Item No. 1 of 1

INVESTIGATOR: Welborn, R. C.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIV
MISSISSIPPI STATE, MISSISSIPPI 39762

SOUTHERN REGION FOOD SYSTEMS COLLABORATIVE

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Recently, significant interest in local/regional food strategies has risen in response to efforts to grow and/or stabilize rural economies, address food access gaps, and enhance farm sustainability. The Southern Rural Development Center and its partners. including both research and Extension Land Grant faculty along with a number of other organizations, seek to establish integrated working groups that span disciplines, state lines, and research/Extension/teaching appointments in order to holistically address high priority issues related to local/regional food systems in the South. Large information gaps are currently present while the South is particularly plagued by "food deserts". An initial meeting resulted in several action steps including formal requests to the South's 29 Land Grant Universities for a list of professionals currently involved, establishing a list serve, and reaching out to partners. We intend to survey and convene these partners, establish working groups, and to submit an AFRI proposal. Expected outcomes from this work are (I) Prioritized needs for the South related to local/ regional foods; (2) 1-5 multi-state, multi-discipline working groups that have formed around specific aspects of the priorities yet are clearly networked together to generate a seamless connection to address prioritized needs; (3) system for sharing of identified resources in order to reduce duplication, and (4) robust plan for addressing the priorities, part of which will be writing for focused funding through the AFRI program in 2016. With the collective expertise across disciplines, the knowledge for meeting the food needs of the nation can be greatly expanded in the South.

OBJECTIVES: The Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) and its partners, including both research and Extension Land Grant faculty along with a number of other organizations, seek to establish integrated working groups that span disciplines, state lines, and research/Extension/teaching appointments in order to holistically address high priority issues related to local/regional food systems in the South. To accomplish this goal, the initiative will:1. Survey research/Extension/teaching professionals across the Southern region to determine (a) their current work and interests in the area of local/regional foods; and (b) available resources (research and Extension) already developed for use in the region.2. Convene these professionals to analyze current work and resource data and to identify opportunities to fill gaps in research/Extension/teaching work around local/regional foods and strengthen capacity to address gaps. 3. Establish working groups to formulate plans around specific needs. 4. Facilitate forward moving of working groups. 5. Submit an AFRI proposal to carry out identified plans where resources are needed.

APPROACH: The SRDC proposes to: (1) Convene the identified LGU professionals for a 2 day meeting to begin to map the steps moving forward. This work will build on the Southern Risk Management work and other groundwork noted above; (2) Assist the group in identifying and prioritize the greatest needs for specific action; (3) Facilitate organization of multi-disciplined, multi-state working groups around the priorities; (4) Continue to foster linkages with key partners through face-to-face and virtual meetings to ensure seamless leadership. These include connections to both the 1862 and 1890 Extension and Research administration of the Land-Grant System, S-SARE, SRME, and the eXtension CoP noted above; and (5) Provide support to teams in writing an AFRI proposal(s) specific to the identified priorities as they link to the Program Area Priorities of this grant. This will be done through both virtual support (calls, webinars) as well as face-to-face support (group meetings, facilitation, etc.) Specific priority areas that are likely to be addressed through this were noted at the close of the section above.

PROGRESS: 2016/02 TO 2018/02
Target Audience:As a capacity building initiative, the target audiences of the South's local and regional foods grant are the Extension and research professionals from within the region's 30 Land-Grant Universities. The intent of the project is to build capacity for their work across states and disciplines in order to better serve the needs of producers, consumers, and communities seeking to improve local foods access. Changes/Problems:The majority of the criticism in the AFRI proposal review centered on a lack of strong research support within the proposal. To that end, the SRDC along with SERA 47 membership have been recruiting additional research support to strengthen this component. The team anticipates having a stronger proposal moving toward the 2018 submission. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?At each of the meetings noted above (November 2016 and August 2017), professionals in this field made presentations to participants. Additionally, one team that was charged with identifying the top 10 concerns has presented at the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group annual conference on January 20, 2018. Additionally, a draft paper is under review for presentation to the SERA 47 team via webinar in late spring 2018. Plans are also underway to convene in September 2018 alongside the joint meeting of the Food Distribution Research Society, the National Value-Added Agriculture Conference, and the National Farmers Market Coalition in Crystal City. This joint initiative will provide opportunities for cross-learning among these groups. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?As noted above, two meetings have been held specifically for those that have now joined the formal SERA 47 team. During these meetings, presentations related to the group's learning have been shared. In particular, the results of the Qualtrics survey led by Dr. Quisto Settles to identify the regions' top 10 pressing needs related to local food access were shared with the group in August 2017. This report led to the formation of the first learning community that is now forming around one of the identified needs. Plans are also underway for this first learning community to participate as a pilot group in a three part professional development series (May 2018) to help them work more effectively as a virtual team. Similarly, a draft report is under review based on the work of Dr. James Barnes to explore the use of social media in promoting local foods efforts with the Land Grant University system in the South. Once his report is finalized, Dr. Barnes will lead a webinar to disseminate his results. This is anticipated for late spring 2018. Also,one team that was charged with identifying the top 10 concerns has presented at the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group annual conference on January 20, 2018. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

