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Summer 2022 (July)
A message from our Director, Maddie Chera:
I hope all of you have had a chance to recharge and enjoy the sunshine this summer. For many of us, though, summer’s actually a really busy season! Whether we’re harvesting veggies in the community garden, getting lesson plans ready for school, connecting our neighbors with fresh food and other resources, or traveling to meet with colleagues, I know we are all working hard.
Our team has been busy planning for the future, including for our upcoming Educators Workshop happening in a couple of weeks at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds and for the long-term growth of the Food Policy Council through our strategic planning process (see more details on both of these in the full newsletter!). We’ve also been working with many of you to keep our current projects moving forward. We’re thrilled to have continued supporting farmers market managers through our partner Ohio Farmers Market Network. We are developing a regional agricultural education curriculum for Cincinnati Public Schools and other K-12 districts. And we continue to support healthy workplaces and institutional local purchasing efforts in our area alongside Organic Association of Kentucky and other organizations.
Our regional partners and colleagues in food systems work have been busy too. The Northern Kentucky Health Department is moving forward on its Community Health Improvement Plan, and our local American Heart Association office hosted the national organization in a listening session with local nutritional security leaders on June 29.
In state and federal policy news, the Food Policy Council joined other advocates in our region in calling for continued attention to childhood nutrition, and we joined the Hunger-Free Schools Ohio Coalition. President Biden extended school meal waivers, and the White House will be hosting a Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in September.
Some other important developments you should know about:
We’ve adopted a quarterly newsletter format with a bit more content, for the time being (seasonality is on-brand for us, right?).
Green Umbrella will be moving again very soon! As of Aug. 1, our homebase will be the Digital Futures Building at the University of Cincinnati. We will join a cluster of nonprofits in a new space dedicated to innovative research.
One of Green Umbrella’s signature annual events, Great Outdoor Weekend, is coming up in September, and we’re hoping some of you fellow food-focused organizations will sign-up to host a free outdoor event in your space.
Stay tuned for more information about our finalized strategic plan in the next newsletter, and mark your calendar now to join us for some of our exciting upcoming events in the full newsletter.
Cheers! Maddie Chera, PhD Director, Greater Cincinnati Regional Food Policy Council
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