027: AIM— Preserving the Farmer's Market for Everyone with Andy Naja-Riese

Essential Ingredients Podcast

English - January 10, 2023 14:00 - 25 minutes - 21.1 MB - ★★★★★ - 127 ratings
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Previous Episode: 026: Smart Nutrition—What It Means and How to Do It with Ari Tulla

Next Episode: 001: Deliciously Sustainable Treats for Happy and Healthy Pets with Anne Carlson

"The work we do has to work for the farmers and food makers, for our team members and colleagues, and how we can build positive momentum for everyone." —Andy Naja-Riese

The Farmers Market offers a variety of benefits to the local community. They provide a convenient and accessible place to buy fresh and local produce which is often healthier and more sustainable than the produce available in the supermarket.

Purchasing seasonal produce and local products helps to support the local economy and farmers in the area and preserves traditional farming practices. These local vendors also help to offer education to the community about the importance of sustainable farming and help to strengthen the sense of community by providing a gathering place for members of the community.

Led by Andy Naja-Riese, The Agricultural Institute of Marin/AIM is helping the food system move forward by creating a Center for Food and Agriculture. This initiative aims to foster meaningful connection between the community and their local Farmers Market.

In this episode, we will dive deeper into the center of our food system and answer important questions that affect us and our environment: Is it really possible to feed everyone? What 2 factors determine a program's success? What are the benefits of having a Farmer's Market in a community? How is buying real food at the core of our food system? Is the Farmers Market all organic? How can we support equity with regards to food access? And finally, what can we learn from AIM's environmental processes? Tune in as Justine and Andy answer these questions and more!

Meet Andy:

Andy Naja-Riese brings 15 years’ experience in community food systems and education. He is Chief Executive Officer of the Agricultural Institute of Marin (AIM), a Bay Area 501c3 educational non-profit that connects communities and local and regional food systems so the public can access healthy and sustainably-grown food. He brings a unique perspective to non-profit executive management after spending 10 years with the Federal government, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service.

While government assistance and feeding programs are intended to support health and development, there exist many inherent conflicts and political influences that often undermine the very outcomes that government programs are designed to achieve. Andy successfully navigated these bureaucratic systems to effect change so that scientific evidence would drive policy and program decisions. This experience has shaped much of Andy’s thinking about our food systems and charitable food programs.

In his current role, Andy is a champion for a systems approach to connecting farmers and food producers directly with eaters while supporting education and advocacy. Andy is doing just that when it comes to directing the 8 certified farmers markets, mobile market, and educational programs run by AIM to serve 360+ small and mid-size family farmers, food businesses, and artisans from 40 California counties. Andy also shares his vision for building a new food landmark: the Center for Food and Agriculture, a world-class gathering space that takes us on a journey from healthy soils to healthy foods to healthy communities.

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Episode Highlights:

01:39 Working for Food and Food Justice