One Pot Wonder

Today, I bring to you...really terrible pictures and a recipe. This week's classes are all about soup. It's affordable, filling and quick (depending on how you make it). Plus, it only has one pot (plus maybe a cutting board and a knife). As my classes know, I despise those cooking shows where they say you can make a meal in ___ minutes (20, 30, whatever) and then they generate tons of dishes. I don't know about you, but there aren't magical elves in my kitchen cleaning up after me as I go. When I say a fast dinner, I mean the whole shebang.

This particular gem takes about 20 minutes total to make (including clean up). My classes asked for seconds and seemed to really like it. We also had a good discussion about other possibilities for quick and easy soups.

The cost per serving of this one pot wonder (using the broth, spinach and whole wheat pasta) is about $2.25/person. Substituting frozen spinach or a different vegetable or using water in place of broth will decrease the cost.

One Pot Meal: Bean Soup

Serves about 4

Salt/Pepper

Olive or Vegetable Oil

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 qt chicken stock, vegetable stock or water

1 bunch leafy greens, chopped (or frozen, but decrease liquid in soup to compensate)

1 15 oz. can of beans, drained (I use white beans, but kidney could work, too)

1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes (or stewed) - try to find "no salt added"

1 cup pasta, dried (preferably whole wheat)

shredded cheese for topping, optional

1. Heat about 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat in a soup pot. Add onion and garlic and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
2. Add stock/water, beans, tomatoes and seasoning (salt/pepper and other seasonings you desire).
3. Bring to a boil. Add pasta and simmer about 8 minutes. Add greens just before removing to wilt.
4. Sprinkle with cheese to serve.

Optional, for meat lovers: In step one, add some crumbled sausage or ground beef (about 1/2 lb to 1 lb) and cook until brown before adding onion.

Brevity Has Never Been My Strong Suit

Friday was a lovely day in the San Francisco Bay. Crystal clear skies that were heartbreakingly blue, temperatures hovering around 60 (this is good when you are huffing and puffing up and down the hills of the city) and that fuzzy Friday feeling of people about to enjoy a lovely weekend. I had the morning free, so I seized it to do touristy things I never really got the chance to when I lived here. I walked through Chinatown (live chickens squawking from open doorways, color everywhere) to North Beach (full of Italian flags and the wafting scent of garlic and fresh bread) to Coit Tower where I swallowed hard (slightly claustrophobic and mildly afraid of heights) and rode the elevator to the top for some spectacular views. A walk along the Embarcadero and a quick lunch at the Ferry Building ended my morning of sightseeing.

A quick BART ride under the Bay (just don't think about it) to Oakland, and I was ready to begin my conference schedule. Yesterday's workshop was conducted by Ingrid Daffner Krasnow from Berkeley Media Studies Group and was entitled, "Introduction to Media Advocacy: Shaping the Public Debate". I might re-title it, "Learning to Keep Your Mouth Shut and Get Your Organization's Message Out". Condensing, articulating and specifically addressing your audience were the big takeaways.

The session started with a video presentation by Parent Earth, a group that makes videos about food issues to engage and involve families in the dialogue. After viewing a smattering of their work. the speaker encourage us to thinking about using more video to really capture our audience. Films, she said, get people talking and "spice up" what can sometimes be dry topics. She mentioned that if we were intimidated by making our own videos to try reaching out to other media companies that had already produced them. (In addition to Parent Earth, she named mediamattersfest.org and media rights as entities to find video and then contact the filmmaker about using.)

Ingrid's interactive presentation (we often stopped to discuss or try out various strategies/activities) began after a short break. The next 3 hours were a serious lesson in formulating a message succinctly, precisely and engagingly for your organization. Here are some of my key take-aways:

• Media advocacy is a bit different than social marketing in that social marketing doesn't attempt policy change (in fact, it might focus more on individual change). Media advocacy is a strategic endeavor to push a particular policy agenda.
• Organizations MUST define their issue, problem, solution and audience before they begin addressing the media (this included giving interviews, writing letters to the editor, pitching stories).
• As humans, our default is to place responsibility for change on the individual. Media campaigns  must work to encompass the whole story and change people's perceptions to be successful.
• Placement (as in a particular newspaper section) and outlet (as in a particular news source) need to reflect who is your target audience for policy change.
• Here is a BIG and IMPORTANT take-away (yes, I am shouting at you): You cannot be both strategic *and* comprehensive. As advocates, we are passion about about causes and want everyone to know as much as we do. However, this is not effective in a media campaign. (Message needs to be short and sweet.) Instead, think about where you want your audience to end up. Then, move them there. They don't have to follow the same route as you to get there.
• Break down your media goals piece-by-piece. Think about changing the conversation, not trying to change an individual/system/policy immediately.

