The ACRE Collective: Advancing Agriculture, Group, Resilience & Fairness by way of Values-Based mostly Procurement is a collaborative partnership geared toward enhancing the supply of nutritious, regionally sourced meals, to the benefit of each participant inside the meals community. Via value-based procurement (VBP), the ACRE Collective goals to create sustainable, long-term shopping for relationships between native meals producers and enormous establishments, similar to colleges, universities and hospitals. The Frequent Market Southeast leads the ACRE Collective with help from organizations similar to Georgia Organics, Well being Care With out Hurt, and the Turner Environmental Regulation 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 initiatives 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 various farmers in our area, and enhance pupil entry to contemporary, wholesome meals. The ACRE Collective supplied a $60,000 grant to those districts with the objective of accelerating the quantity of native, culturally vital meals included at school meals and inspiring statewide adoption of a neighborhood meals incentive program for all colleges in Georgia.
With the help of Georgia Organics, the ACRE Collective additionally empowers college vitamin workers by sharing data on finest practices for contemporary meals prep, info on the place contemporary substances are sourced from, and construction for tips on how to plan vitamin schooling actions to have interaction pupil management at school vitamin. College students give their insights and suggestions throughout style checks, which in the end form the meals bought and the meals served within the cafeteria.
