The Food Alliance Rural Coalition and SuperMarketCoop Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy The Food Alliance The Food Alliance (TFA) is a non-profit organization that promoteeligibility criteria label their products with The Food Alliance seal of approval. CommunityFood is proud to represent several growers certified by The Food Alliance. Consumers who buy Food Alliance-Approved can do so with the knowledge that they are supporting farmers who are caring for the environment and providing safe and fair working conditions for farm workers. More specifically, The Food Alliance seal of approval guarantees that a product has been evaluated on the following principles: protection and conservation of soil and water resources; reduction, if not elimination, of the use of pesticides; conservation and enhancement of wildlife habitat; conservation and the recycling of nutrients; providing safe and fair working conditions for farm workers; producing crops without the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs); raising livestock in healthy and humane conditions, and without administering either growth stimulating hormones or sub-therapeutic antibiotics The Food Alliance is expanding throughout the country. The organization forged a partnership with The Midwest Food Alliance in St. Paul, Minn., and is currently exploring a number of opportunities for expansion to other regions as well. The Food Alliance and the Midwest Food Alliance use the same set of endorsement criteria and a seal of approval to market sustainably grown products. Presently, in addition to CommunityFood's website, Food Alliance produce, dairy and livestock can be found in grocery stores, farmers markets and roadside stands throughout the Midwest and Northwest. Rural Coalition and SuperMarketCoop Some of the products listed on CommunityFood.com are brought to you by an arrangement with SuperMarketCoop.com a project of the Rural Coalition/ Coalición Rural. The Rural Coalition is an alliance of regionally and culturally diverse organizations in the United States and Mexico working to build a more just and sustainable food system that: brings fair returns to minority and other small farmers and rural communities; ensures just and fair working conditions for farmworkers; protects the environment; and delivers safe and healthy food to consumers. SuperMarketCoop.com is a cooperative marketing effort to provide consumers with an alternative source of healthy foods while supporting small and minority farmers and their cooperatives. The SuperMarket was organized around an alternative model of trade based on shared social justice and environmental values. The project began in 1999 with a grant from the Department of Commerce and matching funds from our members and foundations that provided computers and training to 15 member groups. In less than 2 years, they had successfully crossed the digital divide, developing creative marketing strategies selling a wide variety of high quality food and crafts via the Internet. The project has grown to include over 20 small farm and indigenous cooperatives and groups from the U.S., Guatemala and Mexico. The SuperMarket now also consists of three programs: retail website at www.SuperMarketCoop.com; Small Farm Connection, a virtual community supported agriculture program; and Fertile Ground, a virtual product availability warehouse, regional foods marketing and educational program. The article below details the origins of www.SuperMarketCoop.com: The People’s SuperMarket An Alternative Trade Network By Debra Livingston On a September night in 1992, The Rural Coalition began an in-depth inquiry into globalization and trade. On the dark streets of El Paso, members of the Rural Coalition huddled under the bridge to Mexico with farmworkers, who are also farmers in Mexico, who were awaiting the labor contractors. We had come to learn what NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) would mean to rural communities in the U.S. and Mexico. After comparing notes on relative costs of production, the reality of free trade hit like a death sentence. The Mexican farmers whose livelihood is based on maize concluded, “I guess we won’t be able to grow corn anymore.” But rather than competing with each other, the group decided there was more to be gained from cooperation. They decided to form their own “People to People NAFTA.” An Agreement for International Solidarity was signed on the bridge on September 12, 1992. According to Lorette Picciano, Executive Director of the Rural Coalition, “On the bridge back to El Paso, we left behind any border that may have existed in our Coalition. We signed an agreement, not opposing trade, but pledging mutual support in the face of trade agreements constructed by and for the powerful.” Moving from this statement of mutual interest to creation of a working model of how trade could be organized, however, was not a simple task. Still, over the course of seven years of meetings across the U.S. and in Mexico an alternative did indeed emerge. The alternative people-to-people trade network blossomed by 1999 into a people's "SuperMarket," the foundation for economic cooperation