2017. April 3-4. Local Food Impact Conference. George Washington Univ. Washington, D.C.

Food Security of national and worldwide security interest.

BEMA International.

Register at:    http://localfoodsimpact.org/

Free And Open To The Public

Livestreaming keynotes on April 3 and 4

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED

What is the Local Foods Impact Conference all about?

Congressionally authorized grant and loan programs to support local food systems have expanded in recent years. Quantifying and evaluating the impacts of these programs is critical. The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, in partnership with The George Washington University, will host a Local Food Impacts Conference April 3 and 4, 2017 in Washington DC. Please join us to explore how to best measure the impacts of local food investments, improve coordination across USDA agencies, and evaluate the extent to which disparate local food investments are complementary and reinforcing. Beyond metrics, this conference provides an opportunity to share local food stories with incoming members of the new Administration and Congress.

Where

Jack Morton Auditorium at the George Washington University

801 21st Street Northwest

Washington  DC

2017 FEB. Upcoming FARM BILL. George Washington Univ. Food Institute Newsletter.

GW Food Institute Newsletter View this email in your browser

February 10, 2017   Dear Friends, It’s officially farm bill season.  At our AGree forum last week, participants were polled as to when they anticipate passage of the next farm bill. A slight majority voted for 2019. I don’t agree with that prediction.  The first farm bill I worked on was in 1990 and since then I have worked on farm bills passed in 1996, 2002, 2008, and 2014. Do you see a pattern?  All even years - if I were a gambler, my money would be on 2018, and in a worst case scenario, 2020. The reason is that, following an election, a new Congress convenes in the odd years and it’s difficult to immediately take on such a large bill with new members and oftentimes shifts in committee membership.  And after a surprising 2016 election and potential congressional upheaval in the 2018 November elections, I’m convinced that Congress will strive to complete the bill sooner rather than later, particularly because dairy and cotton farmers are clamoring for new law.  The only wrinkle that I see is the potential for an essentially no-change farm bill to be wrapped up as part of budget reconciliation at any point in time, with cuts to key programs like SNAP contributing to overall budget reduction.  Regardless of timing, we are heading into a critical season for food and ag in Washington. Last week we partnered with Food Tank to host a Summit on our campus - the auditorium was packed, but it was the online audience that stunned me – 40,000 over the course of the day. Interest in food and ag has never been greater. Dr. Michael Fernandez, a Senior Fellow with the GW Sustainability Collaborative and a longtime colleague of mine, shared an interesting observation.  He was emphasizing the extent to which food discussions are widespread and diverse, and among his proof points was a contrast I found especially striking:  celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has 6.25 million followers on Twitter, whereas the Chairs and Ranking Members of the Senate and House Agriculture Committees have a combined following of 78.8 thousand.  We’re going to be digging into questions of how people get their information on food and ag policy here at the GW Food Institute. I want to highlight two great blogs this issue.  Michael Fernandez provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of food venture capital and my students offer reflections on the Food Tank Summit. Have a great weekend, Kathleen New Commentary Venture Capital: Fueling "disruption" in food and agriculture  Written by Michael Fernandez, GW Sustainability Collaborative Senior Fellow 2/9/2017 There has been a surge in food and ag venture funding. Food Institute Faculty Affiliate Profile: Dr. Kim Robien  by Izzy Moody '19, GW Food Institute Student Fellow 2/3/2017 Dr. Robien's concentrations include food access, environmental nutrition, and sustainable food systems. Student reflections on Food Tank Summit, "Let's Build Better Food Policy"  by Sarah Pagan '17, Kayla Williams '17, Carly Giddings '17, Izzy Moody '19  Students attended the third annual Food Tank Summit on February 3rd, held at the George Washington University.

Upcoming Events with GW Food Institute February 18, 9am-4pm: 2017 Rooting DC Forum. For the past ten years, the Rooting DC forum has been the central meeting ground for individuals and nonprofits looking to grow a healthier food system in the nation’s capital. Find out more details about the event here.  March 29, 7-8:30pm:Chef José Andrés, Special Adviser to President Knapp on food issues, will host an evening lecture in Jack Morton Auditorium as the second installment of the Sustainable Plate series. José will discuss the role of chefs in food policy. RSVP here.        In the News     The successful Food Tank Summit, co-hosted by the GW Food Institute, made waves in the news. Chef José Andrés, Special Adviser to President Knapp on food issues and GW Food Institute faculty, reminded the audience that food is a call to action, and that immigration is a food policy issue. Kathleen Merrigan, GW Food Institute Director, also made headlines saying that"Dark Forces" are coming for organic foods at the Food Tank Summit. Mary Cheh, DC Councilwomen and GW Food Institute Faculty Affiliate, wasinterviewed by Food Tank giving more detail to her food-centered policies. Many of the GW Food Institute community partners that are fighting food insecurity in DC were featured in Washington City Paper, including DCGreens and DC Central Kitchen. Modern farmer gave readers a rundown on another community partner, Wholesome Wave and their FVRx program. Lance Price, Food Institute Faculty Affiliate, was featured in New Scientist in a piece about antibiotic resistance being spread from farms to people. The Institute for International Economic Policy, led by Stephen Smith -- a GW Food Institute Faculty Affiliate, held a conference reviewing the IMF Regional Economic Outlook Report.

Black History Month. Emergency Planning now part of our history.

Black History Month. Emergency Planning.

All our communities must have a basic, or full comprehensive plan to address all-hazards that could affect our communities.

Does your community have a plan for preparedness, response, recovery, mitigation, resiliency planning?

