After releasing the St. Louis Regional Food Study in November 2014, Missouri Coalition for the Environment sought to bring experts and passionate individuals together from diverse interest groups to address the food system needs of the Greater St. Louis area. In St. Louis, there are many great, local efforts addressing hunger, food access, sustainable agriculture, nutrition, social justice, community and economic development. The St….
Read MoreFarm Visit: Terra Bella Farms & Friends of Responsible Agriculture (FOR AG)
Written by Divya Babbula, Summer 2015 Food & Farm Intern in August 2015. Originally published August 2015, updated December 4, 2015. In June 2015, MCE’s Food and Farm Coordinator Melissa Vatterott, Clean Water Policy Coordinator Alicia Lloyd, and their respective interns, Divya Babbula and Shuangyu (Sharon) Zhang made a trip to Columbia, MO to network and expand our…
Read MoreLocal Food Hero: Food Policy Advocate, Brian Hurd
Written by Melissa Vatterott, Food and Farm Coordinator. Originally published in June 2015. His Food Story: Brian Hurd is an advocate for local food policy and an expert in planning and zoning in the St. Louis area. He attended Melissa’s Food Study presentation at Gateway Greening on January 31, 2015 and afterwards suggested that Melissa become involved in the…
Read MoreInteractive Local Foodshed Map
In creating this map, we want to promote only those businesses that truly and regularly support local farmers. We’ve provided here sourcing connections that were listed by farmers, either on their farm websites or through Slow Food St. Louis’s Farm Directory. How To Use This Map We have plotted resources within the 150-mile radius of…
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Multi-stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration
MCE works with small farm outreach specialists, urban farmers, community development organizations, local government, social entrepreneurs and others to support local food, environmental stewardship, family farms, and nutrition and healthy equity. From our engagement with individuals and organizations about the current gaps in our food system, and research on what other cities and states are doing, we set 4 major priorities for our Local…
Read MoreLocal Policy: A Tool for Building Up Healthy Food Systems
Following the production of the 2014 St. Louis Regional Food Study, it became clear that changes were needed to our local food system. Through networking and partnership development, MCE identified several gaps in the food system that need filling. Education gap: more education about the harmful impacts of industrialized agriculture is needed for individuals to understand the benefits…
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