Demand for sustainably produced local food in Kansas City, St. Louis and Mid-Missouri has risen because there is increased knowledge of the benefits of locally produced food among the general public as well as increased access for limited resource eaters.
| Indicators for Evaluation |
Evaluation of Progress |
| Outcome 8: Stable and growing demand for locally produced food in Kansas City, Mid-Missouri and St. Louis due to increased knowledge of the benefits of locally produced food among the general public.
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| Number of consumers asking for local food products at local retailers and local restaurants increases by 20% at selected survey sites.
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- 1,210 consumers in Mid-Missouri were contacted and informed of such things as how to access additional local food products. (Annual Report 0506)
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| Accessible and understandable materials for the general public about the benefits of community food systems are available in multiple formats.
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- Two issues of the MRCC coop courier newsletter were focused on the benefits of local food systems. Each of these issues went to 440 low-income members. The newsletter also included a story on the benefits of community food systems and how to access local food which was distributed to 3,900 people. (MRCC 06)
- Online versions of the Flavor of Local Foods and Farmers’ Markets for WC & KC are available on the Food Circles Web site, Jackson County Web site and Local Harvest Web site. (KC 0708)
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| 20 media pieces exploring local food options and food security appear over the course of 3 years.
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- Articles about locally produced foods ran in, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Columbia Missourian, Columbia Tribune, the Chillicothe Constitution Tribune, Hamilton Advocate, Jefferson County Business Journal, and the Missouri Ruralist. In addition, a story announcing the grant program was widely reported in small daily newspapers throughout the state, resulting in several new contacts for project staff.
- TV programming included one story on the benefits of buying locally produced meat that aired on Channel 5 (St. Louis), one story on local foods that aired on Channel 13, and one story covering consumer choices in the food system on Channel 8 (Columbia). (Annual Report 0405)
- Articles about locally produced foods ran in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (one article with 1.1 million readership), Columbia Tribune (one article with 43,120 readership), as well as in the Columbia Business Times, Missourian Emprint Cornerpost, MyMissourian online, Delta Farm Press and The Missouri Ruralist. In addition, a story announcing the grant program was widely reported in small daily newspapers throughout the state, resulting in several new contacts for project staff. (Annual Report 0506)
- TV programming included one story on Channel 8 (Columbia) covering a farmer donation of local food to Hurricane Katrina victims. (Annual Report 0506)
- A radio show on community radio in Columbia featured 5 hours of serial programming on local food issues in Mid-Missouri. (Annual Report 0506)
- Successfully placed sustainable agriculture and community food system stories in major media throughout our geographic areas. This includes:
- 3 Local Food cable television programs
- 3 Local Food/sustainable ag radio programs
- 15 newspaper stories, 5 op-eds and 25+ letters to the editor. 8 editorials appeared in Missouri newspapers. (MRCC 0708)
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| 500 consumers participate in festivals and events celebrating community food systems.
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- Organized a local food event at the Twilight Festival in downtown Columbia Missouri bringing together producers, retailers and educators to provide information on local food and specifics on how to access it in Mid-Missouri.
- Co-sponsored two Kansas City Food Circle's Farmer Expos which attracted 1,125 area consumers. (Annual Report 0405)
- Promoted and held three local food events and three local food meetings at which 2,950 pounds of local food was prepared by chefs and caterers in St. Louis and Mid-Missouri. These events drew over 640 people and were used to highlight Missouri farmers and chefs who are committed to producing and preparing local food. (Annual Report 0506)
- Held three local food events in Kansas City bringing together Mid-Missouri farmers with our allies within the African-American religious community to celebrate our cultural and food heritages. (Annual Report 0506)
- Organized two local food events at the Twilight Festival in downtown Columbia Missouri bringing together producers, retailers and educators. (Annual Report 0506)
- Partnered with the Kansas City Food Circle to host the annual Farmers’ Expo which attracted over 2,000 consumers looking for locally produced food. 200 people attended the Warrensburg Earth Fair that featured local foods and farmers. (Annual Report 0607)
- The annual Eat Local (formerly Farmer’s Expo) event…turned out 800 people and has been rebooked for next years event. (KC 0708)
- Patchwork Family Farms pork has become an integral annual addition to the Farm Aid concert and related local food activities and has been highlighted in numerous media outlets as a successful family farm alternative to corporate meat. (MRCC 0708)
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| Sales of locally grown food products in restaurants and grocery stores increases by 20% at selected survey sites.
