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

[rob porter]

All,

I'd like to follow that up with a hearty thanks from all of us working on the grant. I think the support from you shows that this project will go, even if the money does not come through the first year (but, of course it will!)

rob
Western Illinois University
Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration
1 University Circle
Currens Hall 400
Macomb, IL 61455
(309) 298-2990

"It was wonderful to find America, but it would have been more wonderful to miss it." -Mark Twain 

----- Original Message -----
From: "Daniel Barclay and Marjorie Allison" <dmbmca at macomb.com>
To: fig at lists.wrecking.org, fig-announce at lists.wrecking.org
Sent: Sunday, November 15, 2009 3:17:41 PM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central
Subject: Food Initiative Group news and meeting minutes


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