[FIG-ALL] Food Initiative Group news and meeting minutes

Sun Nov 15 13:17:41 PST 2009

Hello everyone,

I want to thank everyone for the great response to the McDonough  
County community garden grant proposal.  I had over separate 30 email  
responses that often volunteered the efforts of spouses, partners,  
children, and neighbors.  Several teachers volunteered their  
students.  I added up what people communicated to me they were  
willing to do to help the project succeed.  Many people gave me a  
range of hours they could work, equipment they could lend, or money  
they would be willing to donate and I used the lower amounts when  
documenting FIG's commitment.  On the other hand, I made it clear in  
my letter that FIG members had more to contribute depending on  
timing, logistics, and scope of the final project.  Here are the more  
conservative totals: 215 hours of labor, 33 hours of rototiller use,  
$250 (this amount represents personal donations, not money from FIG  
as an organization), and FIG's expertise in local foods fundraisers  
to support the gardens in the future.
Thanks everybody!

The minutes from the FIG Board meeting on November 2nd are attached.   
Many thanks to Jamie Lane for serving as acting Board Secretary.  I  
also pasted the minutes into this email for those of you who have  
difficulty opening attachments.  The next FIG Board meeting will be  
Monday, November 2nd, at Project Insight.  Start time will be 7 pm.

If you have comments or questions about information in the minutes  
please contact me.

Thanks,
Dan Barclay
FIG Chair
dmbmca at macomb.com

FIG Board Meeting Minutes
November 2, 2009

Present at the meeting: Ann Runner, Scott Worl, Dan Barclay, Brian  
Davies, Vajo Necak and Jamie Lane

The minutes from the last meeting have been posted to the FIG  
listserve.  No corrections or additions were made.

The next FIG Board meeting was set for Monday, November 30, 2009, at  
7pm at Project Insight.

The only activity for the treasurer this month was the addition of  
one new individual membership and the donation of $75.00 to the Moses  
King Brickyard in thanks to Dev and Tim's continuing support of our  
Summer Local Foods Dinner. Several FIG members were able to attend  
the open house for Brickyard donors on October 25th.

Dan reported on a statewide conference call that he participated in  
that was organized by Lindsay Record, the Executive Director of the  
Illinois Stewardship Alliance (ISA) (http://www.ilstewards.org/ )who  
works out of Springfield.  She wants to see more communication and  
partnership among like-minded local foods groups in Illinois and is  
working on a March or February 2010 meeting of Illinois private and  
public organizations that have local foods initiatives.  There will  
be another conference call in 10 days (November 12) to firm up plans  
for the spring meeting. He also suggested that FIG might pay for one  
of us to go to the spring meeting; the board will talk about this  
issue again at the next Board meeting.  The dues are $65 per year.   
Dan suggested that FIG join the ISA and receive the benefits of many  
knowledgeable organizations who work with ISA.  We will also be able  
to post our events on their website.  Ann made a motion that we join  
ISA with Scott seconding the motion.  The motion carried unanimously.

Dan told the board that Margaret Ovitt has offered to take over as  
our membership leader and to resign her post as community outreach  
coordinator.  Dan made a motion to let this take place.  Ann seconded  
the motion and it carried unanimously.  Dan will notify Margaret of  
our vote.  Jamie Lane will turn over any membership information from  
the past that Margaret may need in addition to the current list.

Dan suggested that we start a membership drive that will take place  
between now and the end of the year.  He has spoken with Linda Cox (a  
loyal FIG member and supporter) of New Copperfields Book Store (which  
has hosted several FIG meetings) and suggested that we could offer a  
$5.00 gift certificate for a new or renewing individual membership 
($10.00 per year for students and 15.00 per year for other  
individuals), and a $10.00 gift certificate for a new or renewing  
family membership ($25.00).  Dan, Jamie, Linda and Margaret will work  
together on the logistics of writing, printing, and distributing the  
coupons and finalizing the length of time that they can be used  
(probably March, 2010).  Dan will draft a letter to send out to all  
members announcing the membership drive.  Dan has contacted Leslie  
Timlin and she has agreed to help FIG with public relations on this  
membership drive.

Ann moved to approve the membership drive as described and Vajo  
seconded the motion.  The Board discussed the pros and cons of  
providing a coupon to reward membership.  The motion passed unanimously.

Dan reported to the board that he has been contacted by Dr. Rob  
Porter of the WIU Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Department.  Rob is  
networking with many groups in Macomb in regards to starting a  
community garden. He is working on a matching grant and asked FIG  
what type of support we could offer, both monetarily and in-kind  
contributions. Dan will send a letter of support to Rob after finding  
out from FIG members what kind of support they want to give to the  
project.  The Board will take up the issue of community gardens at  
the November 30 Board meeting.

Jamie Lane reported on progress in regards to FIG's Winter Local  
Foods Dinner (soups/stews, breads, and deserts).  A tentative date of  
January 23rd has been selected.  The First Presbyterian Church on  
Dudley Street, which has a new and improved kitchen facility has been  
reserved for that afternoon and evening.  A fee of $25.00 will be  
charged for the use of the kitchen and a janitor will have to be paid  
by the hour to come in on his day off (very affordable). We are  
planning to make 3-4 types of soup and try to feed approx 200 people.  
The price will be approx $5.00 per meal and $2.50 for children and  
those with an Illinois Link Card. No tickets will be sold in  
advance.  Dinners will be served from 5-7:00 PM cafeteria style. Our  
committee will continue to firm up the details and report back next  
month.

Dan suggested that FIG could sponsor an essay contest for high school  
students that asked them to write about the benefits of local foods.   
He refered to the essay contest sponsored every year by the Kerr  
Institute in Oklahoma: http://www.kerrcenter.com/essay_contest/ 
index.htm.  He said a good questions may address Farm-to-School  
programs to improve school lunch programs, the role of buying local  
foods in supporting the local economy, or eating local food to  
improve environmental conditions or the treatment of animals.  Dan  
said important things to think about include FIG's sponsoring  
partners, the geographical scope of the contest, and the amount of  
prize money FIG could donate to the effort.

The board discussed prize money (approx $500?...or more if other  
sponsors help out) and the idea of trying to find someone at WIU or  
another institution to administer and judge the contest.  The board  
discussed how large of a geographic area should be included and  
tentatively decided to include 8 counties in West Central Illinois.  
The board was generally in favor of this activity and will wait to  
hear back from Dan in regards to the details before voting on an  
amount to contribute.

The Macomb food co-op group has been meeting regularly with Clare  
Kernik discussing various possibilities for the Macomb area. Dan  
Barclay, John Curtis, Ann Runner and Jamie Lane have attended  
meetings. Several of these people would like to visit other co-ops to  
get a better idea of how to set one up and how they work. There will  
be ongoing reports as they investigate further.

                                                 Submitted by acting  
secretary, Jamie Lane

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