Introduction: Weston A. Price Foundation: Illinois chapters to Illinois "local food" list-servs

33 views
Skip to first unread message

Debbie Hillman

unread,
Aug 4, 2011, 12:19:53 PM8/4/11
to Advocates for Urban Agriculture, Illinois Local Food and Farms Coalition, goodgree...@googlegroups.com, mindi...@comcast.net, Lepeska Leslie, in...@elanwellness.com, potte...@hotmail.com, vl...@grics.net, Debora...@gmail.com, kathy...@sbcglobal.net, gorla...@aol.com, wapfnwchic...@gmail.com, ocfe...@yahoo.com


Last week, thanks to Leslie Lepeska of Evanston, I discovered that there was yet another active food list-serv in the Chicago area -- the Chicago chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation.    In the interest of connecting all of us across the State of Illinois (and beyond), I invited the chapter leader, Mindi Anderson, to introduce the Chicago chapter and to let us know how people can get connected to Chicago WAPF.  

I think many of you know about the Weston A. Price Foundation and Mindi has sent information which explains WAPF in detail.  I have copied her information below.   

For those of you who might not know about WAPF, my understanding of where WAPF fits into the larger "local food and farm" movement is that: 

(1) Many WAPF members discovered WAPF when they were dealing with personal health issues.  Through self-education and research, they discovered that some of the food and eating principles espoused by WAPF were very helpful in regaining personal health.   

(2)  Some of the foods and food traditions advocated by Weston Price and still promoted by the Foundation and people like Sally Fallon (author of Nourishing Traditions and President/Treasure of WAPF) are in conflict with some of the foods and food habits that are being promoted by different sectors of the current US food system (e.g., agri-business, public health, animal rights, vegans, etc.).   Some of you may have heard Sally Fallon speak at this year's Family Farmed Expo in Chicago.  WAPF seems to initiative valuable discussions so that we don't have a one-size-fits-all food system.

(3) Mostly I have found that WAPF members are most interested in taking charge of their own health and food consumption -- what I call "food entrepreneurship" (as much as farming, restauranteur, or local grocer) and they're happy to let other people make their own choices, too.   (But they're also happy to explain the reasons for their choices.)

(4)  WAPF has not shied away from policy work.   It is WAPF who is suing the Illinois Department of Corrections on behalf of Illinois prisoners who are fed high quantities of soy-based foods, which the prisoners and WAPF claim is not only not nutritious,  but "cruel and unusual punishment" because the soy foods are creating ill health.     WAPF members are some of the people promoting raw milk and looking to change government rules and regulations.   (WAPF is promoting the film Farmageddon, which deals with these issues.)

This is in no way an endorsement of WAPF or of any specific WAPF positions, policies, or products.   This is just my informal attempt to understand how this one organization, the ten chapters that exist in Illinois, and the many active Illinois residents in those chapters fit into the Illinois local food movement.  If Mindi or any other chapter leader or member would like to add anything else specific, they would be welcome to join these list-servs.    (Perhaps some of them are already on these list-servs -- I know Robin Migallah of Elgin is.)


Below I have copied three separate items which I hope will connect everyone:

1.  Interactive local food list-servs for Illinois and Chicago   (taken from my latest basic Resource List -- attached).   
These are the list-servs by which we 
(a) try to keep each other up-to-date about events, policy alerts, job openings, articles, books, and 
(b) try to have collective discussions about relevant topics, aimed eventually at collective decision-making.

To Mindi and other WAPF members: As you can see, some list-servs are very specific groups (e.g., chickens, farm-to-school).  Others serve the more generalized audiences concerned about the entire food system.    There is a lot of cross-over on all the groups.   For general purposes, I post most frequently to the Illinois Local Food and Farms Coalition (statewide issues) and Advocates for Urban Agriculture (Chicago-area issues).  Today, I am also including the Good Greens list-serv, which is fairly new but ultimately focused on 6 Midwest states (most current members are from the Chicago area I believe).  

