​For many years when Allison DeHonney was talking about policies, it was related to her executive roles at insurance companies. Now when she’s talking about policies, she’s focused on advocating for our local food system, specifically urban farming and ensuring access to fresh, locally grown food for communities in the City of Buffalo.
 
After a long, successful career in corporate America, Allison decided to start a side business in late 2013 called Urban Fruits & Veggies to connect locally grown food with underserved communities, especially in East Buffalo, and make fresh produce as accessible as possible to residents.

The initial plan was just to grow produce on an urban farm and distribute that produce in local neighborhoods.  She had no intention of leaving her day job. However, her business quickly took root and Allison soon realized in addition to focusing on her business full-time, she also needed to create a non-profit, now known as Buffalo Go Green.  ​

​“I fall more in love with this work every year, as challenging and time consuming as it is, there's nothing that I'd rather be doing. And a lot of that is because of the people. I meet individuals who have no more money left on their EBT card, to local and state politicians and legislators, educators and other business owners and most everyone is so grateful for our products and services,” said Allison.
 
Allison's unique experience of a successful corporate career, turned urban farmer, provided her with a unique perspective as Regional Advisory Council member for the Western New York Regional Food System Initiative. She jumped right in to provide important feedback when the effort launched in January 2021 and was an integral part of the collaborative team that helped develop a comprehensive plan that assessed our regional food system. In addition to serving on the Council, she was an active member of two work groups: Farmers and Producers and Access, Equity and Sovereignty. 

​“Being a part of the Regional Advisory Council was a really great learning experience. It helped grow my network, I connected with folks that I probably would've never met. It was good to learn about the rural farming struggles, the struggles in the meat industry, the struggles in the dairy industry,” said Allison.
 
With the FFWNY plan now complete and funding in place, the New York Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (NYSAWG), an affiliate of Southern Tier West, is responsible for seeing through the report’s recommendations and Allison is excited about the future of the work being implanted, understanding that this is a long-term systems effort.
 
“It's all such good work, and we do it for the betterment of every single one of us, because simply put, we all eat, and are unified by that fact,” said Allison.
 
To learn more and read some of the inspiring stories of other Regional Advisory Council members, visit FoodFutureWNY.org.   

You would be hard pressed to find a more "up-beet" person in the Western New York Food Regional Food System Initiative work than Chris Hartman. Yes, beets are his favorite food because of their underdog status in the food world, but his passion for educating people about the importance of how our food is grown and consumed is infectious.

Chris says he was always interested in teaching but not in a traditional classroom. During his senior year at Vassar College in the Hudson Valley, he landed the only internship he could find doing community-based education and it was at a farm run by three nuns. They allowed him to live there and learn the art of farming alongside them. He graduated, traveled a bit but was drawn right back to that farm to help it grow.

After a few years on the farm, Chris was a newlywed looking to earn a master's degree and start a family with his new wife closer to home in Rochester, NY, all while keeping education and farming his north star. During grad school, he started a farmers market in his neighborhood. On opening day, he hoped for 60 people but 500 showed up. He knew there was an appetite for better understanding where your food came from and access to locally grown food. That led to another project where he created workplace-based delivery of fresh, local grown produce in downtown Rochester and he included local high school students in developing it. All of this eventually led to him starting Headwater, which sources food from over 200 regional family farms and businesses to distribute to individuals, families, chefs and institutional food service throughout New York State. 

Chris' understanding of the interconnectivity of the food system made him an excellent candidate for the Regional Advisory Council (RAC) for Food Future WNY. A 9-county planning effort, led by the SCALE consultant team, to strengthen the region's food system to achieve resilience, equity, strong economic performance, and reduced food insecurity. 

"I knew I wanted to participate in this effort right when I was asked because the SCALE team was made up of some of the most interesting national thinkers right now in the food system space," said Chris. "As I got into the work, I was impressed with the plan and the approach, it was methodical and disciplined and I appreciated that we made some adjustments at the halfway point."

For more information on Headwater Food Hub:
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​Since the 1970s we have been eating our meals away from home more and more.  Although food eaten at restaurants account for a large portion of this, many of us also find our way to cafeterias at a variety of institutions such as K-12 schools, higher education institutions, hospitals or other facilities with food service.  So much so that many now believe that shifting food procurement practices of public and private institutions to include locally and equitably produced food can bring economic, public health, and environmental benefitsto communities (see for example Policy Link, Equitable Development Toolkit – Local Food Procurement​ 2015). 

The movement to increase local food purchasing in K-12 public schools provides a good example how this shift can result in desired impacts. According to the National Farm to School Network kids eat more and a greater variety of fruits and vegetables through farm to school meals and then subsequently by asking for changes at home.  Farmers benefit from an increase in income from farm to school sales, by having of a long-term revenue stream they can build out from, and from market diversification and growth opportunities that stem from success with schools. Communities win through increased public health and positive linkages between schools and communities particularly in low-income communities and communities of color.  Communities also realize economic impacts.  The 2020 study The Benefits of Farm to School, reported finding that each job created by school districts purchasing local foods led to and another 0.27 – 2.35 jobs, and it was found that each dollar invested stimulates $0.60-$2.16 of additional local activity.  
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Buffalo Public School (BPS) district’s efforts to source local and equitably raised food has emerged as a nationally recognized program. During the 2019-2020 school year, BPS F2S spent over $2 million, or just over 41% of its lunch expenditures, on produce, dairy, beef, juice, and other NY raised foods.  But K-12 schools are just one type of institution, there are also colleges and universities, hospitals and other health care facilities, and corrections facilities.  In NYS there are over 270 public and private colleges and universities.  The SUNY system alone comprises 64 campuses and serves over 500,000 students and faculty with annual food purchasing budgets of approximately $150,000,000 (see On the Plate at SUNY: Growing Health, Farms and Jobs with Local Food).  This same study calculated that if SUNY spent 25% of its food buy on fresh and minimally processed NY grown foods, it would create $54 million in economic output for the state.

​Headwater products being picked and packed by Headwaters ​Fulfillment Team at the Headwater Food Hub in Ontario