All of this really hit home for me since I am incredibly verbose 99% of the time (the other 1%, I'm sick). In fact, I'm pretty sure I talked way too much during the session, and I was actually *restraining* myself from asking half the questions in my mind. To address an agenda, I have to learn to be more succinct.

After the session, we had the opportunity to mill about and talk to the other participants. Really, there were so many interesting people there, I wish I could have met them all. The few I did have time to speak with I might have lingered with a bit too long. After all, I'm still learning to keep my mouth shut.

Today's workshop: Planning Successful Community-Based Food Initiatives. I'm already doodling "talk less, message more" in my journal.

Use your words wisely, people. Happy weekend.

One last tidbit. Someone in the workshop recommended a nifty little blog with lots of helpful advice for non-profits. Check it out: http://www.bethkanter.org/

Back to the Bay

From the CFSC website

Last night, I arrived in San Francisco for the Community Food Security Coalition conference, taking place in Oakland. The CFSC is an organization whose mission is defined as "to catalyze food systems that are healthy, sustainable, just, and democratic by building community voice and capacity for change". (www.foodsecurity.org, 11/3/11) The coalition works across North America by providing networking opportunities and training, and advocating for policy change. Besides the annual conference, CFSC maintains a listserv to link members and those interested in their mission, assists with grant writing and implementation, offers support for establishing food policy councils, helps run both the National Farm to School program and a network of Healthy Corner Stores, and publishes many papers, newsletters and research reports on topics related to their goals.


I'm here for the entire conference, including a few pre-workshops today and tomorrow. Today's workshop is on "Introduction to Media Advocacy: Shaping the Public Debate" and tomorrow's is "Planning Successful Community-Based Food Initiatives". Sunday-Tuesday's conference schedule involves workshops, forum/networking sessions and a couple of public addresses. I'm both excited to take part (these things always inspire me) and nervous (since many of the people who attend are established food activists in their communities).


However, right now, the only thing I'm thinking about is getting outside for a run (still on East Coast time and just waiting for the sun to come up!). I briefly thought I might not make it here yesterday, because, as I've mentioned, my dog is crazy. Although she's done great for the past few FF trips, she really freaked out about my leaving yesterday. And, if you've read my Zomppa posts (link 1) on it (follow-up story), she can be very, *very* destructive. Luckily, my dog sitter is A-mazing, and I was able to hop on my flight. I was lucky enough to score a middle seat with a guy on one side who itched his whole body while playing Sudoku the entire flight, a guy on the other side who snored tremendously while scratching and grabbing his crotch (how is this even possible??) and a guy in front of me who practically reclined into my lap the whole flight, farting. And the movie they showed was Rise of the Planet of the Apes which just made me feel bad about the dog and cry. (I mean, I didn't openly *weep* on the plane, but I wish they'd shown more episodes of 30Rock instead). It was a loooong day.


Today is bound to be much, much better!

Felonies, Bikes and City Living

After approximately 4 weeks of practicing justification for procrastination, I was forced to commit to a trip to DCPS headquarters today for another round of fingerprinting and completion of  my paperwork to become an "official" school volunteer. In my continuing quest to extend my environmental awareness beyond just food (really, I love things like A/C and paper towels and clothing-that-might -possibly-be-made-by-children-in-factories, so I'm honestly trying to expand my horizons and enlighten myself), I decide to Capital Bikeshare over there. Capital Bikeshare is totally awesome and easy to use. I even borrowed a helmet so my brains don't end up on the pavement (coordination is not my strong suit). Now that the weather is cooler and I won't arrive at destinations with a sweat stain on my butt and a stinky shirt, I'm determined to use it more often. This trip was perfect as it's a straight shot across the Capitol to arrive at the DCPS building. Very little traffic, almost no turns (I can never get those biking hand signals right). Suffice it to say, I arrived alive. Whew.

Back to DCPS. Although I used to teach in the system, I am not gifted with some sort of free pass on criminal investigation. Since I am going to be the guest "chef" at a local elementary school, DCPS needed to once again confirm I am TB and felony free. I visited my school back in September, and it has taken me this long to find a doctor, secure the test and then deliver the appropriate documents to the right people. I'm not proud of this, but this is what happens when you freelance at a dozen different agencies while traveling around the country on a research/writing assignment.

