A youthful, yet purposeful air filled the site of the weekly Wednesday Greenmarket between 1^st and 2^nd Ave at 47^th St. Perhaps it was the Teen Iron Chefs from Urban Assembly HS in Brooklyn, or the young famers and entrepreneurs of the Youth Farmers Market and Learn It Grow It Eat It Programs (both run by Council on the Environment/Greenmarkets), or the Youth Caucus visiting from the Commission on Sustainable Development session at the UN. But one thing was for sure, young people are ever more aware of the social, economic and environmental challenges facing the world regarding agriculture, food, farming and nutrition.

In addition to the farmers, bakers, poultry and fish producers from Upstate, Long Island that are usually at the market, the global youth got together with the local youth who were showcasing their innovative agriculture and food programs. The teens and college age youth were joined by international and US delegates and other representatives, who came to the market from the high level ministers meeting for some fresh air and conversation. Representatives from the State Department, US Department of Agriculture, Governor Patterson’s Office and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets and dozens of other delegations joined the youth. Friends, family, neighbors and members of the Food Systems Network NYC, Just Food, World Hunger Year communities all gathered to share ideas and experience the power of motivated youth.

One UN Youth Caucus member summed it up best when she said,” the farmer is the first active agent in human society. So the importance of the famer and farming is paramount.”

There is a role for cities in sustainable development and for ensuring food security and vibrant markets in all communities. Connecting cities to the countryside vis a vis efficient supply chian infrastructure helps not only keep rural farmers in business but also provides access by all communities to good, healthy and affordable foods from the local region. As another member of the Youth Caucus put it, with regions feeding cities “Youth and skilled workers will be encouraged to stay in rural areas where they will be able to get an education and make a living.” The myriad of faces was a real testament to the diversity that Sustainable Development can foster. On a global scale.

With plenty of good food, including samplings of Kenyan Spiced Greens and Tuscan Bread Salad, and harp music played by Alicia Cundall, this lively crowd moved to a youthful beat, one that lasted beyond the winding down of the weekly farmers market. Here in New York City, Family Cook Productions’ Teen Iron Chef and the Greenmarkets youth programs will carry the message throughout the school year. Members of the Youth Caucus, representing 53 countries, are already scheduling their visits to CSD-18 in May 2010, and their visit to Dag Hammerskjold Farmers Market.

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an International Symposium to Address Global Crises,

and

New York City Showcases Vibrant Local Markets to Youth from Around the Globe

May 4-15, 2009

Young People Demonstrate Power and Concern at Several Events

New York, NY Now, as the converging food, finance, energy and climate crises push governments and citizens to consider innovative ways to manage current and future challenges, young people are staking their claim to the future by voicing their support for sustainable development to feed the world’s growing population.

Willing to face these crises head on, a sizeable youth caucus from the 53 member countries will attend the 17^th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development and participate in events in- and outside the UN ranging from local NYC market tours to high-level policy debates.

In a show of solidarity with the Youth Caucus, the New York City CSD Host Committee members – including high school and college students — have come together to collaborate with UN delegates and representatives.

NYC Youth and their mentors will present:

• May 13, from 1:00 to 3:00 PM, a Youth Showcase at Dag Hammarskjold Farmers Market (47^th Street and Second Avenue), co-led by the NYC CSD Host Committee, Council on the Environment, Family Cook Productions, and World Hunger Year and others will showcase youth-led and youth-oriented programs about nutrition, food security, farmers markets, youth empowerment and youth leadership. Several high school students will demonstrate their cooking and leadership skills using local market produce and international recipes. NYC youth will interview and videotape Youth Caucus members about their role in CSD policy negotiations, and the role of youth in helping to feed their communities and sustainable agriculture.

