| | | | | |  | | | | | Join Us In-person for 8th Faith, Food and Farm Conference on the Bay in San Rafael! Join us for the 8th Annual Faith, Food and Farm Conference, August 25th in San Rafael, CA. The conference is for lay leaders and clergy who lead projects within their faith communities. Be inspired by peers from diverse backgrounds working for food justice and a more sustainable agricultural system. The format includes interactive discussions, and panels highlighting successful local and national projects. Topics will include: farms and gardens on land owned by faith communities; Community Supported Agriculture and local procurement during the COVID Pandemic; and advocacy in support of farmers, and farmworkers. Scholarships are available to anyone who would benefit. | | | | New this year: We will have an optional pre-conference tour of local farms and gardens committed to growing a more just and sustainable food system throughout the Bay Area. Sites will include: a 4 acre farm run by an immigrant farmer on the campus of Redwood Adventist Academy; Urban Adamah a Jewish community farm providing education about relationships between Jewish faith and food; and two community gardens. The tour will run from 9:00 am-1:45 pm August 25th, finishing in time for the start of the conference. This tour will include a boxed lunch featuring local food, and transportation for those who desire it. Reservations are limited, so you don’t want to miss your opportunity to join us! To register, or for more information about the conference and scholarships click here! The tour is $20 in addition to regular registration fees. | | | | Early-bird registration runs now through August 1, 2021 at a discounted price of $45. Click to register here! Registration includes a delicious evening meal with ingredients from local farms. The conference is made possible with support from USDA’s AFRI program and a Specialty Crop Block Grant.We look forward to seeing you! | | | | | | Feeding the North Bay, From Shining Sea to Pantry Beginning in January 2021, Interfaith Food has partnered with local nonprofits and faith based community pantries to distribute fish to communities in Marin and Sonoma counties with two grants (Sea to Sonoma, Fish to Families) with support from Catch Together. This grant was intended to help local fishermen of Bodega Bay hit financially by the COVID economic crisis, by connecting them with pantries who have seen an increased need due to the coronavirus pandemic. Through this project, we were able to donate 9,368 pounds of fish, equivalent to $43,165 or 37,472 meals to our neighbors in North Bay. The success resulted from collaboration of 17 faith-based partners, 5 secular groups, Anna Svedise of Anna’s Seafood in Petaluma, and first and foremost, the hard work of fishermen from 4 North Coast local boats! Our partners were quite creative with how they distributed the fish, including adding the fish to food boxes and bags, making meals to serve at a socially distant in-person religious ceremony, and adding the protein to a CSA box. | | | | | | | | | “We supported culturally appropriate food distribution to low-income community members, and bought a large amount of rockfish and Black Cod at market prices from local fishermen hit by COVID.” Steve Schwartz, Executive Director | | | | | | | | | | We offered two fish offerings: frozen rockfish filets and whole Blackcod/Sablefish. “This project represented a unique opportunity for Interfaith Food to make a difference with direct purchasing to strengthen the local food system,” says Exec. Director Steve Schwartz. “We supported culturally appropriate food distribution to low-income community members, and bought a large amount of rockfish and Black Cod at market prices from local fishermen hit by COVID.” Black Cod/Sablefish is normally a bycatch that local fishermen cannot sell. The Black Cod market locally is usually for larger fillets, but recipients including Southeast Asian and Latinx consumers were very happy to have the smaller whole Black Cod. | | | | Inform your Congregation and Community about Pandemic-EBT 2.0! Please help get the word out to low-income families with children in your community about how to make the most of a newly announced federal nutrition benefit. A family with two children could put almost $500 towards healthy food purchases in a month at farmers markets. Pandemic Electronic Benefits (P-EBT) 2.0 has been approved for both school-aged children and preschool children currently receiving CalFresh in their household for the 2020-2021 school year. Benefits will be given to students who are eligible for free or reduced priced breakfast and lunch, who were not able to receive school meals due to school closures. Total benefit amounts will be determined based on the child’s eligibility and their school’s operational status, covering August, 2020 on until schools reopen. Please note that school aged children’s eligibility is not determined by immigration status and will not affect public charge. P-EBT benefit amounts will vary, but children can receive up to $123 per month eligible. However, families can double this if spending the benefit at farmers markets or other sites participating in Market Match or Double-up Food Bucks. For example, a family with two participating kids each getting $123 a month, or $246 total, could use the purchases at a farmers market and get a double value of $492 --nearly $500 for each month of the program. Please encourage families in your congregation and neighborhood that may be eligible to ensure their address information is up to date with child’s school and the CalFresh program. For newly eligible young children if they have not received their card by the end of November, parents should call the P-EBT hotline. Share this flyer with members of your congregation and pantry about utilizing Market Match with P-EBT. If you would like a Spanish language version please contact our office. Click here for flyers, factsheets and social media messaging with more details about P-EBT from California Department of Social Services to share with your congregation (available in multiple languages). | | | | | | | | Hiring Announcement! Interfaith Food is hiring for two professional positions based in Sonoma County: Outreach and Policy Associate; and a Communications and Reporting Associate. Interested individuals should contact Steve@interfaithfood.org for full position descriptions. In addition, we are recruiting two Americorps*VISTA positions to start in late Fall 2021. | | | | | | | | | | Freedom Farmers Market Opening Day, July 17th! The market will be open on Saturdays, July 17th - November 13th, 9:00 am - 2:00 pm, at 4521 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA. The Freedom Farmers' Marketplace is a multicultural market bringing Black and other farmers of color to the Bay Area for a Direct-to -Consumer selling experience. Freedom Farmers Market is also accepting applications for new vendors. For more information, click here. | | | | | | Mark Your Calendar! Save the Date: Food, Faith and Farms Conference 8/25/2021 National FaithLands Gathering 8/25-8/27/2021 | | | | | | | | Contact Us info@interfaithfood.org | 707-634-4672 | | | | | | | | | |