Meanwhile, my school patiently waits for me to begin. I was hooked up with them through Michelle Obama's "Chefs Move to School", a branch of the larger "Let's Move" campaign. This hookup took over a year.

I registered my information with "Chefs Move to School" over a year ago online (they have this nifty little map with little markers all over it proclaiming the happy marriages of chefs and schools all over the U.S.). I was really excited to work at a school since I figured my experience teaching, coupled with my culinary degree, would be a great fit. Unfortunately, beyond taking your information and making it available on their website, not much action happens (generic emails, maybe once a month). I briefly tried being proactive and contacting a couple of DC schools who were supposedly looking to be paired with a chef, but the information on the site was outdated. So, I basically moved on with other things and waited. This September, I received a very lovely letter from a preschool teacher at a school in Northwest DC asking if I would consider working with them.  She was so sweet and excited, I had to say yes. (I didn't mention she was my only suitor.)

So, what is the "Chefs Move to School"(CMTS) program exactly? Well, that's a very good question. It seems to mostly be an idea. An encouragement, if you will. It promotes adopting a school and working with school personnel to envision ways to spread the message of better nutrition through education. There's a CMTS handbook with facts on childhood obesity and school lunches. It includes a template for starting a school program. Could you do all these things on your own without CMTS? Sure. But, as I stated, I think the program basically is to exist as a linking module. And, hey!, now I have a school, so I guess it works in that respect.

It seems there are a lot of organizations trying to use chefs as a tool in schools right now. Besides the CMTS umbrella, there's also the nationwide Farm to School program, and various other entities (such as the American Institute of Food&Wine's "Days of Taste" event) trying to recruit chefs to teach kids about food, for most on a one or two time basis...for a few, more regularly and long term. What do you think of this approach? Is it just a stop gap measure? Does it make actual inroads in helping kids and families eat better? Would these organizations' resources (both time and money) be better spent finding long term programs and participants to commit to schools? Or possibly helping schools to create jobs to bring on nutrition teachers and specialists more permanently? Or training existing teachers to implement food curriculums (see previous blog)? Maybe the chefs are just a jumping off point- to excite kids and inspire schools to start a more comprehensive program once they see the children's interest?

I start at my school this month. I'll be going on a monthly basis to teach lessons for 3 and 4-year olds exploring food (particularly fruits and vegetables) using the 5 senses. We'll be squeezing, smelling, slurping, seeing and squishing all sorts of local products. I can only hope that it creates some excitement in the kids and gets them comfortable with the foods I hope they'll eat for a lifetime.


In other news, I am gushing over Philabundance again over at Zomppa. Check out my semi-stalker status and article here. 

What the Heck Are You Doing?

If you've been wondering what the hell I'm up to when I go weeks without making a blog post, you're not alone. My parents ask me similar questions all the time. Not because they're actually reading this blog. They're not. But, because they are very, very concerned about how I'm actually earning an income. Here's a sample phone conversation:

Dad: Well, hello...we haven't heard from you in a while. What have you been up to? Why hasn't there been a Melissa@Market piece on Zomppa recently?

Me: Now that the season is winding down, we are only running those a couple of times a month. But, I have a Food Fighters piece coming out every other week instead!

Dad: Hmm. Well, we're not really interested in those.

Me: oh.

Dad: What else have you been doing?

Me: Teaching classes, traveling, writing.

Dad: Do you get PAID for any of this stuff??

So, anyhow. I'm not sure if you've been wondering where I've been hiding because you're actually *interested* in what I'm learning and writing about or if you're just nosy as to how I survive on a day-to-day basis. My dad wants to makes sure I'm (a) alive and (b) supporting myself (legally). If those are your priorities also, then you can quit reading now. Here's a pretty picture for you to leave on:

Gorgeous mural from my last Philly trip

Actually curious on how I've filled the last 2 1/2 weeks? Here's a brief recap that I'll hit more in depth soon. (I know, I know...I say that a lot. Just trust I have good notes and an *excellent* memory.)

• Attended the Philabundance Hunger Symposium.  We all already know I've got it bad for Philabundance, but the conference was seriously one of the best 1/2 day events I've ever attended. It was jam-packed with energy, innovation and knowledge. Mari Gallagher spoke about her research on food deserts and Joel Berg gave a rousing anti-hunger speech. And that was just the last 1 1/2 hours. Must find a way to condense soon.
• Spent a lovely evening at Talula's Garden. The company was unbeatable even if the food was a bit uneven.

