Dedicated to ending malnutrition and ensuring food security.
Invest in the future, ensure food security and care for the planet.
Contact us today info@foodplantsolutions.org
CHAIRS REPORT
Dear Members and Friends,
Welcome to the New Year of Rotary. Thank you to all those members I met at the convention; it was a delight for us all.
We move on from “Imagine Rotary,” where we all looked out from our clubs and made a difference in the community. To follow this, we to need to, as President Gordan McNally entreats us to “Create Hope in The world”.
I wondered how Food Plant Solutions can do this?
The answer is that we need to move from “Relief to Resilience”. We all know that food relief will always be needed, but we have a responsibility to educate children, to understand the connection between plant selection and nutrition, how to grow those foods , and how to prepare them. This empowers families to make these choices, AND we also know gardening is good for mental health. This answers the call from President McNally for peace AND mental well-being.
So, how do we do this?
We know our educational materials are being used do this, and we are having more and more requests from around the world, for the creation of further materials. But, we urgently need funds to be able to develop, translate and print these documents, specific to each country. We are at a point where many people know what we do and hence, more requests, but we need more funds to be able to do it.
If you know of a business that can sponsor us, we would be pleased to receive the referral.
If your club could have a special fundraiser for a specific country we can send details. Your club could use some of the DDF to support a project and we can provide details on this. But we need your assistance urgently.
Best wishes for the year ahead.
Yours in Rotary,
PDG Una Hobday OAM, PHF
Chair – Food Plant Solutions Rotary Action Group
Taking Control of the Future – When Do We Start?
On the sprawling campus of Palm Springs High School, dozens of students are taking control of the future. This wealthy California resort city sits at the north end of the Coachella Valley, but in the midst of plenty, one in seven local adults have to cut the size of their meal or skip a meal because they did not have enough money for food. This disparity in food security is one of the reasons that prompted the 70-plus members of the Garden Club to grow their own food.
The Rotary Club of Palm Springs and the High School began their partnership with a presentation made to the Garden Club by a local Rotarian and member of the Food Plant Solutions RAG, Jack Fitzsimmons. “I learned about FPS at the RI Convention in Toronto and have worked with them since to produce materials specific to California. Here in the Valley, we have a large immigrant community, many of them are undocumented and uninsured. To feed their families, they often cut down their caloric intake and rely on cheap and unhealthy foods to fill their bellies. Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension are endemic in their communities. Many of the high school students are children of these immigrants and are eager to learn about food based nutrition.”
FPS developed a Brief Guide for Food Plants in the Palm Springs area that will supplement the information provided by the Club sponsor and science teacher, Erik Cross. The students will select, plant, tend, and harvest the climate-appropriate food plants from the raised beds on their quarter-acre lot. The project will culminate in a Family Nutrition Day in December where students and local chefs will prepare and serve the fruits (and veggies) of their labor to family and community members. “What’s exciting about this project is that it has captured the attention of the school district who want to establish food plant gardens in other middle and high schools,” says Cross. Fitzsimmons adds that the end goal is to create a “toolkit” of information (food plant guides, educational aids, project plan, publicity materials, outcomes assessment, etc.) that can be easily replicated. “I have presented at numerous Rotary Clubs in the Valley and in northern California. The response is always the same: when do we start?”
For more information, contact Jack Fitzsimmons at leftcoastfitz@gmail.com
Let’s Help Each Other GROW
The promise of sustenance should be a fundamental right for every individual. However, the harsh reality is that millions of people suffer from malnutrition, depriving them of the basic nourishment needed to lead healthy, productive lives.
We go beyond short-term relief efforts and focus on sustainable solutions that empower communities to break free from the cycle of hunger. Through strategic partnerships, we tackle malnutrition and work towards long-lasting change.
True impact can only be achieved through collaboration. By empowering individuals and fostering community ownership, we create a ripple effect that extends far beyond the initial intervention, transforming lives and ensuring a brighter future for generations to come.
Our results speak for themselves; through our partners we have witnessed significant improvements in nutrition. Our program partners have observed firsthand the transformative power of providing communities with the knowledge, and resources they need to achieve self-sufficiency and overcome the burden of malnutrition.
We invite you to join us in our mission to end malnutrition and ensure food security for all. There are different ways you can contribute:
- DONATE
- Volunteer – your time is valuable and it can amplify our impact.
- Share our mission with your network.
Email us today info@foodplantsolutions.org, we’d love to hear from you.
Community Nutrition Gardens in Myanmar
A collaboration between Food Plant Solutions and SST Tourism has resulted in a reviewed and translated field guide for Myanmar, which will be released in the coming months. The Founder of S.S.T Tourism Social Enterprise, Neyin Chan said, “We started SST Tourism after visiting Myanmar in 1996. When we were promoting ecotourism, conservation and community development in Myanmar, we noticed the malnutrition issues in Myanmar.
We studied about malnutrition, solutions and prepared a program, “Let’s Build! Myanmar’s Revolution to Raise a Healthier Generation of Kids”.
The five pillars of Let’s Build! Are;
- Empowering women in Kitchen Garden to Community Nutrition Gardens (NuGs), then Nutrition Smart Villages to create a healthy start for children,
- Providing healthy foods in home/schools encouraging parents and caregivers in school NuGs,
- Improving access to healthy, affordable foods in schools,
- Increasing physical/mental activity, and
- Improving Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture (NSA) investment.
Fortunately, I found the “Potentially Important Food Plants of Myanmar” book on the website. Believing that the book will give us more solutions to our local community, I asked for permission and cooperation. Discussing with local experts to have Myanmar (local) names, it was translated into the local language(Burmese) by the ECCSi team.
We asked for review among our local networks including Scaling Up Nutrition Business Network (SBN) Myanmar linking with UN Nutrition, FAO Myanmar, WFP and Golden Plain Livelihoods Development Services Cooperative; it made a good impression. We will use it together with the IEC materials for Let’s Build!”
Please contact : info@foodplantsolutions.org
HOW CAN WE HELP SMALL SCALE FARMING INITIATIVES THRIVE?
ECHO is grateful for the opportunity to share the work of Food Plant Solutions within the ECHOcommunity.org networking website. A short link to FPS resources is http://edn.link/fps
How can we help small scale farming initiatives thrive? We can provide low-cost, innovative options that allow people to grow both their crops and their knowledge, expand their operations, and thrive! Join us 17-20 October 2023 for 4-days of networking and opportunities to share ideas, technologies appropriate for small scale farmers, and lots of practical demonstrations at the new ECHO Asia Seed Bank & Small Farm Resource Center in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
You are also invited to attend the 30th annual ECHO International Agriculture Conference 7-9 November 2023 in Fort Myers, Florida, USA. The plenary speakers, breakout sessions, and workshops provide opportunities for learning with others devoted to eradicating hunger and improving lives through agriculture, clean water, and community development.
You can find registration information for these and other ECHO training meetings at ECHOcommunity.org
