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Publications

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CFS News
CFSC E-Newsletter
CFS Views
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CFSC Guidebooks and Reports
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CFS News

The Community Food Security News is a newsletter with timely articles, conference updates, and other information about variety of topics related to community food security. Past issues have included articles on the Community Food Projects program, CSAs in low income communities and a special issue on Schools and Food (FREE annual subscription with membership). Edited by: Andy Fisher.

Download the latest CFS News in PDF format.

Go to the Newsletter Archive

CFSC Member E-Newsletter

The CFSC Grapevine is a quarterly e-newsletter that provides our members with timely information about CFSC's programs and resources, and invites their input and participation. Each issue includes information on new publications, upcoming events, training and technical assistance opportunities, and profiles of member organizations.

Issue IV, August 2008
Issue III, May 2008
Issue II, February 2008
Issue I, November 2007

To receive the current issue, you must be a CFSC member. Learn more about becoming a member.

CFS Views

CFSC Handouts

The following handouts are downloads in PDF format:

CFSC Guidebooks and Reports

Click on the titles below for more information on the following publications. Some can be downloaded for free as PDF files; others can be purchased from our Membership/Publication order page.

Sowing Opportunity, Harvesting Change: Community Food Projects in Action

This brief slide show highlights the types of projects supported by the CFP Program and their impacts on communities. It is an accessible and engaging introduction to community food work, and can be modified to include a local project. It includes 20 beautiful slides and a suggested narrative that takes 10-12 minutes to read. The presenters' guide includes the narrative, a handout with action ideas, and tips on how to use the slide show to inspire local action.

Free - Download the slide show in Power Point format [14.4 MB]

Download the Presenter's Guide in Word format

Fueling Disaster: A Community Food Security Perspective on Agrofuels

By the CFSC International Links Committee. December 2007, 24 pages.

Industrial agrofuels are already exacting heavy costs on food security and rural communities around the world. The anticipated increase in agrofuel production could lead to catastrophic impacts on community food security. This report addresses these impacts and identifies responses that would buffer communities from increased hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation.

Free - download file in pdf format or contact to request a printed copy.

Building Community Food Security: Lessons Learned from Community Food Projects, 1999-2003

By Kami Pothukuchi. October 2007, 60 pages.

This first of its kind research project was conducted by Dr. Kami Pothukuchi with support from Jeanette Abi-Nader of the CFSC Evaluation Program. Building Community Food Security research is based on analysis of CFP project narrative reports from 1999-2003, CFP focus groups, and relevant literature. It outlines a summary of activities for which these projects engaged and include characteristics of successful community food security projects, factors for success, challenges CFP grantees faced, and, lessons learned.

Free - download file in pdf format or contact CFSC at (503) 954-2970 to request a printed copy.

Food and Agriculture Related Policies and Practices to Benefit Limited Resource Farmers

By Martin Bailkey. October 2007, 24 pages.

This new report highlights a variety of approaches for supporting the success of limited resource farmers and ranchers. It features examples from the work of 14 organizations that directly support limited resource producers, and summaries of 36 state and local government policies and practices that support these producers, sometimes indirectly.

This publication will be especially valuable to organizations working with limited resource producers (or other local and family-scale farmers), Food Policy Councils, and advocates working on farm policy issues at the local and state levels. It was authored by Martin Bailkey and produced by the Food Policy Council Program of the Community Food Security Coalition, with support from the USDA Risk Management Agency.

Free - download file in pdf format or contact CFSC at (503) 954-2970 to request a printed copy.

Farm to Hospital: Supporting Local Agriculture and Improving Health Care

By Moira Beery, Center for Food & Justice, and Kristen Markley, Community Food Security Coalition. July 2007, 6 pages

This brochure introduces interested farmers and hospital food service departments to the ins and outs of developing partnerships between hospitals and local farms. Included are examples of ways hospitals can improve the food they offer, issues for farmers to consider if they are interested in selling products to area hospitals, and specific case studies of successful programs.

Free - download file in pdf format.
Please take a very short survey to let us know what you think of this publication.

Nuevos Mercados Para Su Cosecha (New Ways to Sell What You Grow)

By Rex Dufour, NCAT; Illustrated by Robert Armstrong; Translated by Martin Guerena, NCAT; Edited by Karen Van Epen, NCAT and Kristen Markley, CFSC. July 2007, 8 pages, illustrated, in Spanish.

This Spanish-language publication details strategies for farmers interested in marketing their products to local institutions such as schools, colleges, hospitals, retirement homes and day care centers. Included is a resource list of organizations around the country that work with Latino farmers looking for ways to market their products.

Free - download file in pdf format or contact the National Center for Appropriate Technology at (800) ASK-NCAT to request a printed copy.

Federal Policy Advocacy Handbook, 2007 Edition

By Barrett Ebright and Sarah Borron. 2007 Edition edited by Steph Larsen. 21 pages.

This handbook contains basic information about the policy process to enable its readers to become more effective advocates for community food security and related issues. Contains two main sections: the basics of the Federal Policy Cycle and the basics of effective participation in the federal policy process. Also includes a glossary of policy-related terms and a tip sheet for lobbying.