Why not?

Charles D Sharp

CEO

Black Emergency Managers Association International

Washington, D.C.

FOCUS:

Highland Beach (Maryland) Highland Beach was founded in the summer of 1893 by Charles Douglass and his wife Laura after they had been turned away from a restaurant at the nearby Bay Ridge resort because of their race.

http://www.highlandbeachmd.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={1BCD98F5-B03F-4818-92A0-DBB3CDB0CDE3}

An Agenda to Advance Integrative Resilience Research and Practice

February 2017 Newsletter Focus on Community Resilience

Dear Colleagues, We hope everyone is enjoying a healthy and productive start to 2017. While it has been a few months since our last newsletter, the issues related to strengthening the resilience of communities remain ever more resonant and critical in the new year. Not only do we have unprecedented events influencing our communities, our nation, and our world, but we still face a significant mix of stresses that will continue to affect the viability and robustness of where we live and work. We will need to remain vigilant in pulling together new approaches that blend the best of science and practice across disciplines and sectors in order to respond effectively to these challenges. We also have a great opportunity to use resilience science and practice to reimagine how we build our systems and communities. We look forward to sharing these new tools and recent reports with each of you, and hope that you will email us about your resilience activities to keep this important dialogue going. Anita Chandra Director, RAND Justice, Infrastructure, and Environment Joie Acosta Senior Behavioral Scientist

Featured Research Developing an Integrative Agenda for the Future of Resilience Research and Practice People are facing an increasing variety and number of stressors. The nature of these stressors ranges from interpersonal and financial difficulties to environmental hazards and societal forces, affecting individuals, institutions, and communities. Extensive research has focused on the healthiest and most effective ways that people and communities respond to and recover from stress. While resilience science has advanced greatly in terms of understanding the factors that promote individual as well as community resilience, there is increasing recognition of the need for transdisciplinary research (among disciplines such as psychology, environmental health, public health, architecture, planning and community development, economics, political science, criminal justice, etc.). This report summarizes proceedings from a unique meeting of leading researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in the field of resilience, convened by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the RAND Corporation. The document offers an agenda for the future of resilience research and practice. Learn More »

Tools and Resources ENGAGED Toolkit: Improving the Role of Nongovernmental Organizations in Disaster Response and Recovery The ENGAGED toolkit assists emergency planners and nongovernmental organization (NGOs) stakeholders in determining the capacity and capability of particular NGOs for disaster response and recovery. In addition, the toolkit fills an important gap in knowledge and understanding about the key elements that drive NGO participation. Download the Toolkit » Building Partnerships for Recovery Across The Sectors The RAND Corporation, in partnership with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH); the University of Colorado – Denver; and the University of California, Los Angeles, conducted a study to show how partnerships help government agencies, and particularly public health entities, support more efficient and effective recovery. The study resulted in a toolkit, called Partnerships for Recovery Across The Sectors (PRACTIS), which leverages the lessons learned from that study and translates them into actionable guidance for local health departments (LHDs). The toolkit offers LHDs three tools: (1) a sample survey and steps for fielding the survey to help LHDs identify the key CBOs that contribute to disaster response and recovery, (2) a quality improvement guide and sample quality improvement report to help generate guidance about the strengths and weaknesses of the partnerships between LHDs and CBOs and between CBOs, and (3) a tabletop recovery exercise that can be used to improve the relationship between LHDs and CBOs. While the tools are geared towards LHDs and CBOs, there is potential for adaptation to other sector relationships. Download the Toolkit »

Ongoing Research How Can Communities in the U.S. Gulf Region Effectively Build Resilience to Large Oil Spills? Michael B. Watins/U.S. Navy The Consortium for Resilient Gulf Communities (CRGC) aims to assess and address the ways in which the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill affects the health, social, and economic wellbeing of people in the Gulf Coast region. Established in 2015 with funding from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, CRGC is led by the RAND Gulf States Policy Institute, in partnership with Louisiana State University, Tulane University, University of South Alabama, and Louisiana Public Health Institute. Our transdisciplinary research and outreach activities include a wide range of efforts designed to help communities more effectively understand, withstand, and overcome the multiple stressors brought on by catastrophic oil spills. Information and tools for scientists and practitioners are available on the CRGC website. You can also stay updated with our efforts by liking us on Facebook. Community-based Action on Gun Violence Using RAND's Resilience Framework DenisTangneyJr/Getty Images A recent community-based participatory study to address gun violence in New Haven, Connecticut adapted RAND's community resilience framework to guide the work of multiple sectors and broader community response to gun violence. The study found that the framework was effective for mitigating exposure to gun violence in communities with persistent gun violence and activating community members and local officials to engage in gun violence research. The full study can be found here.

Access community resilience training and RAND reports on resilience at www.rand.org/resilience-in-action.

New 42-State Report on Law Enforcement Training Standards on Mental Health Issues

Results from Survey about Law Enforcement Training on Responses to People with Mental Illnesses View this email in your browser

Report Reveals Wide Range of State Law Enforcement Training Standards on Mental Health and De-escalation The CSG Justice Center recently released The Variability in Law Enforcement State Standards: A 42-State Survey on Mental Health and Crisis De-escalation Training. This survey report, completed in partnership with the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training, revealed that while nearly all states have law enforcement training standards on mental health and crisis de-escalation, the required training hours, topics, and teaching methods differ widely. Survey respondents reported, for example, that training on mental health and de-escalation topics ranged from 2–40 hours for recruits or new officers. Learn More and Download the Survey Results