The Benwood Foundation has announced the development of a comprehensive food system reform effort in the Chattanooga region called “Gaining Ground.” Benwood plans to invest up to $1.65 million over the next three years in Gaining Ground programs designed to increase the number and capacity of local food growers and producers, better connect growers to markets, and increase access to and highlight the importance of buying locally-grown food.
Through targeted grant-making and by coordinating community partner efforts in local food reform, Gaining Ground is envisioned to advance the local food system and create a vibrant, diverse food economy that is cohesive and sustainable.
Gaining Ground will be led by Jeff Pfitzer, who officials said has considerable experience in local food issues, having served as the first director of Crabtree Farms, a local public-private partnership to renew urban agriculture. Mr. Pfitzer most recently served as director of special projects at the RiverCity Company.
He said, “I am truly excited about leading Gaining Ground. As a native Chattanoogan who comes from a family with a heritage of local farming, I am truly dedicated to seeing the local food economy flourish.”
Kristy Huntley, program officer for Arts & Culture, Environment and Community Building at the Benwood Foundation, facilitated 18 months of collaborative research to launch Gaining Ground. The research led to the conclusion that philanthropic support could help fuel significant changes to the area's food system.
Currently, the Chattanooga area food system comprises a multi-faceted array of local food producers, grass roots organizations and local government agencies. According to Ms. Huntley, what the system lacks is cohesiveness.
She said, “When we took a deeper look at the whole system, it appeared fragmented, and that is where we think we can make a difference by allowing a more holistic approach to the local food industry.”
Ms. Huntley said the Foundation is able to bring the necessary combination of strategic planning, coalition-building and programmatic action to the local food system which operates on a complex continuum with supply on one end and demand on the other.
Through Gaining Ground, Benwood has awarded its first grants to various community partners. Thus far, recipients and projects include: the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to establish a “Slow Food” chapter dedicated to raising community awareness of food choices; Hamilton County Department of Education School Nutrition Program to increase the amount of fresh foods served in targeted elementary schools; Crabtree Farms to publish the 2010 “Tastebuds Guide,” a local food directory; winners of the Food System Ideas Competition for Increasing Local Food Production, still to be announced; and the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga-Grow Healthy Together Chattanooga Partnership Fund in support of Chattanooga-Hamilton County Department of Health StepONE Program to reduce childhood obesity in high-risk communities of East and South Chattanooga.
Trey Meyer, a senior fellow of CreateHere, has joined Gaining Ground as the food economy intern and will assist in its management and implementation.
Courtney Watson, director of strategic initiatives at Kennedy, Coulter, Rushing and Watson also joins the Gaining Ground team as a strategic marketing consultant.
Founded in 1944, the Benwood Foundation is driven by the force of its historical devotion to bettering its community and by the dedication of its trustees and staff to build on a tradition of civic leadership. Under Corinne Allen, executive director, the Benwood Foundation focuses on opportunities that stimulate public education, arts and culture, environment and community development.
Gaining Ground is helping create and develop a sustainable, vibrant, cohesive and distinctively Chattanoogan foodscape through grants, coordinated efforts and public awareness. Commissioned by the Benwood Foundation to help increase demand for, production and consumption of local food, Gaining Ground is helping our region view food in new ways. For more information, contact:Jeff Pfitzer, program director, Gaining Ground, Benwood Foundation, at (423) 785-4231 or at gainingground@benwood.org.