Free - Download file in pdf format or contact CFSC at (503) 954-2970(503) 954-2970 to request a printed copy.

Healthy Food Healthy Communities: A Decade of Community Food Projects in Action

Produced by CFSC, World Hunger Year, and the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES). March 2007; 26 pages.

This document highlights the advances in community food security made through the Community Food Projects grant program provided by the USDA CSREES since the inception of the program in 1996. It includes profiles of eight Community Food Projects, lists all 240 grant recipients since 1996, and contains basic information on how to apply.

Free - download file in pdf format or contact CFSC at (503) 954-2970 to request a printed copy.

Health Benefits of Urban Agriculture

By Anne C. Bellows, PhD Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Katherine Brown, PhD Southside Community Land Trust; Jac Smit, MCP The Urban Agriculture Network. A paper from members of the Community Food Security Coalition's North American Initiative on Urban Agriculture. 12 pages with 15 page bibliography.

Health professionals increasingly recognize the value of farm- and garden-scale urban agriculture. Growing food and non-food crops in and near cities contributes to healthy communities by engaging residents in work and recreation that improves individual and public well-being. This article outlines the benefits of urban agriculture with regard to nutrition, food security, exercise, mental health, and social and physical urban environments. Potential risks are reviewed. Practical recommendations for health professionals to increase the positive benefits of urban agriculture are provided.

Download file in pdf format

Feeding Young Minds: Hands-on Farm to School Education Programs

By Marion Kalb, Kristen Markley, and Loren Gustafson. March 2005, 31 pages.

Focusing on educational activities that complement local purchasing for school meals, this booklet highlights farm to school experiential education programs from around the country. These range from cooking classes in New Mexico, to school fundraisers in Ohio, to kindergartners tasting watermelon radishes in Pennsylvania. Each program is unique, yet offers insights and possibilities of what can be achieved when farm-fresh products in the cafeteria are linked with experiential education activities. A resource section is also included.

$10 + shipping/handling. Go to the Order Form

Building the Bridge: Linking Food Banking and Community Food Security

By Andy Fisher. February 2005, 24 pages.

This document surveys the linkages between food banking and community food security, with case studies and interviews of 10 leading food banks and food bankers. Created in conjunction with World Hunger Year.

Download file in pdf format

NEW Third Edition!
Community Food Project Evaluation Handbook and the Community Food Project Evaluation Toolkit (which includes the TOOLS ONLY CD ROM)

By the National Research Center, Inc. with coordination by the CFSC Evaluation Program (CFP Handbook is 224 pages, CFP Toolkit is 291 pages and includes the Tools Only CD-ROM with 52 sample tools and worksheets for you to download and modify.)

The CFP Evaluation Handbook provides a comprehensive guide to developing and implementing outcome based program evaluation, specific to community food security projects. The CFP Evaluation Toolkit includes evaluation protocols and template surveys for program satisfaction, training and technical assistance, focus groups, farmers' markets, community gardens, community support agriculture projects, farm to school projects, coalitions and the Common Output Tracking Form.

$22 to purchase either the Handbook or the Toolkit + Tools Only CD-ROM individually - $40 for all. Go to the order form.

Tell Us What You Think! To submit a feedback form on the CFP Evaluation Handbook and Toolkit please click here. Your feedback is important to help us develop tools and materials that are useful for practitioners.

For questions concerning these documents, please contact Jeanette Abi-Nader, CFSC Evaluation Program Manager at jeanette@foodsecurity.org

Read excerpts of these documents.

Linking Farms with Schools: A Guide to Understanding Farm-to-School Programs for Schools, Farmers & Organizers

By Marion Kalb, Kristen Markley and Sara Tedeschi, 2004

Details the benefits, challenges, and strategies for success for building successful farm to school projects and includes case studies of innovative projects and an extensive resource list.

$10 + shipping/handling Go to the Order Form

Farmer Resource Guide: Managing Risk Through Sales to Educational Institutions

By Community Food Security Coalition and the Center for Food & Justice, Occidental College, 2004

An extensive compilation of resources that address the many different issues within farm to institutional purchasing projects, including how to approach food service directors, how to organize supply and distribution of the products, characteristics of different institutions, pricing issues, and several case studies of different types of farm to institution projects.

$12 + shipping/handling Go to the Order Form

Urban Agriculture and Community Food Security in the United States: Farming from the City Center To the Urban Fringe

Prepared by the Urban Agriculture Committee of the Community Food Security Coalition, February, 2003 (30 pp)
Principal Authors: Katherine H. Brown & Anne Carter
Contributors: Martin Bailkey, Terri Buchanan, Alison Meares-Cohen, Peter Mann, Joe Nasr, Jac Smit, and the many workers in urban agriculture and food security.
Editors: Anne Carter, Peter Mann, and Jac Smit

Urban Agriculture and Community Food Security in the United States: Farming from the City Center To the Urban Fringe is prepared by the Urban Agriculture Committee of the Community Food Security Coalition to raise awareness of the ways that urban agriculture can respond to food insecurity. The document advocates for policies that promote small-scale urban and peri-urban farming, and thereby prepare the next generation of urban farming leaders.

