Youngstown Food Proposal Will Receive $20,000 - The Vindicator


A proposal among various local organizations was selected by federal officials as one of 26 national winners of the “Local Foods, Local Places” competition.

Officials with the state and federal Appalachian Regional Commission, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were at the Common Wealth Kitchen Incubator today for the announcement.

The proposal, with the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. as the lead agency, was among 316 applicants.

“Partnerships are important as is engagement and how the groups relate to each other to develop Youngstown,” said Earl F. Gohl, co-chairman of the federal Appalachian Regional Commission, on why the Youngstown project was selected.

YNDC and the other organizations will have workshops with the assistance of an outside consultant to formulate a plan to help revitalize the city through local food-system development.

Also, $20,000 will be provided by the federal agencies to help implement some of the plans’ particulars.

Some of the other local organizations involved are the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, and the Mahoning Valley Food Coalition, which includes Common Wealth Inc., Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative, Grow Youngstown, Goodness Grows, Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership and Ohio State University Extension’s Mahoning County office.

To read the full story at Vindy.com, click here.