The ACRE Collective: Advancing Agriculture, Neighborhood, Resilience & Fairness by way of Values-Based mostly Procurement is a collaborative partnership geared toward enhancing the provision of nutritious, regionally sourced meals, to the benefit of each participant inside the meals community. By way of value-based procurement (VBP), the ACRE Collective goals to create sustainable, long-term shopping for relationships between native meals producers and huge establishments, similar to colleges, universities and hospitals. The Widespread Market Southeast leads the ACRE Collective with help from organizations similar to 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 colleges.
One of many ACRE Collective’s first tasks 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} help a shift towards native procurement, catalyze financial alternative for numerous farmers in our area, and enhance pupil entry to recent, 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 colleges in Georgia.
With the help of Georgia Organics, the ACRE Collective additionally empowers faculty vitamin workers by sharing information on greatest practices for recent meals prep, info on the place recent components are sourced from, and construction for the way to plan vitamin schooling actions to interact pupil management at school vitamin. College students give their insights and suggestions throughout style assessments, which finally form the meals bought and the meals served within the cafeteria.