Important NYC CSD Host Committee events with youth participation

• May 4 - Workshop inside the UN on Public Procurement of Food for Schools and other Institutions, featuring the authors of “The School Food Revolution”.
• May 5 - “Regions Feeding Cities” side event inside the UN, featuring local authority leaders from New York and the world on city/regional planning, food and agriculture, health and nutrition, and supply chain infrastructure including school food procurement and community and youth-led farms and markets.
• May 9 — Brooklyn City Farms Tour for government and civil society delegates, including Youth Caucus members, that’s led by World Hunger Year and the Host Committee. The world youth will meet NYC youth leaders engaged in urban agriculture on their tour to Brooklyn Rescue Mission, East New York Farms and Market, and Hattie Carthan Community Garden. Examples of rural farmers from the countryside working with urban communities also growing food to supply low income neighborhoods and emergency feeding programs with nutritious, regionally grown produce will underscore the importance of these urban-rural linkages for food security and youth engagement.
• May 9 - City Markets Tour for government and civil society delegates, including Youth Caucus, co-led by the Host Committee and New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, New York City’s Office of School Food, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Economic Development Corporation, and Council on the Environment. The tour will include Hunt’s Point Wholesale Farmers Market, Grand Army Plaza Farmers Market and a nearby public school for a school lunch prepared by the NYC Office of School Food.

These dynamic young people realize that they will inherit the global challenge of balancing the growing demand for food within an environmentally fragile landscape. They are rising to the occasion and seeking out public forums to educate their peers and adults about the necessity of rethinking “how we eat, what we buy, and to care about how their food is produced,” notes author and FamilyCook Productions’ founder, Lynn Fredericks.

Conversations among youth are expected to address themes common to the developed and developing worlds alike: regions feeding cities, infrastructure, community empowerment and youth engagement in agriculture, direct-to-consumer, wholesale, retail and institutional sales of rurally-grown food including procurement issues surrounding homegrown school feeding programs, urban agriculture, emergency food systems, health and nutrition, among other sustainable development topics including agro-ecological farming practices.

This show of solidarity is a product of a wide range of NYC-based groups and individuals active in promoting regional food systems for food security and food education: Council on the Environment NYC’s Greenmarket Youth Programs, New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Department of Education’s Office of School Food, the Food Systems Network NYC, Just Food, World Hunger Year, Cornell University Cooperative Extension, Family Cook Productions Teen Iron Chef, the USDA and many others.

Reporters can find a story around the collaboration between young people, local and global food leaders and sustainable development advocates ranging from local interest to global policy debates.

Visit the New York City Host Committee’s website at http://sustainablefoodmonitor.org/event-calendar/ for a complete calendar of Host Committee events in- and outside the UN.

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CSD-17, United Nations, New York

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

LOCAL AUTHORITIES STATEMENT

Thank you Madam Chair and honourable delegates for the opportunity to address the distinguished Commission. My name is Stephen Kabuye, Mayor of Entebbe Municipality, Uganda, and vice-president of ICLEI- Local Governments for Sustainability speaking on behalf of the Local Government Group.

The focus of the CSD-17, Agriculture, Rural Development, Land, Drought, Desertification with Africa in focus, is at the heart of local authorities operations. Local authorities, as the government level closest to people, and working in close collaboration with the civil society and the private sector, are expected to put in practice the policies and decisions of this Commission. As far as local governments are confronted with the problem, they should also be part of the solution.

We draw your attention to the challenges of urbanisation:

- Cities inhabit over 50% of the world’s population, meaning that 3.3 billion people live in cities.

- Every day almost 200.000 new city dwellers are added to the world’s urban population

- In most countries, exclusion and poverty have become urban phenomena. These lead to high levels of criminality. These negative social effects occur, which also influence the surrounding rural areas.

- Cities occupy 2% of the world’s land but consume 75% of its resources. Linkages that combine solutions for urban and rural phenomena are therefore necessary and favourable.

Taking into account the criticality of local government, we request that

1. local governments, both  rural and urban, be recognised as a crucial partner in your deliberations on sustainable development and in the implementation of the commission’s decisions

2. national governments and international agencies create an enabling environment for local government with policy frameworks and legislation as well as budget support.