•  Traveled to Chicago. But only after being held hostage in the Philly airport by United Airlines for almost 9 hours. Managed to run into both Joe Theissman and Michael Jordan though, so things were not all bad.

This view from my Chicago hotel room did not suck

• Visited with the kind and generous Kevin Pierce of The Resource Center. The Resource Center in Chicago runs a variety of projects aimed at connecting individuals and businesses, creating equality and evening the food supply. 

• Spent an evening with a dear friend eating at the sleek pub The Gage on Michigan Ave. 

• An early start to check out a couple of local farmer's market including the large Green City Market at Lincoln Park. 
• A morning tour of one of Growing Power's farms in inner city Chicago where I learned about their upcoming hydroponic project and saw their compost worms in action.

• Brunch at Rick Bayless's Frontera Grill where I scarfed down this wonderfulness.

• Attended City Farm's (a division of The Resource Center) Urban Harvest Festival where I saw some of the most gorgeous produce I've ever seen in an urban farm. 

• Back in DC, tried out a new class with Academy of Hope that I call "One Method, Many Meals". Basically, it involves sauteing protein and veggies and combining them with various Latin, Asian, Italian flavors plus how to turn this knife and fork dish into a soup or frittata. All meals are under $5/serving and feature readily available ingredients. More on that later.

• Checked out the Neighborhood Farm Initiative in the Fort Totten area here in DC. 

• Traveled back to Boston for the Boston Local Foods Festival. Look for a full breakdown of the event at Zomppa on Monday.

 

• Attended the National Food Policy Conference at the Capital Hilton and enjoyed hearing panels on everything from global hunger to nutrition education to the Philadelphia healthy foods initiative. A really solid day of information.  

And that's why my brain is about to explode. Stay tuned.

A Loud Mouth in the Quiet Car

Tomorrow, I return to Philadelphia as the start of two weeks of crazy travel. I'm very determined not to repeat the travel hiccups of my past two trips (Boston. Tunnels. 'nough said.). When I went to Philly a month ago, I took the train (which I'll be doing again) and had no idea how serious people got about queueing up to board. I ended up towards the rear of the line and, on top of that, was pulled for random drug testing (with that little felt piece that they reuse 50 times in 5 minutes to swipe bags). By the time I headed for the train, all the front cars (back cars? train nomenclature is not my strong suit) were full. Not being a seasoned train rider, I wasn't sure how far I could go on the cars before I hit first class. I stopped to ask an employee, showing him my ticket. Then, I managed to ignore everything he said and walked to the wrong car.

At this point, the train actually started moving, so I jumped into the closest car which happened to be the "quiet" car and under no circumstances should a person like me ever sit in the "quiet" car. I found a seat, catching my breath and then realized my I.D. that I'd been carrying in the same pocket as my ticket was missing. Did I mention the train was *moving*? And that I was in the quiet car? So, I began stage whispering to the poor man who had the extreme misfortune of having the only empty seat next to him. Of course, there was nothing he could do, but he felt terrible so he started lifting up my jackets and flipping through my books while I managed to panic everyone else in the quiet car that I was some sort of deranged lunatic with laryngitis. When our search turned up nothing, I went searching for the ticket guy (again, not good with official train titles).

Pressing buttons and racing through doors like Jake Gyllenhaal in SourceCode, I found him 4 or 5 cars down where I breathlessly explained that I thought I'd dropped my driver's license on the platform. Very calm-like, in a manner similar to which you'd treat a mental patient, he told me to sit down and he'd "check". (I wasn't sure what this meant, but I was having delusions of being tossed from the train in Delaware, so I thought it was best to obey.) Returning to my seat, I continued searching through my purse with the vigor of a chain smoker trying to find a last cig. My seatmate continued to look pained, either because he was the most empathetic person on the planet or because he was envisioning 8 possible hours trapped next to me. (The train goes all the way to Boston.) Meanwhile, I began frantically texting my dog sitter about how I was going to need her to FedEx me my passport the next day. In the middle of a hurricane. (Oh, yeah. Remember how I went to Philly in a hurricane?!) Intelligent woman that she is, she ignored every single one of my texts.

