Spring Break
UA receives Walmart grant to grow fresh produce
$500,000 awarded to UA to provide retail store a link to smaller producers and sustainable food production
Saba Naseem
Issue date: 11/21/08 Section: News
Summer mornings, the Fayetteville Square is crowded with farmers selling their fresh produce and local consumers taking advantage of this opportunity. Now, this community will see the production of fresh produce on a much larger scale.
The Wal-Mart Foundation recently granted the UA Applied Sustainability Center more than $500,000 for the Agile Agriculture program. Mike Faupel, the program manager, hopes to fulfill the purpose of the grant, which was to create sustainable food systems that link small producers with large markets.
The goal of Agile Agriculture is "to facilitate the availability of a safe, consistent and reliable supply of relevant products for purchase in the marketplace by large-scale buyers," according to the press release.
Agile Agriculture has several components, which include working with partnering universities to develop online markets that link small-size growers to institutional buyers, as well as developing GIS enabled tools to identify potential growing regions and the environmental and economic benefits of farming in those regions. The program also evaluates food supply chains to determine the greatest opportunities for improvement and delivers training to growers to help them take advantage of the tools being developed.
"Our community will benefit if we can help get the state of Arkansas into a group of states participating in the program, which will roll out over the next few months," said Jon Johnson, executive director of ASC.
"Of all the consumer goods our society produces and consumes, food has a disproportionate impact on the environment," he said. "Sustainable agriculture not only reduces the impact on the environment. If done right it results in tastier, more healthful products as well."
There are many opportunities in Fayetteville to buy fresh produce. Every Saturday, from April 5 to Nov. 22, the Fayetteville Square holds the Farmers' Market, where local farmers bring in their produce. Ozark Natural Foods, a company that has been here for 37 years, sells organic food and fresh produce and has about 5,500 local owners.
The Wal-Mart Foundation recently granted the UA Applied Sustainability Center more than $500,000 for the Agile Agriculture program. Mike Faupel, the program manager, hopes to fulfill the purpose of the grant, which was to create sustainable food systems that link small producers with large markets.
The goal of Agile Agriculture is "to facilitate the availability of a safe, consistent and reliable supply of relevant products for purchase in the marketplace by large-scale buyers," according to the press release.
Agile Agriculture has several components, which include working with partnering universities to develop online markets that link small-size growers to institutional buyers, as well as developing GIS enabled tools to identify potential growing regions and the environmental and economic benefits of farming in those regions. The program also evaluates food supply chains to determine the greatest opportunities for improvement and delivers training to growers to help them take advantage of the tools being developed.
"Our community will benefit if we can help get the state of Arkansas into a group of states participating in the program, which will roll out over the next few months," said Jon Johnson, executive director of ASC.
"Of all the consumer goods our society produces and consumes, food has a disproportionate impact on the environment," he said. "Sustainable agriculture not only reduces the impact on the environment. If done right it results in tastier, more healthful products as well."
There are many opportunities in Fayetteville to buy fresh produce. Every Saturday, from April 5 to Nov. 22, the Fayetteville Square holds the Farmers' Market, where local farmers bring in their produce. Ozark Natural Foods, a company that has been here for 37 years, sells organic food and fresh produce and has about 5,500 local owners.
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