Especially for Africa, the enabling environment should focus on

-         gender equality,

-         poverty reduction strategy processes that seek to broaden ownership

-         local economic development

-         HIV/ AIDS

-         corruption and conflicts

In addition to the above, Madam Chair, the natural ecosystem conservation and biodiversity should be taken into account to ensure the protection of the natural environment as a basis for food security.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

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Statement for Ministerial Dialogue with Civil Society

Commission on Sustainable Development

1. Introduction of Urban Rural Linkages in Context of CSD themes: During both the Review Session of CSD 16 and the Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting (IPM) for CSD attention has been given by governments and major groups of civil society to the important linkages between urban and rural sectors to meet the Millennium Development Goals, combining economic development, social protection and environmental goals. Some of these linkages are contained in the negotiating text for CSD 17, reflecting the important role of both rural and urban local authorities in rural development, to enable access to markets for small farmers, and for securing food safety nets. Madam Chair and distinguished delegates from national governments and civil society, this theme is one of very concrete specific outcomes for policy that are felt directly on the ground. To enable a diverse and strong pattern of urban rural linkages all over the world, governments, intergovernmental organizations and civil society should work and learn together to exchange information and build international, regional, national and subnational networks, as well as create meaningful information exchange on urban-rural partnerships, across both developing countries and developed countries.

2. Why are urban rural linkages important to agricultural development in response to the food crisis? Urbanization is a worldwide trend with many implications that touch agriculture.  Of course, urban centres provide important markets for agricultural goods.  Urban market facilities should be accessible to regional and local producers to enable direct marketing to consumers and other buyers, to shorten the marketing chain, enhance product freshness, maximize farm income, encourage crop diversification and sustain rural development. This will also provide a buffer from global food system price and supply stocks. Beyond market links, we also need to acknowledge how agriculture touches upon and impacts urban centres and rural communities in a variety of important and interlinked ways - through:

- healthy eating initiatives

- school lunch programs

- food assistance programs

- community food gardens

- farmers retail and wholesale markets

Urban rural linkages will have various positive impacts:

- reduce transportation costs and carbon emissions

- use and increase local knowledge on food production and marketing

- protect valuable biodiversity in gardens and farms

- create employment opportunities

- improve the quality of life.

As food security rises in public visibility, the interests and stakes that are shared by both urban and rural communities should increasingly be considered mutually supportive as opposed to distinct, separate, or in conflict with each other.

3. Multistakeholder public food and community planning must become a priority: The path to more carbon neutral communities and wider citizen-stakeholder engagement with positive concrete changes in many communities is leading to a new horizon of farming and food systems change, where local authorities lead and energize wide cross-sections of their constituencies. In many countries and regions, communities are newly discovering their countrysides and the economic, environmental and social assets of resilient and diverse food systems. Young people who are motivated by food issues in urban areas are finding connections with their rural counterparts. Farmers who are farming with conservation practices such as organic and agroecological approaches, are becoming models. Consumers are now becoming more aware of the impact of their dietary footprint and demanding more local products that are in season. City planners have returned to thinking about food, and many researchers and decision-makers are trying to understand the meaning of their “foodshed” as well as their “watershed” and planning for their local food systems within a global context. Enabling policy recognizing urban rural partnerships can boost these developments much further than at present, for many are still uncertain about what urban rural partnership even means, or how they can be fostered.

4. The example of Eastern and Southern Africa (MDP ESA): Municipal governments are engaging with rural authorities to support farmers and build new markets with support across many sectors. In Africa, municipal authorities have recognized the value of urban and peri-urban food production.

Through the Cities Farming for Future (CFF) and From Seed to Table (FSTT) programs, MDP-ESA has been working with the Resource Centre for Urban Agriculture and Food Securities (RUAF) Foundation in partnership with African municipal authorities to encourage integration of urban agriculture in urban land use planning as a strategy for improving food security and nutrition, securing sustainable markets for urban farmers, particularly women and the youth, and promoting good environment management practices. This initiative is made possible by the Government of the Netherlands, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada, and contributions from municipal governments.

