Did you know that there was a 27% increase in Buncombe County residents receiving food assistance last year? That’s over 30,000 members of our community! Did you know 50% of Buncombe County School System students are enrolled in free or reduced lunch program last year? These numbers are staggering and Bountiful Cities is doing important work to help improve food security in the Asheville area.

Bountiful Cities is committed to sustainability through integrated food systems, food security, and food production. We have been working for more than a decade to provide our community access to fresh, organic, nourishing food in order to maintain a healthy and active life. In the City of Asheville, Bountiful Cities is managing over 10 gardens – making up over 5 acres of urban land producing healthy, diverse foods and providing educational programs that foster social justice and sustainability.

With your help, we can continue to expand our services and support our neighbors with programs such as Asheville ROOTS, Real Organic Opportunities Teaching Sustainability at UNCA and Everybody Eats, the annual Community Food Security Forum in Asheville. From eggs to eggplant, Bountiful Cities is creating opportunities for communities all over Asheville.

Your contribution of $25, $50, $100 or more can help implement our Strong Roots Youth Camp, an urban agriculture day camp for youth; or our Grass to Greens program – an edible landscaping and backyard gardens business, which partners with Green Opportunities to teach urban agriculture training and sustainable agriculture skills.

Now more than ever, it is important that we empower Asheville communities to grow food on urban land so that it is accessible to everyone. Bountiful Cities has been at the forefront of the urban agriculture, social justice, community gardening, and food sovereignty movements in Asheville for over a decade, providing resources and education for neighbors to grow food together.

By strengthening our organization through your financial commitment, you are taking steps to help end the food crisis and create a sustainable food system that ensures health, justice, and respect for ALL our citizens and community members.

Sincerely,

Julie Judkins

Go to www.bountifulcitiesproject.org/give to donate. No matter what amount you are able to give, you are supporting education, social justice, sustainability, and community. Thanks for your support of urban agriculture in Asheville!

Last month, the Food Policy Council for Asheville-Buncombe (AB-FPC) launched with great enthusiasm, culling the ideas and talents of the more than 70 community leaders into dozens of actionable goals for improving food security in Asheville and Buncombe County. Community members came up with action items ranging from food security asset mapping to making farm stands easier to establish in residential neighborhoods, and community leaders worked together to prioritize accessibility of fresh food to the lowest-income families. It was a promising start to a more sustainable food future for all in our region. Thanks again to everyone who attended!
This Friday, November 18, we will re-convene to set these goals into motion, and we need your voice at the table. For newcomers, you’re invited to come to a preview/review at 3:15pm. The session begins at 4pm sharp.

For more information on AB-FPC.

Facebook event

Call your Representative about the Community Agriculture Development and Jobs Act!

Approximately 80% of the U.S. population lives in metropolitan areas, and urban agriculture is an effective means to increase food security and provide access to fresh, affordable, nutritious food. Urban agriculture can also contribute to sustainability, economic and community development.

Earlier this month, Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) introduced a bill to advance community agricultural production in nontraditional communities, encourage local food production, and increase the availability of fresh food in underserved communities. The Community Agriculture Development and Jobs Act of 2011 (H.R. 3225) will create jobs by diversifying agricultural production in communities not traditionally associated with agriculture.

Why CFSC Supports H.R. 3225
In light of the importance you placed on fostering community-based agriculture in our Farm Bill listening sessions earlier this year, CFSC has endorsed the Community Agriculture Development and Jobs Act. Creating more opportunities for agriculture and gardening projects in urban areas can greatly increase food security and access to healthy, affordable food. CFSC’s Policy and Urban Agriculture committees welcome this bill as a comprehensive way to expand support for urban agriculture and address the root causes of so-called food deserts. If enacted, it will:
Establish an Office of Community Agriculture within USDA.
Create the Community Agriculture Outreach Program to provide grants to community organizations, municipalities, institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, and local school districts to encourage the production of local foods.
Increase funding for the Farmers Market Promotion Program and the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program.
Develop the Community Agriculture Research Initiative to conduct scientific research on the needs for promoting and enhancing agricultural production solely in nontraditional communities.
There are two ways you can help:

1) Call the Capitol Switchboard toll-free at 1-800-826-3688.
Provide your Representative’s name and you will be directly connected to their office. You can also get your Representative’s name and direct number by going to Congress.org and typing in your zip code. Once you are connected to your member’s office, tell them you are a constituent calling about the Community Agriculture Development and Jobs Act of 2011.

Here’s what your Representative needs to hear from you and many others.
“As an advocate for community food security, community economic development, and urban agriculture, I am urging Rep. __________ to co-sponsor the Community Agriculture Development and Jobs Act of 2011 introduced by Rep. Marcy Kaptur. Urban agriculture is an effective means to increase food security and provide access to fresh, affordable, nutritious food. [If you’re involved in community gardening or urban agriculture, tell a brief story about what’s going on in their district.] To strengthen federal support for community-based approaches to fight hunger and obesity while creating jobs, the Community Food Security Coalition and others have endorsed H.R. 3225. Can we count on Rep. __________’s support?”

If your Representative has questions, you may refer them to John Latini in Rep. Kaptur’s office at 202-225-4146.

2) Get your organization to endorse the bill.
Encourage your organization to endorse the bill and show continued support by:
Forwarding this action alert to your members and other interested groups;
Urging your members to contact their Representative about the bill; and
Mentioning the bill at meetings and other events relating to community gardening and urban agriculture.
If your community organization, faith community, or other group does endorse, please send the full name of the group, the city and state, and the name of the contact person to aisha@foodsecurity.org.

Questions? Please contact CFSC Policy Office: 202-481-6933.

Thank you for your help!
Community Food Security Coalition

As I slice into a freshly sliced tomato for lunch, I’m ever-so-grateful for the CSA that I receive weekly from Pearson Garden. The boxes have truly been bountiful, including a dozen fresh eggs weekly, and everything from squash, okra, tomatoes, herbs, greens, beans, garlic to fruits (right-off-the-vine grapes this week!). I have the privilege of eating so much of the love that goes into each of these boxes, especially with the home-made pesto, nettle-bags and sauerkraut that accompany the veggies. So THANK YOU to all the volunteers that make it happen, you are making my tummy sing.

Can mushrooms talk?

In this workshop, we’ll learn the basics of wild mushroom hunting, but we’ll also learn why you might want to “meet it before you eat it.”

After sixteen years of eating, making medicine from, selling, and teaching about wild mushrooms, I can assure you that befriending fungi is far more valuable than simply “using” them. We’ll talk about how Nonviolent Communication (NVC) can turn foraging –which means “plundering”– into a mutually rewarding exchange. For more on NVC, visit my relationship school, The REAL Center - www.alanmuskat.com.

This is a benefit for The Bountiful Cities Project of Asheville. Pay what you can. The suggested donation is $20-$40. For directions and other details, click “attending” and we will send you the info. You can bring cash to donate the day of the walk OR you can click the donate tab onwww.bountifulcitiesproject​.org beforehand and specify that it’s for this walk.

Lighten Up Yoga, located at 60 Biltmore Avenue, announces FREE YOGA DAY on Saturday, June 18, 2011. Free classes start at 9 AM and go all day until the last class beginning at 4 PM. Open to all students/levels, the classes are an opportunity to learn about yoga in a safe and supportive environment. Students will sample a range of teaching styles offered by the professional instructors at Lighten Up.

This Free Yoga Day we will be asking for donations for Asheville’s Bountiful Cities. The mission of Bountiful Cities is to create beautiful community space on urban land that produces food in abundance and fosters a learning environment for social justice and sustainability.