800-999-6679 (Reference #
ERS-FANNR-5) or can be downloaded from ERS at
www.ers.usda.gov/epubs/pdf/fanrr5
Characteristics of Food Stamp Households: The
USDA Food and Nutrition Service division has
released this study detailing the characteristics of
households receiving food stamps in 1998. Copies of
the study can be downloaded at www.fns.usda.gov/oane
Summer Food Service Programs
Each summer the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)
provides free, nutritious snacks and meals to
children in low-income areas through sponsor sites
such as camps, non-profit organizations, school
districts, and local government agencies. State
education agencies, departments of agriculture or
health, and social service departments administer
the programs and approve sponsors. Contact your
local administering agency now to find out more
information on how to apply to be an SFSP sponsor
site. State administering agencies usually request
that applications be submitted by mid-May, so act
quickly!
For more information, or to view a list of state
contact agencies, visit the Summer Food Service
Program at the Food and Nutrition Service website:
www.fns.usda.gov/cnd
HUD Youthbuild Program Funding
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is
accepting applications for funding for Youthbuild
programs around the United States. Youthbuild offers
job training to out-of-school young adults through
construction and rehabilitation of affordable
housing in their communities. The program also
provides education, counseling and leadership
development to its members. Public or private
nonprofit agencies, state or local housing agencies,
state or local units of government, or agencies
eligible to provide education or employment training
under other Federal employment-training programs can
apply for this funding. A total of $40,000,000 is
available, with a maximum of $700,000 per grant. The
deadline for applications is June 6th.
For more information, contact Phyllis Williams at
202-708-2035. Applications are available at
the HUD SuperNOFA Information Center:
1-800-HUD-8929 or on-line at
www.hud.gov
Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Grants
The Food Assistance and Nutrition Research program
of the Economic Research Service, USDA, is accepting
applications for competitive research grants in
areas that it considers to be of high priority.
Those four research areas are 1) Reaching
Underserved Populations 2) Food Programs as a Safety
Net and Client Well-Being 3) Child Nutrition and 4)
Behavioral Nutrition. Proposals may be submitted by
State agricultural experiment stations, colleges,
universities, research institutions or
organizations, Federal, State or County agencies,
private organizations, corporations or individuals.
Application deadlines are May 25th or May 26th,
depending on the research category.
Application forms as well as a complete description
of the grants and application process are available
through the ERS website at
www.econ.ag.gov