5. Enabling policy and the role of local authorities in partnership with civil society : The need for an effective enabling policy environment to ensure that all major stakeholders including civil society are adequately engaged can not be over emphasized. It is important that local government with the support of central government create conditions for actors other than government to effectively participate in decision-making. Among the approaches to implement the CFF and FSTT program is the establishment of multi-stakeholders forum that give opportunities to all major stakeholders to influence policy and action on ground. To ensure that rural urban linkages are effectively established, it is important to ensure that appropriate farm-to-market infrastructure at sub-regional and sub-national levels are well capitalised with both national and international support. In addition, producer organizations that link small farmers to new market chains should be encouraged as a strategy towards creating economic integration. As seen in last weekend’s tours of the character of urban rural partnerships here in the host city of New York, vibrant markets formed through collaboration by city and state authorities with farmers, NGOs, youth, workers, women, the business and research communities can revitalize poor urban neighbourhoods while providing valuable markets for rural development.

6. The policy toolkit needed for urban rural partnerships: Enabling policy for urban rural partnerships can promote economic activity, create jobs for youth and food workers and small businesses, and bring fair prices for farmers, especially women and small farmers. Health, education, planning and other agencies of local authorities can be encouraged to coordinate more effectively with each other and with national agencies, for example in local food system networks and policy councils. Enabling policy can help mobilize investment in farm to market infrastructure through public/private partnerships. The role of public procurement, together with private investment can be an engine for comprehensive and sustainable development of the food environment in every region. The power of public purchase can be further mobilized to help create safety nets and social protection systems for the non-farming urban public, providing a degree of buffer against food supply and price shocks, while serving longer term rural economic development. In conclusion, enabling policy for urban rural partnerships as contained in the present text represents a bold step for creating food system resilience in all regions. Intergovernmental organizations, global NGOs and other major groups can readily identify opportunities and embark directly in collaboration with national governments, and begin jointly planning and implementing a wide array of urban rural partnerships, reflecting the urgency and vulnerability felt at community levels in developing and developed countries. In short, urban rural partnerships are at the heart of any sustainable “green evolution” for Africa and other regions, as called for by African civil society in Windhoek, Namibia.

In closing, Madame Chair and distinguished delegates of the CSD, you are invited to attend an especially vibrant CSD Youth and Farmers Market tomorrow between 1 and 3 pm in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza just two blocks north of the UN. New York youth and farmers engaged in bringing healthy food to low income neighbourhoods are hosting a special market for the opening day of the High Level Segment, complete with dishes prepared by young chefs from countries represented by the CSD Youth Caucus. This market is an example itself of urban rural linkages with policy support from local and national government.

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During both the Review Session of CSD 16 and the Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting (IPM) for CSD there was attention given by governments and major groups of civil society to the important direct linkages between urban and rural sectors to meet the Millenium Development Goals, meet economic development, social protection and environmental goal. Some of these linkages are contained in the draft decision text for CSD 17. This policy brief calls for specific improvements in the final text.

CSD 17 offers an opportunity for policy negotiation that results in government agreement on the sustainable development approach that will help to deal with the food, financial and climate crises at global, national and local levels. Urban rural partnerships can provide a comprehensive framework for action on global food security, enhancing the role of cities and local authorities as drivers of change and creative initiatives that can ensure food security, “green” the food and agricultural economy, and provide economic development and jobs.

Background:  Urbanization is a compelling worldwide trend with many implications that touch agriculture.  Typically, for example, urban centers provide important markets for agricultural goods.  We need to ensure that a portion of the economic potential of such markets is accessible to regional and local producers so as to enhance and sustain rural development, and to provide a buffer from global food system price and supply shocks.  Beyond  market links, we also need to acknowledge agriculture touches and impacts urban centers and rural communities in a variety of important and interlinked ways  – through healthy eating initiatives, school lunch programs, food assistance programs, community food gardens, farmer markets, etc.  As food security rises in public visibility, the interests and stakes that are shared by both urban and rural communities should increasingly be considered mutually supportive as opposed to distinct, separate, or in conflict.

In addition to enhancing local food security and positive and reciprocal economic ties, the landscape-scale pattern of land management that surrounds urban centers is shaped in important ways by the nature of the market linkages that the city creates with its surrounding countryside – the ‘foodshed’ is also the watershed that depending on management approaches, can moderate flooding and preserve water quality. Other services include the potential to sequester carbon, to protect biodiversity, and provide the open-space and cultural amenities sought by urban populations.

