The ACRE Collective: Advancing Agriculture, Neighborhood, Resilience & Fairness by way of Values-Based mostly Procurement is a collaborative partnership aimed toward enhancing the supply of nutritious, domestically sourced meals, to the benefit of each participant throughout the meals community. By means of value-based procurement (VBP), the ACRE Collective goals to create sustainable, long-term shopping for relationships between native meals producers and huge establishments, reminiscent of faculties, universities and hospitals. The Frequent Market Southeast leads the ACRE Collective with assist from organizations reminiscent of Georgia Organics, Well being Care With out Hurt, and the Turner Environmental Legislation Clinic at Emory College to assist make sure the longevity of values-based meals procurement practices in Atlanta-area faculties.
One of many ACRE Collective’s first initiatives was to launch a values-based native meals incentive pilot program with Marietta Metropolis Faculties and Rockdale County Public Faculties. This pilot demonstrates how native meals incentive {dollars} assist a shift towards native procurement, catalyze financial alternative for numerous farmers in our area, and enhance scholar entry to contemporary, wholesome meals. The ACRE Collective supplied a $60,000 grant to those districts with the objective of accelerating the quantity of native, culturally important meals included at school meals and inspiring statewide adoption of an area meals incentive program for all faculties in Georgia.
With the assist of Georgia Organics, the ACRE Collective additionally empowers faculty vitamin workers by sharing data on finest practices for contemporary meals prep, info on the place contemporary elements are sourced from, and construction for find out how to plan vitamin training actions to have interaction scholar management at school vitamin. College students give their insights and suggestions throughout style exams, which in the end form the meals bought and the meals served within the cafeteria.