Buckeye ISA - Resilience Adaptability, and Innovation
The Buckeye Institution-Supported Agriculture (ISA) Project was funded by a $750,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The grant was in recognition of AMP’s role in the grassroots formation of the Initiative for Food and AgriCultural Transformation (InFACT) at The Ohio State University, and the commitment that the University made in its sustainability goals. The original goals of Buckeye ISA were:
- To leverage Ohio State’s goal to increase production and purchase of locally and sustainably sourced food to 40% by 2025 in order to promote more urban farming in economically disadvantaged local communities by providing access to tools, seeds and expertise.
- To provide training and workshops to Buckeye ISA households through the Ohio State Franklin County Extension program.
- To partner with Nationwide Children’s Hospital to use biometric screenings of children and adults from participating households to compare their health before and after participation in the growing and home use of produce through the project.
- To streamline the process of aggregating and distributing produce from small producers like households to large institutions like Ohio State.
Initiated in 2017, Buckeye ISA sought to create a network of at least 100 low-income households with young children, particularly in communities of color, that grow produce for their own use but also with the option of producing enough to sell to Ohio State, or other outlets. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation's mission is "to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life." When the W.K. Kellogg grant for the Buckeye ISA project was awarded, one of the requirements was that each household involved must have children between 2 and 8 years old.
In four years, Buckeye ISA has built a robust network of 6 (originally 7) community liaisons, 3 corporate and 23 non-profit partners to support 126 gardening and farming households with multiple produce selling opportunities at their disposal.
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