The experimentation and experience base that has been building across these urban rural links is rich and still in need of comprehensive analysis and coordination to provide solutions in dealing with the food, financial and climate crises at global, national and local levels. Urban rural partnerships can provide a comprehensive framework for action on global food security, enhancing the role of cities and local authorities as drivers of change and creative initiatives that can ensure food security, “green” the food and agricultural economy, and provide economic development and jobs.

“Appreciating that there are many successful experiences and best practices on the ground, and that a key challenge we face is how to replicate, adapt and scale up what we know works”

(CSD 17 unedited text from February IPM).

1. Support increased role of local authorities in urban-rural linkages to foster capacity building and help mayors to develop an understanding of food systems and to create new markets through training, exchange visits, and extension through multi-media.

2. Support direct linking of rural and urban sectors and actors:  Worldwide, local authorities and other Major Group stakeholders need recognition and support from national governments and international organizations for their roles as drivers of new agricultural production and market development.

3. Enhance ‘triangular’ strategies that encourage local procurement for “Home Grown” school feeding and other institutional programs, while also supporting small farmer organizations’ capacity to produce for these loci of demand. This addresses long term food security, local economic development and potential for increased school enrollment for girls.

4. Support nutritionally superior food access and food security, especially in low income communities, to address hunger, nutrition, and health disparities related to lack of access to fresh fruits and vegetables and other healthy foods.  Realize universal access to food for all communities, regardless of socio-economic status.

5. Call for public-private partnerships and investments in farm-to-market supply chain infrastructure to support farmers growing for local and regional markets. Revitalize wholesale markets where they have been allowed to deteriorate; develop attractive investment incentives for wholesale markets that temper the concentration and consolidation tendencies of global retail chains and supermarkets.

6. Scale up urban food strategies to create sustainable city-regions. Invest in regional agricultural diversity and new markets: Farm-to-market infrastructure at sub-regional and sub-national levels urgently needs new investment with both national and international support. Private-public partnerships, in particular, hold the potential to reduce poverty and hunger by linking national and regional farming and food systems to new wholesale and retail markets in urban centers.

- Promote cooperatives/producer organizations that link small farmers to new market chains as a fundamental step toward economic integration. 

MORE FOR THE CSD 17 DECISION:

Strengthen Local Partnerships for Food Security: Urban rural partnerships for food security and vibrant markets take many forms. The diversity of partnerships, reflecting diverse cultural and agroecological systems, can provide crucial food security safety nets. Such partnerships require focused research and political and financial support to allow women, small farmers, indigenous people and other underserved stakeholders to fully participate in their own development.

Support specific initiatives and partnerships to help urban rural jurisdictions/agencies to work together with civil society and to develop mechanisms that allow them to promote best practices; governments should adopt concrete proposals to bring national authorities and international organizations together with Major Groups to provide the resources needed to generate such initiatives and partnership.

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in May 5th, 2009 issue:

Regions Feeding Cities - Urban Rural Linkages for Food Security

By: Thomas Forster, International Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture (IPSA)

A sensible response to the convergent crises of food and energy prices, along with economic and climate vulnerability, is to give communities the tools to create more, lot less resilience in the face of multiple crises. The negotiating text for CSD17, while bringing attention to the need for new investment in market infrastructure, does not make explicit reference to the important relationship between “cities and their countrysides”.

As research on the power of public food procurement recently has shown, the enormous purchasing power of global cities and their institutions can be an engine for new investment in the rural sector if this power is directed to multiple environmental, social and economic benefits. The “School Food Revolution” in numerous cities in both developed and developing countries has been at the forefront of a new agricultural model bringing back “home grown” feeding at larger scales.

In eastern and southern Africa there are new metropolitan development partnerships that put locally based food production at the center of food security strategies. In New York, where one of six children is food insecure, innovative urban-rural partnerships that bring healthy food to poor neighborhoods through city and country farms are being embraced in city food policy and new food distribution investments.

