ALBANY, N.Y. -- Representatives from six North Country counties of New York state will meet with legislators, state agency representatives, statewide food and farm organizations, and Cornell University specialists in food, farm and nutrition policy Monday and Tuesday, May 18 and 19, at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center to discuss support for local efforts to improve food production and distribution.

These efforts, entirely based on local planning initiatives that reflect the values, needs, concerns and aspirations of communities, include:

• Collecting food that otherwise would be wasted from farms, food-service establishments and Fort Drum and delivering it to food kitchens and emergency food services.
• Expanding the uses of a local food processing plant in Plattsburgh that has staff and technical assistance available on an hourly basis to small-scale producers interested in processing, canning and marketing foods such as sauces, salsas and relishes.
• Educating community groups about the economic, social and environmental aspects of their local food system.
• Shaping the development of local food systems for the next 20 years.
• Diversifying agricultural production to grow more fruits and vegetables.
• Strengthening local and regional markets for local fruits and vegetables.

"Communities can and should play a larger role in addressing their priority concerns. This project is an effort to pursue this community-driven strategy," says David Pelletier, associate professor of nutrition policy at Cornell and the campus liaison for the North Country Food and Economic Security Project, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"These community projects need technical and financial support, and the conference will serve as a place where representatives from Jefferson, St. Lawrence, Lewis, Franklin, Essex and Clinton counties can meet with people in positions to help," Pelletier says.

You are invited to send a reporter to any of the meetings and interview participants. The sessions will be in Meeting Room 6 on Monday, May 18, and in Meeting Rooms 2 and 3 on Tuesday, May 19.