When oxygen began to finally flow to my brain again, it occurred to me that I'd been holding my ticket when I lifted my luggage into the overhead compartment. I stood up, open the bin, lifted the bag and ran my hand along the floor of the cabinet. As it closed around the cool, slim piece of plastic, I couldn't help exclaiming, "I found it!" In the quiet car. Yeah, yeah..."sssshhhh" and all that sh*&.

So, um, I'm just hoping tomorrow's trip doesn't start that way.

ACTUAL CONTENT
Oh...would you like to actual read about some Food Fighting and stuff?! Ok. Here are some good links from the past two weeks for that.

• Last week was all about the $5 Slow Food Challenge. Check out this interview Washington Post Food Editor Joe Yonan did with Slow Food USA President Josh Viertel to learn all about the reasoning behind the throwdown. Then, read Joe's summary of his own private $5 Dinner Challenge.  Finally, you can check out *my* recap of my 40+ guest dinner party at Zomppa.
• After you consider whether or not you could take on the $5 Challenge, read this (depressing) article on how little Americans care about cooking. A real bummer since the best path to better eating is getting busy in the kitchen.
• If those things can't get you to try some from-scratch cooking, maybe reading more about your food supply will. Ever wonder how cereal turns into cereal? Find out here. Need some milk to wash that down? You might be surprised at the process milk must go through.
• Finally, if you aren't already convinced to cut down your intake of meat (and poultry!) then at least be convinced to buy organic. This Atlantic article should do the trick.

Maybe next week, I'll cover some ways cities are getting inventive in supplying the community with these products and teaching them how to use it all. In the meantime, I suggest old-fashioned oatmeal, fruits and vegetables (anybody can do salad) and a lot of hummus and whole grain pita. Low-maitenance cooking.

Where I've Been and Where I'm Going

A sale chart from the entrepreneurial kids at City Blossoms in WDC

Three months ago, I started this project officially. Time has flown by so quickly, I still feel I haven't adequately addressed half the things I've learned. I'm optimistic though that in the end it will accrue to create one (sort-of?) seamless flow that might be useful not just to myself, but others. One thing is for certain, and that is the fact that all the organizations I've visited so far have been amazing in their own right. I've visited places in Boston, Philadelphia and my hometown of Washington, DC so far, and next week, I'm off to Chicago.

A downtown Philly pop-up garden designed to utilize temporarily empty space.

My visits have been centered around observing three main areas of food equity: production of food, distribution of food and education about food. I've also tried to incorporate any businesses that might be involved in creating a larger network of local, sustainable food for a city. Of course, many places overlap in their focus. Here, I group them loosely based on the central premise of their organization.

I welcome suggestions for more visits and stops! Please use this blog, the email, Twitter or Facebook to send them my way!

Visitors tour Common Good City Farm in WDC

Production
Common Good City Farm, LeDroit Park, Washington, DC: Read more about this 1/2 acre urban farm in my Zomppa post or in this blog post. Best take away: The abundant amount of plant life that can grow in a small space on a former elementary school baseball field. Peach trees! Peach trees!
City Blossoms, Shaw Neighborhood, Washington, DC: I just visited with City Blossoms at their Marion Street location this past week and doggone if I didn't leave with the biggest case of the warm and fuzzies. This spot really puts the "community" in community garden. As with Common Good, education about gardening and fresh food is part of the package. The emphasis here is on kids, but all sorts of community members and volunteers participate.

The Food Project, multiple locations, Boston, MA and surrounding areas: Although the Food Project operates several farms in the greater Boston area, their focus is equally split on growing food and growing community. Teaching youth leadership skills is a majority part of this 20-year old organization's goals. They also work to distribute the food they grow to areas of the community in need, often partnering with health organizations, schools, and youth groups to promote healthy eating. You can read a little more about what I've written about them here.
Walnut Hill Community Farm and Philly Rooted, West Philadelphia, PA: There's a lot more to what Nic Esposito has going on then just this farm outside of a Septa station on Market Street. He's also a big proponent of local entrepreneurship and community mobilization. This farm is ingenious not just for its use of space, but for its design, such as a drainage cistern and pipe that slopes down the public transit system's roof. (Yep, they managed to get through all the government red tape for permission to do it!)
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society: Ok, so they're clearly involved in gardens. But, did you know this organization (originally founded in 1827) also runs a prison greenhouse program and a work release "Roots to Re-entry" program? Their training classes to help organizers start community gardens is innovative in that they focus only 1/3 on actual gardening and 2/3 on community mobilization (often the most difficult component of starting a neighborhood garden). The City Harvest program connects gardeners who can grow surplus with food security organizations that might use it.
Greensgrow, Philadelphia, PA: One of the original urban "gardens" in Philadelphia. Also runs a farmer's market, CSA, and nutritional cooking classes. 