Download file in pdf format.

Weaving the Food Web: Community Food Security in California

By CFSC in partnership with the California Community Food Security Network, 2002

This photo-rich, 21-page booklet features eight innovative community-based food projects drawn from around the nation's most populous state. Also included are:
- Articles by leading organizations working on critical public issues such as hunger, obesity, the grocery gap, and the diminishing numbers of independent farms.
- A resource guide of key organizations working in the diverse arenas that comprise community food security.
Weaving the Food Web is a valuable tool for educating your community members, public officials, and the media about community food security. It offers many points of entry to this growing field of work. As such, we invite your assistance in getting copies of the booklet into the hands of those would benefit from it.

Free - Download file in pdf format or call (503) 954-2970 to request a printed copy.

What's Cooking in Your Food System? A Guide to Community Food Assessment

By Kami Pothukuchi, Hugh Joseph, Andy Fisher, and Hannah Burton, 2002 (123 pages)
Edited by Kai Siedenburg and Kami Pothukuchi

Learn about Community Food Assessments, a creative way to highlight food-related resources and needs, promote collaboration and community participation, and create lasting change. This Guide includes case studies of nine Community Food Assessments (see PDF file); tips for planning and organizing an assessment; guidance on research methods and strategies for promoting community participation; and ideas for translating an assessment into action for change.

Free - Download zip file (includes 2/2 parts in PDF format)

A Guide to Community Food Projects

By Maya Tauber and Andy Fisher, 2002 (19 pp)

This guide features case studies of seven diverse and innovative projects funded by USDA's Community Food Projects grant program. It also includes basic information about the CFP program and sources for more information.

Download file in pdf format.

The Healthy Farms, Food and Communities Act:
Policy Initiatives for the 2002 Farm Bill And the First Decade of the 21st Century

By Andy Fisher, Bob Gottlieb, Thomas Forster, and Mark Winne, 2001 (16 pp)

This policy document includes a legislative initiative to be incorporated into the 2002 Farm Bill, and a broader set of policy principles and legislation endorsed by CFSC. Both policy platforms create the basis for furthering the goals of healthy farms, healthy food, and, ultimately, healthy communities.

View the Executive Summary
Download the full report in PDF format

Healthy Farms, Healthy Kids:
Evaluating the Barriers and Opportunities for Farm-to-School Programs

By Andrea Azuma and Andy Fisher, January, 2001 (62 pp)

This report documents the barriers and opportunities for school food services to purchase food directly from local farmers. Case studies and policy recommendations are included.

$12 + shipping/handling Go to the Order Form

CFS: A Guide to Concept, Design, and Implementation

Editor: Hugh Joseph, 2000 (57 pp. + appendices)

This guidebook details such issues as the concept of CFS, community food planning, needs assessments, building collaborations and coalitions, project implementation, entrepreneurship, funding, program sustainability, case studies, and multiple attachments.

Download 1997 version in pdf format

Getting Food on the Table: An Action Guide to Local Food Policy

By Dawn Biehler, Andy Fisher, Kai Siedenburg, Mark Winne, Jill Zachary. Community Food Security Coalition and California Sustainable Working Group, 1999 (70 pp)

The guide includes a department by department inventory of local programs, policies and functions that provide opportunities for supporting community food security. The guide also includes case studies, advice from experienced food policy advocates, a resource guide and federal funding sources.

Download file in pdf format.

Hot Peppers & Parking Lot Peaches:
Evaluating Farmers' Markets In Low Income Communities

By Andy Fisher, Community Food Security Coalition, 1999 (61 pp)

Farmers Markets, WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Programs, case studies, Electronic Benefit Transfer, farmstands, policy issues, guidelines for successful markets and policy recommendations.

Download file in pdf format.

Homeward Bound: Food-Related Transportation Strategies for Low Income and Transit Dependent Communities

By Robert Gottlieb, Andrew Fisher, et. al; UC Transportation Center, 1996 (77 pp)

Food access, transportation policy, and innovative transportation programs highlighted in this groundbreaking report.

Download file in pdf format.

Seeds of Change: Strategies for Food Security for the Inner City

By Linda Ashman, et. al.; UCLA Urban Planning Dept., 1993 (400+ pp)

The product of a year's work for six researchers, Seeds of Change is perhaps the most thorough documentation of an urban community's food system. Sections on hunger, nutrition, food industry, supermarket industry, communmity case study, farmers' markets, urban agriculture, joint ventures, and food policy councils.

Soon available for download.

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How to order publications

Coalition members receive a 20% discount. For Rush orders or International rates, please contact Emily. Fill out the Order Form online, or you may email, phone (503-954-2970) or fax (503-954-2959) us your order. Please note the publication you would like, add the appropriate shipping & handling fee according to the chart below, and mail a check made payable to CFSC, 3830 SE Division, Portland OR 97202.

Shipping & Handling Fee Rates

PUBLICATION(S)

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under $20

$6.00

$20-$39

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$40-$59

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call for rates: (503) 954-2970

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home programs committees events CFP grants about CFSC publications what is CFS? links