among our members. SuperMarket member and wild rice farmer Gail Lennon describes the joys and challenges of farming in this way: “As any family farmer will tell you, the joys of farming are plentiful. We love to till our ground, while watching the birds fly down to thoroughly enjoy the insects and mice that we unearth. We plant our seeds and care for the plants as they grow strong and healthy. We hope the weather will be good. We know then that we are a valuable asset to society and know that others will enjoy the fruits of our labor. That is good and right. Wouldn't it be nice if that was all there was to farming? However, the next step is marketing and our enemies, the thieves, begin raising their ugly heads. We can produce these beautiful crops, the weather and conditions can be perfect, but even if everything goes right, which it seldom does, we are still going broke because the price is out of our control. One of the ways that family farmers have attempted to control prices is by joining together and forming cooperatives so that they could continue to stay a family farm unit but be bigger. It can work, but like farming it is much easier said than done.” The SuperMarket was organized to create an alternative model of trade based on shared social justice and environmental values. It was designed to help small, limited resource and minority agricultural producers and artisans by combining the support and services needed to market their goods. In 1999, with funding from the Department of Commerce Technology Opportunities Program and matching support from foundations and the participating groups, member cooperatives received Internet-ready iMac computers and completed computer and Internet training. The first program developed was a value-added retail website – www.SuperMarketCoop.com enabling participants to skip the middlemen and sell directly to consumers. Launched with the participation of two cooperatives, it has now expanded to twelve cooperative organizations in the U.S. with Maine member, H.O.M.E., helping to market products from Mexican cooperatives and a Guatemalan affiliate in an effort appropriately named “Mano a Mano” (Hand to Hand). The products available through www.SuperMarketCoop.com include wild rice, cured pork items, cheese, preserves, honey, coffee, tea and a variety of textiles, baskets and other craft items. The second program, The Small Farm Connection is based on an expanded version of community supported agriculture (CSA). Each month a different cooperative organization sends subscribers a box of food, crafts and educational materials. For example, the boxes sent out by Black farmer organization, Mississippi Association of Cooperatives, consisted of a festively wrapped miniature bushel basket filled with sweet potatoes, garlic, hot peppers and raw peanuts with a decorative pot holder. For a $35 per month investment, subscribers receive not only tasty food, but also regional recipes and two publications – Food and Faces and The Juicer. The former tells the story of the featured cooperative producers and the latter conveys important information regarding agricultural policy and program issues. These publications offer producers an avenue for sharing their stories with consumers, providing a crucial link aimed at mutual support and solidarity. The third component is under development. “Fertile Ground” will use a database-driven website to enable producers to interact with each other and consumers for the sale of fresh vegetables, fruits and other food items targeted toward regional markets. Through trial and error, the SuperMarket members have pursued numerous directions, and now agree that their goal is not to sell products at the cheapest price to the Wal-Marts and McDonalds of the world. Rather, their goal is to market in a more interdependent manner that works to the mutual benefit of farmers, farmworkers and consumers and their communities. They want to connect with consumers who share their values and beliefs: “We dreamed of making our world a little like it was when I started farming, a place where farmers and consumers would get to know each other again and be neighbors, taking care of each other. Family farmers could provide the good and safe food and consumers could help us get food policies working for everyone! Now neighbors who are interested in buying wholesome and safe food, like wild rice or honey and jams and vegetables from cooperatives that are socially just, can do so on the Internet. They can also buy crafts from Maine or organic coffee from Mexico. It is really working and I am so excited! The Supermarket has been a wonderful outlet for me. It has been a fun learning experience and keeps reminding me that there are many people who care about the survival of the family farm and are actually willing to be involved. It has kept me going.” Gail Lennon, SuperMarket member and wild rice farmer from California. Connecting with consumers who share our values and beliefs requires a more diversified and at times more complicated marketing strategy. But it has the additional benefit of connecting the coops with people who could become political allies. The SuperMarket provides consumers with a way to unify their economic choices with their political values. Because the SuperMarket is not just about changing the economic situation of those involved. It is about changing the world in which they operate. In other words, support for justice and equity is the goal of a true “Super” Market. Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to sustaining agriculture in western Massachusetts and promoting the products of small farms. CISA works toward community development by fostering a long-term, symbiotic relationship between small-scale farmers and neighboring consumers. The organization also works to develop inroads into local institutions who are interested in buying local food. CISA offers programs, special events, marketing products and workshops; all of which enhance the economic development of the region. Since 1999, market research indicates that by increasing farm profitability and by making local farm products readily available, CISA's programs and services have been very effective at enhancing the local economy and influencing consumer buying habits. FoodRoutes Network (FRN) was privileged to partner with CISA in the development phase of the "Be a Local Hero, Buy Locally Grown" campaign. This highly successful (CISA) program was launched in Western Massachusetts on June 24th, 1999 and has been growing ever since. In the first year alone, over half of area consumers responding to a survey had heard about the "Be a Local Hero" campaign. Most importantly, over 60% of those consumers had changed their buying habits as a result of the information. Strengthening the ties between farmers and consumers is only one facet of this campaign; CISA has also begun an initiative to include area restaurants serving locally grown food in this effort. "Buy Locally Grown" Marketing and Public Education Campaign In 1999 CISA launched a multi-faceted marketing campaign to convince consumers that locally grown food is fresher and tastes better. The message is carried in newspapers, on the radio, on point-of-purchase materials, bumper stickers, bus board advertisements and at special events. These marketing efforts have created a rise in demand for local food products at supermarkets, farm stands and restaurants. In the countryside, CISA has offered training workshops for farmers to help them gain access to new markets and increase their profitability. 74 farmers are now participating in the campaign; along with 8 farmers' markets, 12 restaurants and 37 grocery stores. Small-scale farmers have reported an increase in sales, greater profitability and market share due to CISA's programs. Restaurant owners have reported an increase in the use of local meat, fruit and produce. As a result of this success, Western Massachusetts cities and towns are seeing economic development benefits - increased tax base, open land in good and sustainable use and the retention of the small farm and the small business within the greater community. As a result of CISA's innovative combination of alternative and conventional marketing approaches, their Local Hero program is expanding to include additional counties in Massachusetts. Their success has also inspired community-based food and farm organizations nationwide to launch similar initiatives. FRN is currently working with CISA and a network of these organizations to develop "buy local" campaigns in communities across the country and to share lessons learned. To learn more about CISA's programs click here [PDF 967K]. Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy promotes resilient family farms, rural communities and ecosystems around the world through research and education, science and technology, and advocacy. They host an extensive network of websites, databases, and listservs on food and farming issues which can be accessed from http://www.iatp.org. Monitoring, Analysis and Research IATP monitors the key events and topics related to agriculture, environment, community economic development and trade. The data are then analyzed to determine potential economic and ecological implications. Policy options are researched and presented in response to specific problems and opportunities. Education and Outreach IATP prepares educational materials for distribution to policymakers, opinion leaders and the public at large. This includes a mail order literature service, video productions, public service announcement (PSA) campaigns, conferences and computer networks. Training and Technical Assistance IATP provides training, consulting and technical assistance to groups interested in addressing economic and ecological issues through seminars, staff and leadership trainings, teleconferences, videos, on-site consultations and a system of computerized updates. Coalition Building and International Networking Concerned groups are brought together in coalitions to increase coordination of activities in a variety of issue areas. IATP also works to build international networks by linking groups in different countries through conferences, study tours, publications, action campaigns and global electronic bulletin boards.   ©2007 CommunityFood.com All rights reserved