The greenhouse at Greensgrow in Philly, PA

I'll be adding to this list in Chicago where I'm scheduled to stop at:
City Farm, Chicago, IL: Not only will I be touring this farm and speaking with a director at the organization (The Resource Center) that runs it, but I'll also be attending their fall Urban Harvest event.
Growing Home, Chicago, IL: Both exploring this farm and speaking with someone to learn more about their programs.
Gary Corner Youth Center Gardens, Chicago, IL: Another scheduled garden stop!

Distribution
Bread for the City, Shaw and Anacostia neighborhoods, Washington, DC: I've worked with BFC for several of their farmer's markets. They are an immense organization of wrap-around services that do much more than hand-out food. Education is also a big priority here to ensure their clients become self-sufficient and independent as the ultimate goal. You can read some more about them here and here.
Community Servings, Boston, MA: Originally founded as a healthy food delivery service for those suffering from acute illnesses, Community Servings has expanded its offerings to include nutritional cooking classes that utilize fresh produce and farmer's markets whose proceeds help support the non-profit. Both offer provisions that make them accessible to a wide range of incomes.
SHARE, distribution from West Philadelphia to areas of PA, DE, NJ shore, MD shore and metro NY: SHARE acquires food from the USDA's commodity program and supplements it with local farm goods to create weekly "boxes" of groceries that are then sold for a fraction of the retail cost. Federal and state assistance monies as well as cash can be used to purchase a box which is picked up at a local distribution site.
Philabundance, greater Philadelphia, PA: Philabundance grew out of a food bank system, but does much more beyond mere distribution. If you want to hear me turn all gooey and wax philosophic about them, check out this post.  They have a lot going on! And it's all fabulous!

I'll be adding to this list in Chicago where I'm scheduled to take a peek at the:
Fresh Moves Bus, various locations, Chicago, IL: This produce stand on wheels takes reduced price produce into underserved areas of Chicago.

Working in the City Blossoms Marion Street Garden

Education
Haley House, South End, Boston, MA: Haley House has a wide variety of wrap-around services, but several of their growing projects involve food education and training. I recently wrote about them here on the blog. 
Cambridge Community Kitchen, Cambridge, MA: A fledgling business hoping to host both local, nutritional cooking classes for a variety of populations as well as provide a separate kitchen to serve as an incubator for start-up food businesses.
Chefs Move To Schools, nationwide: A component of Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" initiative, this program helps to pair those trained in culinary arts with a local school. Resources and ideas are provided online to help chefs and schools incorporate food education. I was recently paired with Takoma Park Educational Center and am looking forward to starting a food exploration unit there. 

This does not even cover the other local DC organizations I partner with who are interested in nutritional cooking education for their clients.  These places include Even Start, Academy of Hope, Unity Healthcare, and the Latin American Youth Center among other non-for-profits.

Shoppers choose from the fresh produce at FreshFarm Market in WDC

Local Sustainable Food Systems
Crop Circle Kitchen, Jamaica Plains, Boston, MA: A food business incubator that carefully and selectively screens potential businesses to maximize efficiency. In addition, CCK provides detailed guidance on running and growing a business. The founder also runs a distribution hub called OrFoodEx that allows small producers and buyers to link up in a way that minimizes costs.
Boston Local Foods, Boston, MA: A linking organization for local businesses and producers designed to emphasize location, fairness and sustainability in the food system. I'll be attending their Boston Local Foods Festival on Saturday, Oct. 1. 
FreshFarm Markets, Washington, DC area: A non-profit that organizes 11 markets in DC, VA and MD filled with farmers from within a 200-mile radius. Several of their markets accept SNAP and WIC and utilize a program called "Double Dollars" that matches federal funds up to a specified amount. And, of course, there's the awesome FoodPrints kitchen , curriculum and garden at Watkins ES.  I frequently work at their markets doing simple cooking demonstrations with the produce and am looking forward to participating in the Watkins program soon! 
Fair Food Philly, Philadelphia, PA: Fair Food Philly began as a way to connect restaurants with local farms and has grown to include schools, institutions and the public at large. A leader in linking food networks in the city. 

Fair Food Philly's Farmstand at Reading Terminal carefully describes where the food originates and how it is produced