What national and international farm policy has not been able to achieve—to give farmers fair prices and provide affordable healthy food to consumers—urban rural partnerships with policy support may be able to achieve. Such partnerships can refocus on investment in farm-to-market supply chains, revitalizing markets where they have been allowed to deteriorate.

The new attention to regional and local food systems need not be parochial, but part of interlinked trade between city-farm regions. During this CSD, local authorities organizations such as ICLEI, NGOs like Heifer International and the International Partners for Sustainable Agriculture and others, have been exploring with other major groups concrete mechanisms to scale up urban food strategies to create sustainable city-regions.

Among the policies needed to strengthen the resilience of communities and their countrysides, governments can promote an enabling environment for increased urban rural linkages in all regions. The exchange of good practices and needed policy at local, national and international levels requires networking between communities pursuing urban rural linkages. CSD major groups are calling on governments for these kinds of policy support.

The side event Regions Feeding Cities at 6:15 pm on Tuesday the 5th of May (conf. room 2) will highlight the important role of cities in diverse partnerships with civil society to promote new investment and enabling policy for local and regional food systems found around the world. The importance of policies supporting public food provisioning through new market infrastructure and home grown school feeding will be highlighted by speakers for inclusion in the CSD 17 policy decision.

Related to the Regions Feeding Cities side event, a CSD “Vibrant Markets Tour” will be held from 7:30 am to 3 pm on Saturday, the 9th of May. Delegates of governments and international civil society may reserve space on this free tour by visiting http://vibrantmarketstour.eventbrite.com, or for the City Farms tour, visit http://cityfarmtour.eventbrite.com.

You can find back-issues of Outreach Issues here: http://sdin-ngo.net/outreachissues/outreachissues.php.

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Tarrytown, NY A short trip north of New York City took a team of 30 to Stone Barns; a bucolic farm, restaurant and meeting center only 40 minutes from central Manhattan, and an homage to New York City’s dedication to its neighboring foodsheds, to discuss the 17^th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (May 4-15). Attendees from around the world, including Iran, Kenya, Uganda and Namibia, representatives from the major groups, including the International Partners for Sustainable Agriculture, the International Trade Union Confederation, the Kenya Livestock Working Group, the National Family Farm Coalition, University of Cardiff, School Food FOCUS, the US Department of Agriculture as well as NYC food systems players discussed policies and programs that support the urban-rural linkages theme and the importance of local authorities and public-private partnerships in addressing the global food crisis. Over a delicious meal, participants shared their hopes for CSD 17, which began on Monday, and discussed plans for influencing the draft text, and, ultimately, the Chairman’s final text.

We were also fortunate to be joined by CSD 17 Vice Chair representing Asia, Javad Amin-Mansour of Iran, who listened to our dialogue and shared helpful guidelines for ensuring our effectiveness and partnership at the CSD. Mr. Amin-Mansour addressed themes on the CSD agenda, described the partnership process for policy making and outlined opportunities and methods for local, regional, national and international agencies and ministries to cooperate at the upcoming sessions.

From innovative farming practices to public and private partnerships, we shared successes and best practices from programs around the globe. We heard from the founder of Greenmarkets about linking rural producers with urban markets in New York State. An organic dairy and forestry farmer in Wisconsin spoke to the commonalities between desertification affecting the Midwest United States and Africa. Members of the Kenya Livestock Working Group, working with Heifer International described the importance of linking conservation practices to livestock trade to improve drought survival and preserve pasture land.

While we covered a wide range of issues, we recognized how collaborations such as this one will be crucial towards gathering support for critical new investments in agriculture and rural development.

We all agreed that cities and their markets provide a tremendous opportunity to regional farmers and food processors for economic development, food security, and vibrant markets. Investments in the infrastructure to connect countrysides to cities, and working with local authorities to do so, is vital whether you’re discussing New York, Nairobi, Rome or Brazil.

CALL TO ACTION: An ongoing collaboration by stakeholders on the Urban-Rural Linkages theme – interface with delegates, governments and major groups during CSD’s multi-stakeholder dialogue and beyond CSD-17.