Please note that I do not moderate or have any current administrative capacity with any of these list-servs.  I am simply an active member in all of them.  I was a co-founder of the Illinois Local Food and Farms Coalition (in 2007) and was the unpaid list-serv manager and Coalition Coordinator for more than 3 years.  Since December 2010, there has been no Coalition Coordinator, but 4 coalition members have volunteered to moderate the list-serv.   I support all these communication vehicles in the interest of collective decision-making that ultimately benefits all of us.


2.  List of Weston A Price Foundation chapters in Illinois.   Including the Chicago chapter, there seem to be 10 chapters in Illinois.    Contact information is included below.  I am also copying the chapter leaders whose e-mails were listed.

To WAPF chapter leaders:  I hope that this e-mail is self-explanatory.   If you are not interested in being connected to the larger Illinois local foods community, feel free to ignore this e-mail.    I have not signed you up to any list-servs.   On the other hand, if you think your chapter members would be interested in how the larger local food community is coming together, especially around policy initiatives (federal, state, and local), feel free to share this e-mail with anyone.  


3.  Note and "Welcome" from Mindi Anderson, Leader of Chicago WAPF chapter.    I believe that the new Chicago WAPF website is going to take the place of the current Yahoo Group list-serv.   So I am not including subscription information for that list-serv.

To Mindi:  Perhaps you could clarify what would be the best way for people on these local food list-servs to communicate in an interactive way with members of the Chicago WAPF chapter.   Of course you would be welcome to join any of these list-servs so that you can communicate directly with the larger Illinois local food communities.


Thanks, Leslie and Mindi, for getting us all connected.  

-- Debbie

Debbie Hillman
Chairperson - Evanston Food Council


Illinois Local Food INTERACTIVE LIST-SERVS

(Content open to all)

ILLINOIS.  Illinois Local Food & Farms Coalition.  Grassroots, statewide urban-rural events, legislative alerts, discussions related to localizing the Illinois farm and food economy.    Wrote, passed the Illinois Food, Farms, and Jobs Acts (2007, 2009).   Yahoo Group list-serv:  http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=Illinois+Local+Foods


GREATER CHICAGO.  Advocates for Urban Agriculture.  .   http://auachicago.org/  

Google Group list-serv:   http://groups.google.com/group/advocates-for-urban-agriculture/

 

Greater Chicago.  Chicago Chicken Enthusiasts:  Grassroots group especially for backyard chicken farmers.  

Google Group list-serv:    http://groups.google.com/group/chicago-chicken-enthusiasts?hl=en

 

CHICAGO.  Chicago Food Policy Advisory Council.  http://www.chicagofoodpolicy.org/

Riseup list-serv:  https://lists.riseup.net/www/info/chicagofoodpolicy

 

Midwest.  Good Greens. USDA Food & Nutrition Service - Midwest Office.  www.goodgreens.org/

Google Group list-serv:  http://groups.google.com/group/goodgreensmidwest?lnk=srg&pli=1

 

(Content closed to Non-members)

illinois.  Illinois Farm to School. 

Google Group list-serv.    http://groups.google.com/group/illinoisfarmtoschool/


-----------------------------------------------

Weston A. Price Foundation - Illinois chapters

---------------------------------------------------



From: Mindi Anderson <mindi...@comcast.net>
Date: August 4, 2011 7:21:44 AM CDT
To: Debbie Hillman <DLHI...@sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Re: Farmageddon Movie Chicago / other food films 

Hi Debbie,
Here is our “about” page from our website.  Feel free to cut and paste it to your list-servs to introduce our group.  If it’s too long, you can just take the relevant information.  Thanks so much for including us!
-Mindi A.
Mindi Anderson – Chicago WAPF Chapter Leader
ACSM, ACE, ISSA, & Arthritis Foundation Fitness Trainer
E-mail:  mindi...@comcast.net
Business Phone/Voicemail:  773-756-5900

“I’m happy because I eat butter!” - Mindi :)
Learn more about the foods that support radiant health for you and your family at:
Weston A. Price Foundation – Chicago: http://www.wapfchicago.com
Read How WAPF Eating Cured My Anorexia 


Chicago Weston A. Price Foundation Chapter

Welcome!

