Informatics for Community Food Resilience

1. Links

This Meeting notes document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v0Iyo0hIrkHnm7GcqQPNL5cL3V3cMDTO1f4vsLTdlF4/edit?usp=sharing 

New Website: https://resilientfood.org/ 

GOAT forum discussion: http://forum.goatech.org/t/informatics-for-community-food-resilience-in-times-of-pandemic-and-beyond/833 

2. Notes

Breaking news: Our IRB has been approved -- that means we can start doing the qualitative research study!

The study will allow us to systematically understand the food system challenges and opportunities.

There are two different kinds of participants: farmers and farm supporters.

Farmers have to either be online, intend on going to go online, or have enough product and interest to go online.

There are six categories of farm supporters -- we’d like your input on who exactly we should get interviews with!

Logistics about the study: https://bit.ly/talkaboutfood 

Once you sign up, we will get in touch with you to schedule a time.

We’re going to begin with the Midwest, so if you’re from another region, you may not hear from us for a couple of weeks.

We are flexible to the interviewee’s time -- we understand you are busy!

Please share the call for participation with your community: https://resilientfood.org/index.php/spread-the-word/

Let us know if you need different resources.

Who should we be talking to about resilient food?

• Linda - Who are you reaching out to now?
• Ankita - Right now we’re reaching out through a couple of mailing lists: this one, diversified food and farming systems through purdue, GOAT (gathering for open ag tech community), extension in Indiana, California, New York.
• Ben - Migrant Justice in Vermont (Dairy industry), Food Hubs in the NE food deserts.
• Feel free to reach out yourself to your communities, or if there is too much overhead with that you are welcome to ask us to do it.
• If you’re worried about your community members being contacted multiple times, let us know that you’ve reached out to them so we know they’ve been contacted and we don’t accidentally reach out again. :)

Jeannie in Missouri found a broken link for signing up for an interview! Thanks Jeannie! We’ve updated it.

Give us feedback!

https://bit.ly/resilientfoodfeedback 

Are the calls, emails, and website helpful? How’s the project moving along from your perspective? Fill out the anonymous feedback survey to let us know!

Open discussion:

How long will the interviews take?

• The first two weeks are the first push on interviews.
• We’ll continue to do interviews through the end of the summer for long term understanding.
• The first push will inform initial tool kit development, which will start week 3.
• Next week, the first week of interviews, is week 1.

Is there a way to send an email to everybody affiliated with SARE?

• Great question, we don’t know. We’re trying to get in touch with regional SARE coordinators so that they can reach out.
• We want to reach people through their trusted modes of communication and information. We would also like to EARN our place in those trusted modes of communication and information and why we’re having these open community calls in the first place.

Diversity of farmers:

• Is someone making a template of a wide diversity of farmers and farm supporters.
• Yes, that is part of week 0 (this week) in making sure we’ve got diversity and coverage. It is also why you can’t automatically sign up for an interview, and why we’re calling applicants to schedule - so we can get appropriate diversity and coverage.

Concern about the length of the interview:

• Would any farmer be willing to give a 2 hour interview? Maybe not! Winter was typically the only time to get in-touch for something like this, but we’re not sure about now, during COVID.
• We acknowledge that and we wouldn’t typically do this work during this season, but given the effects of the pandemic now, we’re trying to get some critical interviews done at the farmer’s time convenience (any hour any day).
• List of the questions we can look at? You can find them on slide 12 in the slide show on this page (Scroll past the video): https://resilientfood.org/index.php/2020/04/25/2-farmer-farm-supporter-study/ 
• Could we do this in two one- hour chunks? YES, absolutely.
• Jeannie - her farmer could not take the time to do this. If it was a survey, with questions and four answers to choose from -- that would be easier and she could do that at 3:30 in the morning when she gets up.
• How do we reach the super busy farmers that we also need information from?
• Jeannie - Immediate need: Farmers need to go online. Period.

3. Chat:

from Juliet to Everyone:        12:06  PM

Notes for today: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v0Iyo0hIrkHnm7GcqQPNL5cL3V3cMDTO1f4vsLTdlF4/edit

from Juliet to Everyone:        12:16  PM

If it is easier to ask questions here, feel free to do so! I will relay the questions. :)

from Nevin Cohen to Everyone:        12:22  PM

sorry to jump off but I hope to follow up. -- Nevin Cohen, CUNY

from Juliet to Everyone:        12:22  PM

Thanks Nevin!

from Ben to Everyone:        12:22  PM

Have to get on a call but hopefully will be back on soon

from Liz Stites to Everyone:        12:38  PM

again...what were the 2 questions that you wanted feedback on?

from Ankita Raturi to Everyone:        12:38  PM

Who should we talk to about resilient food?

from Ankita Raturi to Everyone:        12:38  PM

E.g., mid-size meat producers,

from Ankita Raturi to Everyone:        12:38  PM

Where should we send calls for participation?

from Ankita Raturi to Everyone:        12:38  PM

E.g., Growing for market mailing list, Migrant Justice (via Ben), Food hubs (NE via Ben)

from Liz Stites to Everyone:        12:39  PM

thanks

from Linda R Smith to Everyone:        12:47  PM

can you do 2 one hour slots for the interview; that may be easier for farmers to do

from Juliet to Everyone:        12:49  PM

Slides with interview prompts: https://resilientfood.org/index.php/2020/04/25/2-farmer-farm-supporter-study/

from Juliet to Everyone:        12:59  PM

I have to go, if anybody on hte call wants to continue taking notes that would be great! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v0Iyo0hIrkHnm7GcqQPNL5cL3V3cMDTO1f4vsLTdlF4/edit#

from Linda R Smith to Everyone:        1:00  PM

I think you mentioned this before but what about confidentiality. If you want to have a really honest discussion and more realistic data then some of the people you interview may have information that they not want public.  Like working with immigrants or farmers who have workers under the table