For a calendar of events visit the New York City Host Committee’s website Calendar Page at http://sustainablefoodmonitor.org/event-calendar/.

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Share Best Practices on Regions Feeding Cities

May 4-15, 2009

Innovative Solutions for Challenging Times

New York, NY Now, as the converging food, finance, energy and climate crises push governments and citizens to consider new and more effective ways to manage for current and future challenges, New York City promises to provide a fertile working space for the collaboration of global leaders and New York food advocates and showcase its diverse and complex regional food systems.

In the face of these crises, the 17th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (May 4-15) opens its doors to a wide range of international civil society leaders and government delegates working on solutions for the enormous challenges facing the future of food and agriculture.

In preparation, New Yorkers have come together to collaborate with UN delegates and representatives via the New York City Host Committee to CSD-17. They’ve formed a working group comprised of local agencies and nonprofits, including Council on the Environment NYC’s Greenmarket, New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Department of Education’s Office of School Food, the Food Systems Network NYC, Just Food, World Hunger Year, Cornell University Cooperative Extension, the USDA and many others.

For two years, this committee set off in search of ways to best showcase the strong public-private partnerships, urban-rural linkages and leadership by local authorities and schools in New York which are all instrumental in improving access to food for vulnerable children and families, and fostering economic development in the local and regional food system.

The US Government delegation, led by the State Department (with support from USDA program leaders) praises New York’s leadership and will be participating in a City-Farm Showcase and workshops during the two-week session. During the intergovernmental meetings in preparation for CSD held earlier this year, John M. Matuszak, Division Chief, Sustainable Development and Multilateral Affairs, Office of Environmental Policy, Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Science, U.S. Department of State said before the Commission with regard to connecting rural countrysides with communities, “Indeed within the New York City region, we are increasingly aware of these links and how they can promote a focus on sustainable development of our farms while increasing the nutritional quality and variety of food within our cities. We acknowledge and support the innovations that are underway, and hope that others will join us in promoting this important work.”

Delegates and representatives from all over the world will be invited to visit working farms and community gardens growing food in the City, as well as wholesale and retail farmers markets, and an emergency food facility. Many will also tour a NYC Public School cafeteria and dine on locally produced food. All are expected to collaborate with sustainable development leaders at workshops and seminars inside the UN, several of which have been organized by the Host Committee to showcase New York programs and supply chain infrastructure.

Conversations are expected to address themes common to the developed and developing worlds alike, such as the need for new investment in agriculture and rural development. The convergence of climate change, food and finance challenges has brought about new interest in topics such as:

• regions feeding cities,
• linkages between rural countrysides and communities,
• new innovations in supply chain infrastructure,
• capacity building to support regional food systems,
• the role of local authority leadership and policy,
• public-private partnerships,
• community empowerment and youth engagement,
• direct-to-consumer, wholesale, retail and institutional sales of rurally-grown food including procurement issues surrounding homegrown school feeding programs,
• urban agriculture,
• emergency food and social protection systems,
• health and nutrition,
• and agro-ecological practices which deliver ecological services
  • water and soil conservation,
  • composting
  • land preservation,
  • climate change and global warming
  • and, other sustainable development topics.

Reporters can find a story around the collaboration between local and global food and sustainable development advocates ranging from local interest to global policy debates.

Visit the New York City Host Committee’s website at

http://sustainablefoodmonitor.org/event-calendar/ for a calendar of events.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Alexa Van de Walle, NYC Host Committee/CSD-17, lexi@alexavandewalle.com, 917-692-9651

New York City Will Host the UN’s 17^th Commission on Sustainable Development, an International Symposium to Address Global Crises, and Share Best Practices on Regions Feeding Cities

May 4-15, 2009

Innovative Solutions for Challenging Times

New York, NY Now, as the converging food, finance, energy and climate crises push governments and citizens to consider new and more effective ways to manage for current and future challenges, New York City promises to provide a fertile working space for the collaboration of global leaders and New York food advocates and showcase its diverse and complex regional food systems.

