Open Food Booklets

OPEN FOOD booklets promote participation in local and urban food systems. 
Each booklet in the series introduces a different slice of local food, opening eyes to the importance and possibility of becoming a part of your food system.  

#1. Farms & Gardens Build Urban ValuePublished March 2014
#2. Landscape to Table: a guide to edible outdoor spaces
Published July 2014

By The Community Food Lab

LINK

Healthy Corner Stores

"Food deserts, defined by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as ‘urban neighborhoods and rural towns without ready access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food,’ are a significant problem in North Carolina."

"According to data available from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas, North Carolina has at least 349 food deserts across 80 counties. Over 1,544,044 residents live in these food desert zones. Residents living in food deserts are more likely to suffer from obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other diet-related conditions, while simultaneously being more likely to be food insecure."

By increasing healthy food option in corner stores, healthy corner stores are created that can in fact bring change to the food access landscape. Healthy corner stores have been shown to have many benefits, including increased consumption of healthy food, changes in food shopping behaviors, and new markets for local farmers. Our hope in sharing this work is that this guide adds valuable information and replicable models for solving the complex problem of inadequate food access for the central North Carolina region and beyond. - The Community Food Lab

LINK

Farmers Market Pop-ups

The AIA’s Small Project Practitioners Knowledge Community developed the Pop-Up Project Design Competition with the goal to re-imagine the farmer’s market canopy pop-up booth to make it easier for produce vendors to set up and transport their canopies and produce, while also helping them sell their product.

LINK

First Supermarket

Youth Farm

"The Mission of the Grow Dat Youth Farm is to nurture a diverse group of young leaders through the meaningful work of growing food.

On our farm we work collaboratively to produce healthy food for local residents and to inspire youth and adults to create personal, social and environmental change in their own communities. Grow Dat is a place where people from different backgrounds and disciplines come together in research and practice to support public health, local economies and a sustainable food system in South Louisiana."

LINK

Community Food Lab

Community Food Lab provides services such as community engagement, mapping and assessments, urban and project design investigations, charettes, trainings, and feasibility studies. We bring value to clients and partners in the form of realistic design recommendations and collaborative capacity building that deliver the multiple benefits of local food systems.

LINK

zero-waste supermarket

Germany is set to unveil the country’s very first zero-waste supermarket.

The concept of the store is simple: all food is provided in bulk and customers bring their own containers. If you forget your containers, you can borrow multi-use ones from the store, or make use of recycled paper bags. While the concept is familiar to food co-ops, Original Unverpackt will be on a larger scale and will provide absolutely no single use packaging or pre-packaged goods.

The team have been carefully sourcing stock as they prepare to open and their philosophy remains simple too. As they say, “You won’t find countless brands for each product because one, the right one, is enough.”

LINK