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Fifth Annual Glynwood Harvest Awards Honor Creativity and Leadership in Sustainable Food Movement
Ceremony honors winners from across the country with a local harvest luncheon
Glynwood Center, the notfor profit organization whose mission to support community stewardship is advanced through educational and community based agricultural initiatives, will honor the winners of its 2007 Harvest Awards with a ceremony at Beacon restaurant in New York City on October 22. The luncheon will showcase a menu of locallyproduced ingredients prepared by top chefs across the country.
"It is a testament to the growth of the sustainable agriculture movement that Glynwood Center received over 60 nominations from more than 20 states to consider for our fifth annual Harvest Awards," says Judith LaBelle, President of Glynwood Center.
"We were inspired to see a raising of the bar as to what is regarded as special and exemplary: five years ago a farmer conducting a CSA program and playing an active role in public policy was a real contender. Now many, many farmers have transitioned to that multi-faceted role. This year we saw a trend towards efforts designed to encourage strengthening of the infrastructure that small farmers need if they are to remain viable in a changing and consolidating marketplace. Additionally, there has been an increase in projects designed to encourage urban agriculture - including efforts to help youth understand how food is produced as well as to make healthy food more available to underserved populations."
The Harvest Awards were created by Glynwood Center in 2003 to highlight the creative work by individuals and organizations from across the country that do an exceptional job of supporting local and regional agriculture and increases access to fresh, healthy food. The Awards help to identify and promote "best practice" ideas with the goal of inspiring others to take action within their own communities and build urban-rural coalitions in support of regional farms.
Past winners have included small family-owned farms like Huguenot Street Farm in New Paltz, NY; Niman Ranch, for its success in nurturing and marketing a national network of small producers; Carolyn Mugar, the Executive Director of Farm Aid, and large corporate organizations like Kaiser Permanente, for its program to increase access to healthier food for patients, employees and visitors at its health care facilities.
To find out more about Glynwood Center, visit www.glynwood.org
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