In the face of these crises, the 17th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (May 4-15) opens its doors to a wide range of international civil society leaders and government delegates working on solutions for the enormous challenges facing the future of food and agriculture.

In preparation, New Yorkers have come together to collaborate with UN delegates and representatives via the New York City Host Committee to CSD-17. They’ve formed a working group comprised of local agencies and nonprofits, including Council on the Environment NYC’s Greenmarket, New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Department of Education’s Office of School Food, the Food Systems Network NYC, Just Food, World Hunger Year, Cornell University Cooperative Extension, the USDA and many others.

For two years, this committee set off in search of ways to best showcase the strong public-private partnerships, urban-rural linkages and leadership by local authorities and schools in New York which are all instrumental in improving access to food for vulnerable children and families, and fostering economic development in the local and regional food system.

The US Government delegation, led by the State Department (with support from USDA program leaders) praises New York’s leadership and will be participating in a City-Farm Showcase and workshops during the two-week session. During the intergovernmental meetings in preparation for CSD held earlier this year, John M. Matuszak, Division Chief, Sustainable Development and Multilateral Affairs, Office of Environmental Policy, Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Science, U.S. Department of State said before the Commission with regard to connecting rural countrysides with communities, “Indeed within the New York City region, we are increasingly aware of these links and how they can promote a focus on sustainable development of our farms while increasing the nutritional quality and variety of food within our cities. We acknowledge and support the innovations that are underway, and hope that others will join us in promoting this important work.”

Delegates and representatives from all over the world will be invited to visit working farms and community gardens growing food in the City, as well as wholesale and retail farmers markets, and an emergency food facility. Many will also tour a NYC Public School cafeteria and dine on locally produced food. All are expected to collaborate with sustainable development leaders at workshops and seminars inside the UN, several of which have been organized by the Host Committee to showcase New York programs and supply chain infrastructure.

Conversations are expected to address themes common to the developed and developing worlds alike, such as the need for new investment in agriculture and rural development. The convergence of climate change, food and finance challenges has brought about new interest in topics such as:

• regions feeding cities,
• linkages between rural countrysides and communities,
• new innovations in supply chain infrastructure,
• capacity building to support regional food systems,
• the role of local authority leadership and policy,
• public-private partnerships,
• community empowerment and youth engagement,
• direct-to-consumer, wholesale, retail and institutional sales of rurally-grown food including procurement issues surrounding homegrown school feeding programs,
• urban agriculture,
• emergency food and social protection systems,
• health and nutrition,
• and agro-ecological practices which deliver ecological services
  • water and soil conservation,
  • composting
  • land preservation,
  • climate change and global warming
  • and, other sustainable development topics.

Reporters can find a story around the collaboration between local and global food and sustainable development advocates ranging from local interest to global policy debates.

Visit the New York City Host Committee’s website at

http://sustainablefoodmonitor.org/event-calendar/ for a calendar of events.

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“How School Lunches Can Help Sustain the Whole Planet”

by: Linda Elswick, International Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture (IPSA)

Food has a crucial role to play in advancing the sustainable development agenda. Food production and consumption affect our individual and communal health, the integrity of our eco-systems, our quality of life. Hence, political intervention on the various stages of the food chain means addressing multiple forms of deprivation.

Throughout the world, governments are beginning to discover the development potential of PUBLIC FOOD systems, especially in relation to school food, which is increasingly seen as a strategy that can contribute to food security, childhood education and market access for farmers. Both the Curry and Obesity Reports in the iUnited Kingdom highlighted the potential role of public pro-procurement for re-localizing the agri-food sector and addressing health issues.

Development strategies that emphasize the inter-dependence of economy, society and nature, have the offer diverse benefits over a range of issues. It is hoped that the delegates this year recognize this, especially in relation to school food systems and offer concrete support to such programmes both in the developing and developed world.

Kevin Morgan and Roberta Sonnino, University of Cardiff, focus on food as a crucial planning and development tool, to be discussed on the opening day of the CSD from 3-6 in CR 6.

REPRINT FROM “Outreach Issues”, May 4, 2009

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