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Worked with the University of Missouri Dining Service to add 1,800 in-season apples per week to our Mid-Missouri distribution network.. (Annual Report 0506)
- Worked with allies to integrate local food into four annual events in Columbia and Jefferson City. (Annual Report 0506)
- 9 growers and 10 chefs are participating in a website project designed to facilitate communication between growers and chefs. (Annual Report 0506)
- 38 postings were listed for sale on the farm/chef website. (STL Q2-0607)
- 255 farmers were contacted about listing their operation in the To Market, To Market local food guide in the St. Louis area. Currently 59 East Central Missouri farms and farmers’ markets are listed which includes 9 new farms and 1 new farmers’ market. The guide was published in the Healthy Planet newspaper, reaching more than 90,000 St. Louis eco-conscious consumers. (Annual Report 0607)
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Number of farmers’ market customers increases by 5% in the 3 targeted regions
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- 3 new farmers markets were established. (STL Q3-0405)
- 4 farmers' markets were assisted with marketing and merchandizing ideas for the coming season. (KC Q3-0506)
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| Outcome 9: Increased understanding of the benefits of locally produced food on the part of nutrition professionals and agricultural youth educators and utilization of this understanding in their own programming efforts which will contribute to the general promotion of community food systems.
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| Knowledge and skills increases through workshops and trainings as reflected in evaluation self-assessments.
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| Expanded documented use of community food system data and examples in curriculum used by these professionals.
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- In Kansas City, the market leader, Ball’s Foods, increased its locally-grown product category sales by 35% for the 2005 season. (Annual Report 0506)
- One store featuring mostly local produce opened in an outlying suburb of Kansas City in spring 2006. (Annual Report 0506)
- Partnering with 20 farmers and rural development advocates in Lafeyette County to create a ‘Regional Cuisines’ concept similar to the Mississippi River Hills project south of St. Louis. Organized a day tour of thee farms in the Mississippi River Hills area to promote awareness of local food and to provide marketing opportunities for farmers, as well as to expose the 29 St. Louis area participants to problems from the spring freeze. Staff continues to work with both projects as a way to increase the awareness of locally grown food and agriculture activities. (Annual Report 0607)
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| Outcome 10: Increased access for limited resource eaters to sustainably and locally produced food.
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| 5% increase in the number of families participating in the MRCC Food Cooperative program.
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| Provide at least 5 pounds of locally-raised food per family in MRCC Food Cooperatives each month during the growing season, which will increase the amount of locally-raised food provided to low-income rural Missourians through the Food Cooperative program by 42,000 pounds.
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- MRCC's food cooperative purchased and distributed an additional 21,800 pounds of in-season produce produced by Mid-Missouri farmers for 850 low-income rural families who are members of the cooperative.
- MRCC’s food cooperative purchased and distributed 24,800 pounds of local, family farm raised produce and meat raised by Mid-Missouri farmers for 750 low-income rural families who are members of the cooperative. (Annual Report 0506)
- Building on MRCC’s history of local food work in inner-city KC, we initiated a project with a church in north St. Louis city. MRCC members attended church, held barbeques and cultural events centered on local food. As a result of this relationship, and subsequent meetings, this church has since started a community food project of there own and continues to partner with MRCC and this project. (Annual Report 0607)
- MRCC’s food cooperative purchased and distributed 38,121 pounds of local, family farm raised produce, meat and eggs to over 900 low-income, rural families. (Annual Report 0607)
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| Two new farmers’ markets serve low-income urban areas in Kansas City and St. Louis.
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- The St. Louis Tower Grove Farmers' Market (new '06) and the New Roots CSA ('05) / Farmers' Market ('06) target low-income families.
- 2 new farmers markets were established in the KC area. (KC Q2-0607)
- The Kansas City Metro Area continues to expand its number of Farmers’ Markets with nine new markets established. (KC 0708)
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