Thank you for your interest in the Chicago Chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation (Chicago WAPF)!   We welcome anyone with an interest in learning about food preparation, healthy eating, buying local and of course, the findings of Weston A. Price.

We also encourage everyone to join the Weston A. Price Foundation, but it certainly is not necessary in order to attend meetings and gatherings. If you do join, please mention my name, Mindi Anderson, so that the Foundation knows where to link membership. Our local chapter does not see any of the funds directly but the Chapter that increases membership the most each year gets a prize of the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.

What is the Weston A. Price Foundation?

The Weston A. Price Foundation is a non-profit, tax-exempt charity founded in 1999 to disseminate the research of nutrition pioneer Dr. Weston Price, whose studies of isolated non-industrialized people established the parameters of human health and determined the optimum characteristics of human diets.

The Foundation is dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense foods to the American diet through education, research and activism. The Foundation supports a number of movements that contribute to this objective including accurate nutrition instruction, organic and biodynamic farming, pasture feeding of livestock, community supported farms, honest and informative labeling, prepared parenting and nurturing therapies. Specific goals include establishment of universal access to clean, certified raw milk through A Campaign for Real Milk and a ban on the use of soy formula for infants through its Soy Alert! project.

What is the purpose of this WAPF Chicago Local Chapter?

This is the official site for the current Chicago, IL chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation. This Group has been formed for the purpose of sharing ideas and to exchange information about resources available in the Chicago, Illinois Area. If you would like more information about our local chapter, you can contact Mindi Anderson chapter leader here.  To ask questions and engage in discussions with the group, please join our Facebook Page by clicking here.  Feel free to post relevant videos, share links, and upload photos.

The Chicago Weston A. Price Foundation Group serves as a venue for resource and information exchange for those interested in improving their health based on the findings from the extensive research carried out by Weston A. Price. This group should also serve as a platform for building community and increasing awareness about the principles of Dr. Price’s research. In addition we strongly encourage eating local foods in season and do everything we can to support this endeavor.

Please utilize this website to find local foods, real food recipes, answer specific questions, discover issues related to lifestyle and dietary changes, bringing awareness to political issues connected to eating real foods and for mutual support.  For interacting personally with like-minded members, just join our Facebook Page.

When do we meet?

We hold monthly meetings on the second Saturday of most months that focus on food preparation skills, various nutrition-related discussions as well as information on local resources for food.  We always welcome suggestions for topics.  In the warm season we schedule frequent visits to local farms, and in the cold season we schedule events such as film showings, lectures and potlucks.

There usually is a fee of about 6-15$ for the meetings to help cover costs of room rental, food, printouts and group-related work. We also warmly welcome any assistance with planning events, marketing and research for the group’s benefit.

See the Home Page for our next meet-up.

Do you have other questions?

Check out our FAQ page for commonly asked questions and answers.
Resources 2011.doc

Debbie Hillman

unread,
Aug 4, 2011, 1:37:34 PM8/4/11
to Mark Ship, Advocates for Urban Agriculture, Illinois Local Food and Farms Coalition, goodgree...@googlegroups.com, mindi...@comcast.net, Lepeska Leslie, in...@elanwellness.com, potte...@hotmail.com, vl...@grics.net, Debora...@gmail.com, kathy...@sbcglobal.net, gorla...@aol.com, wapfnwchic...@gmail.com, ocfe...@yahoo.com
Sorry for the extra e-mail, but thanks to Mark Shipley for noticing that the link to the Illinois Local Food and Farms Coalition was an outdated one.

Here is the new link.    

ILLINOIS.  Illinois Local Food & Farms Coalition.     

Yahoo Group list-serv:   http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IllinoisLocalFoods/


I've changed my resource list, too, so I'm re-sending the list in case anyone wants to forward it to others.  


Again, sorry for the error.   


Sorry also for the length of my e-mail, but I think it's all good information.   I think it's best to put things in one e-mail, rather than multiple installments.  I work hard at trying to organize the information so that it's not too chaotic.     If anyone has suggestions how I can improve my postings, I'm happy to listen.

Resources 2011.doc
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages