ALLEGANY FRESH TRANSPORT
What’s in a name?
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ALLEGANY FRESH TRANSPORT
Allegany: the county where this project began; alternative spelling for Allegheny, a word thought to originate from Lenape welhik hane or oolikhanna, which translates to ‘best flowing river of the hills’ or ‘beautiful stream’
Fresh: new or different; (of a person) full of energy and vigor; (of food) recently made or obtained; (of wind) cool and fairly strong; (of water) not salty; (of a cow) yielding a renewed or increased supply of milk following the birth of a calf
Transport: to take or carry from one place to another; to cause someone to feel that they are in another place or time; to overwhelm with a strong emotion, especially joy
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Monthly Newsletter
Our monthly newsletter brings you stories of resilience from the front lines of the food system.
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Fresh Food for Families
We help bridge the gap between farmers and the families facing food insecurity.​
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Community Meal Programs
We host events where people prepare delicious and nutritious food together using a majority of locally-sources ingredients. Attendees sample food together, take food home to their families, and prepare food for families in-need.
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Arts in Agriculture
Concerts, theater events, movie viewings, and more are scheduled at times when farmers are more likely to be available. We host events that are delicious, fun, and informative, providing something tangible to attendees and to the greater community. We offer an event that the whole family can enjoy.
Allegany Fresh Transport
MISSION
Create a small-scale aggregation and distribution model that can provide local food to local community meal programs and food pantries.
VISION
This will be accomplished through establishing at least one active food aggregation center in Allegany County, purchasing at least 51% of the aggregated product from at least eight farms in Allegany, Steuben, Cattaraugus, and/or Chautauqua County, selling wholesale produce and bulk goods to at least four community meal programs, food pantries, or mobile food pantry distribution sites, and mentoring community partners in building and funding resilient rural food systems.
Expected outcomes include new market opportunities for local and regional farmers, an increase in fresh produce and bulk goods in food pantries and community meal programs, and more available volunteer and work opportunities for the local population.
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VALUES
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I created this diagram in my mid-twenties when I found myself at a crossroads in life. The words at each corner of the triangle represent my interests - living systems (lower right), human systems (top center), and creativity (lower left) - while the words in the center of the triangle represent guiding principles for living and working intentionally. I share this with you because this is at the heart of all that I do, and I revisit this diagram when designing projects, including Allegany Fresh Transport.
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Similarly, the model above is used by engineers in project design. One cannot adjust time, money, nor scope of a project without impacting one of the other two variables. A project designer and manager are tasked with balancing time, money, and scope in order to achieve the desired quality. I revisit this diagram when designing projects, including Allegany Fresh Transport.