IMPACT: 2016/02 TO 2018/02
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. Survey is complete, including multiple layers of a Qualtrics survey across the South's Land-Grant Universities (LGU) as well as an in-depth Delphi Study to identify highest priorities in the region. 2. Professionals were convened in November 2016 (48 in attendance) to examine data and develop priorities, and and August 2017 (32 in attendance) to refine the priorities and consider next steps forward in the planning process. A formal Southern Extension and Research Activity (SERA) designation was received by the group in late 2016. The group is SERA-47. 3. Five priorities have been established with working groups formed around each: (a) Identify top 10 pressing issues in food systems work in the South - complete; (b) Create learning communities around top issues identified - first learning community formed; (c) Design a resource bank for hosting materials and tools around local foods efforts - survey ready for release to begin identifying resources; (d) Strengthen capacity for impact measuring in local foods work - initial indicators gathered with work continuing to hone in on those to be used regionally; (e) Examine successful models for structuring local foods efforts within the LGU - initial scan of the Southern region LGUs complete with findings to be shared in late Spring 2018. 4. Each of the five working groups have co-leaders, one from Extension and one from research to help coordinate the teams working on each initiative. The first working group noted in #3a above has completed its work through assistance from this project. That information is now guiding the work of groups b,c,and d noted above. Working group e from above is currently developing a model for assessing LGU structures beginning with social media as a platform. This work is being funded and directed from this grant. 5. The Southern Rural Development Center submitted an AFRI grant over the summer 2017 in support of the working groups b,c, and d as noted in #3 above. The proposal was not funded, but the group is working on a plan to strengthen the proposal and resubmit in 2018.

PUBLICATIONS (not previously reported): 2016/02 TO 2018/02
1. Type: Other Status: Submitted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Settle, Q., & Morrison, C.C. (2017). SERA 47 Delphi Report. Evaluation report prepared for Southern Region Food Systems Collaborative.
2. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Settle, Q., Morrison, C. C., Felter, L., & Taylor, J. (Submitted). Determining the 10 most-pressing issues facing local food systems in the southern region. Abstract submitted for presentation at 2018 Southern Rural Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Jacksonville, FL.
3. Type: Other Status: Under Review Year Published: 2018 Citation: Barnes, J, & Langford, G.L. (2018). Branding and online marketing of Extension and local foods educations programs: A review of the Southern Region. Southern Rural Development Center, Starkville, MS.

PROGRESS: 2016/02/15 TO 2017/02/14
Target Audience:During this initial seed funding phase, the target audience is research and Extension professionals within the Land-Grant System of the South. Once this work matures to the next phase, the teams formed from these initial audiences will be expanding reach to communities, regions and states focused on strengthening local food systems efforts. Changes/Problems:No problems have been identified at this point. An unexpected positive situation is that the costs of assembling Land-Grant professionals for the meeting outlined in this grant were lower than anticipated partly due to the fact that a number of the professionals were able to fund their travel without tapping these resources. This has allowed SRDC to convene the group more than once, which has greatly advanced the work. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?At each of the meetings noted above, time has been devoted to learning from each other about the work that has been advancing in the region. Additionally, the SERA 47 leadership team presented a webinar on October 7th targeted to the South. The session was recorded and may be viewed here: http://srdc.msstate.edu/trainings/webinar%20recordings/2016/SERA%2047-local%20a nd%20regional%20foods-10 7 16.mp4 How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?As noted above, the October 7th webinar provided one opportunity for disseminating results. SRDC has also established a webpage where other resources have been linked. This page will likely transition to the resource repository site once it has been established. http://srdc.msstate.edu/foods/index.html What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The SERA 47 team has decided to pursue an AFRI Foundational Grant and will be working diligently on that proposal with SRDC's leadership.Additionally, a third meeting is planned for August 2017.During this meeting, the teams which were formed around the priorities identified above will be working on action plans.Finally, a Delphi Study will be conducted through the late spring/early summer months to determine what issues or areas of local food systems work demands the most immediate attention.This study will give further clarity to the work that will be continuing from this seed funding.

IMPACT: 2016/02/15 TO 2017/02/14
What was accomplished under these goals? Under this grant, the SRDC proposed the steps listed below. Progress on each is noted: Convene the identified LGU professionals for a 2 day meeting to begin to map the steps moving forward. Complete - The SRDC has been able to convene two meetings, one on May 9-10, 2016 and one on November 28-30, 2016 Assist the group in identifying and prioritize the greatest needs for specific action. Five specific priorities have been established to guide the overarching work. Those are: Identify pressing issues challenging the work of local food systems Create learning communities to address the identified challenges Design a resource repository to house existing Extension and research resources to support this work Strengthen impact measuring of local food systems efforts Identify successful models for Land-Grant Universities to explore multi-disciplinary work such as local food systems. Facilitate organization of multi-disciplined, multi-state working groups around the priorities. A formal Southern Extension and Research Activity group was established in October 2016: SERA-47. This structure will serve as the backbone of the continuing work. Continue to foster linkages with key partners through face-to-face and virtual meetings to ensure seamless leadership. These include connections to both the 1862 and 1890 Extension and Research administration of the Land-Grant System, S-SARE, Southern Risk Management Education, and the eXtension foods Community of Practice. At the meetings noted above, these entities have all been represented and continue to work together to advance the priorities. Provide support to teams in writing an AFRI proposal(s) specific to the identified priorities as they link to the Program Area Priorities of this grant. An initial call was held on April 18, 2017 following the release of the RFA. SRDC will coordinate the development of a proposal to facilitate this group's work moving forward.

PUBLICATIONS: 2016/02/15 TO 2017/02/14
No publications reported this period.