Common Ground, #3, April, 1976, 50¢ from: Free Spirit Press P.O. Box 24112 Oakland, CA 94623 The warehouses are the elements of the food system leading the push toward regional integration. Generally staffed by full-time collectives, and inter-connected with suppliers and other warehouses around the country, they serve as inform~tion centers for the rapidly expanding alternative food networks. The warehouses on the West Coast have been holding quarterly conferences for over a year now, bringing together representatives from Tucson, Arizonar, to Vancouver, British Columbia, to build regional·cooperation. The West Coast warehouses are perhaps the most outspokenly political in the country. There is a strongly-held view that the collectives are in the vanguard of·the food system and that the expansion of the alternative food sys- - tern is a part of a revolutionary move-. m~nt. There is an on-going debate'on the West Coast (and elsewhere around the country) over such issues as cooperative versus collective structures, whether or not to sell to profit makers and whether·or not to support small, organic farmers. Common Ground has been the vehicle for debating these and other issues, as well as providing information' of large group buys, trucking reports and conferences. This issue gives a good sense of the dynamics of the movement towards establishing a network of collective warehouses on the West Coast. 00 Northwest Trade Directory, $3.25 from: 118 N. Bowdoin Place Seattle, WA 98103 One of the efforts currently under way to facilitate the development of regional networks is the creation of new information systems. The Trade Di;ectory is an example of such a system created for the alternative agriculture movement of the Pacific Northwest. Like New England, the Northwest is an area where there is a great deal of interest in the concept of regional selfreliance. The directory was published by '· a number of individuals and groups as a modeL for a decentralized food system. Over 160 well-indexed pages long, the directory is intended as a vehicle for p4tting local growers in touch with local consumers. It includes listings for the co-ops of over 100 organic and transition farmers, plus the most comprehensive directory of alternative markets (over 300 co-ops, warehouses, etc.) ever published for the region, as well as information on trucking, storage and processing facilities, The goal of the Trade Directory is to decentralize the food system as much as possible, with the hope that future directories will be published for other regions and on smaller scales' (for example, communities within each valley or river basin beginning to take on responsibility for providing most of their own food needs). . Farms ofPuget Sound, 2 5¢ plus SASE from: King Co. Conservation District 35 South Grady Way Renton, WA 98055 One of the finest models of direct marketing information, Farms of Puget Sound is a map that directs consumers to small farmers throughout the Seattle- . Tacoma area. The location of each farm is indicated and there is an index describing the kinds of crops available, whether they're U-pick or not, an·d other details. The first printing of 35,000 copies disappeared within two months, and now the idea is being picked up by communities all across the state (and elsewhere, too). The map is one further step toward local self-reliance. It was published as part of a larger effort to save the remaining agricultural lands near the urban centers of Puget Sound by putting small farmers "on the map." The intention was to g'raphically show consumers that a significant amount of food is still being grown on small farms in and near the urban areas and that these farms 111ust be preserved. The Cultivator, $3/year from: Federation of Cooperatives B.ox 107 Hallowell, ME 04347 The New England area has one of the strongest networks of co-ops in the country, and, although many co-op federations publish newsletters, The Cultivator is among the best. It provides ·insights into events within individual co-ops and reports on the growth of the Federation as a whole in a way that really gives you a sense of the movement in Maine. New England is one of the areas where there is a s~rong drive toward regional self-reliance, and the food system there is viewed very much .as a part of that effort. January 1977 RAIN Page 15 Alternative Market News, $5 per year from: Earth Cyclers Rt. 1 Edwall, WA 99008 An exchange of information between farmers and co-ops, the A lternative Market News is part of the movement toward regional self-reliance in the Pacific Northwest. It is serving as the source for up-dates for the Northwest Trade Directory. ' The Food Co-op Project 64 East Lake St. Chicago, IL 60601 As mentioned before, these are the folks who have the broadest view of what's happening within the alternative food system and the growth of regional networks around the,country. To keep abreast of what's going on, subscribe to their Food Co-op Nooz. - Mark Musick Mark Musick is our very dear friend from Tilth who is one of the key networkers in the Northwest. He and Tilth ($5/year for a fine agricultural networking newsletter) can be reached at Prag- .tree Farm, Rt. 2, Box 190-A, Arlington, WA 98223.
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