Alamance Food Collaborative

Check out our updated community snapshot courtesy of our partners, Community Food Strategies

Want to learn more about the AFC’s Equity Committee? Check out what we discussed at our last meeting here .

We are planning a revision of our strategic plan this fall to prioritize strategies with an equity lens. Please review the 2016 Alamance Food Collaborative Strategic Plan.

To learn more about actions, please see our AFC Action Plan 2016 – to be revised 2019

Want to learn more about the food system in Alamance County? Click the link to learn more. Alamance County Food Accessibility Inventory

Highlighting strategies being implemented in Alamance County — Schoolyard Garden Initative

Our mission at Eastlawn is to cultivate a community garden and eventually an Edible Schoolyard; inspiring growth in collaboration, engagement, experiential learning, empowerment, and sustainable life skills for our students, staff, and families. Food can unite us, teach us, sustain us, and give food security to our hardworking and economically disadvantaged families. In addition, there is a plethora of research about the impacts and correlations between nutrition, learning and mental health.

Furthermore, many of our staff members have expressed a need for a mechanism that can help our students learn social skills and manage their “big emotions” such as anger, frustration, disappointment and embarrassment. Our belief is that a community garden can be an advantageous structure for building social skills. This type of structure can prepare students for life beyond the walls of school and give them the tools necessary for success and longevity; this shared endeavor can lead to the disruption of cyclical poverty that has plagued many of our families for years.

There are 15 teachers at EAE who have designated themselves as “Pilot Teachers” they are helping us sustain, plan and integrate this into our curriculum. We have gotten several PD opportunities with a environmental education professor at Elon as well as some partners at the Agricultural center. Our garden club is about 45 students who are so anxious to get their hands dirty! We plan on meeting every Tuesday from 3-4p.m. with a group of garden club members. Our 4th graders are attending a Farm-to-Table field trip on September 20th where they will learn about where food comes from before it is in the store or on our plates. These experiences have already spiked students’ curiosity and engagement.

Future Goals:

We plan to use our school garden as a means to supplement our Backpack Program by involving students and their families in the production of healthier options. Giving students the opportunity to learn, grow, taste healthier food options, experience horticulture, botany, and making global connections will prove to be a captivating and highly motivating environment. The impact of a service learning and experiential learning commitment such as a community garden, will allow students to practice the skills required of proactive and productive citizens.

Our leadership souls are impassioned and eager to continue on this amazing journey with the help of you and our community partners!

The Alamance Food Collaborative released its strategic plan on October 27th and began a conversation with the community about our food system.

Alamance Food Collaborative Strategic Plan 2016

Who are we?

ALAMANCE FOOD COLLABORATIVE BACKGROUND

Situated between the Triad and Triangle regions, Alamance County residents often commute outside the county for work, entertainment, recreation, and healthy food options. Not only is this lost revenue for the county but also a loss of talents and skills. Therefore, addressing the county’s health is broader than simply looking at what happens within healthcare systems.

In April 2015, Healthy Alamance and Impact Alamance invited approximately 25 organizations and individuals to participate in the first meeting of what would later be named the Alamance Food Collaborative. Regular meetings are attended by approximately 30 participants, representing entrepreneurs from the local restaurant industry and private sector, academics from Elon University, public health and healthcare sectors, non-profit leaders, farmers, and local government. This group is focused on creating infrastructure to Alamance County’s food system that will have a lasting impact and influence the health of the community and economic viability.

Membership includes:

Elected officals, Alamance County Commissioners

United Way of Alamance County

Elon University

Alamance County Health Department

The Eddy Pub

Cone Health-Alamance Regional

Peaceful River Farm

Planner, City of Graham

Carolina Farm Stewardship Association

Allied Churches

TS Designs

Benevolence Farm

Second Harvest

CoOperative & Press Coffee & Crepes

Impact Alamance

Healthy Alamance

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