Orange County NC Website
16 <br /> 1 Mission: Transplanting Traditions Community Farm(TTCF) works with refugees from <br /> 2 Burma to foster a healthier community and maintain agricultural traditions as they build <br /> 3 new lives in North Carolina. <br /> 4 Goals & Services: TTCF focuses on serving low-income families in the refugee and <br /> 5 immigrant community. Services include continued access to land to grow healthy <br /> 6 traditional foods, weekly translated workshops focused on agricultural topics and small <br /> 7 farm businesses; youth programming focused on nutrition, active living and leadership <br /> 8 development; implementation of a"Share a Share"program in collaboration with <br /> 9 PORCH, which provides traditional vegetables for refugee families in need on a monthly <br /> 10 basis while providing economic support for TTCF farmers. <br /> 11 <br /> 12 Mr. Dorosin asked how someone knows if they are eligible for the programs and what they need <br /> 13 to do to access them. <br /> 14 <br /> 15 Ms. Heger responded it depends on the program. In terms of visibility and disseminating <br /> 16 information, she noted a goal of the Food Council for the last couple of years has been to <br /> 17 consolidate resource guides into one. Previously, there were seven resource guides. Ms. Heger <br /> 18 said she updates the guide at least twice a year. She noted everyone is working together so <br /> 19 individuals are aware of all the services available to them. A primary goal of the Food Council is <br /> 20 to break down siloes. <br /> 21 <br /> 22 Nancy Coston said NC 360 is coming out which will incorporate resources for the entire state. <br /> 23 Once that happens, it will make it easier for internal referrals and also for someone in the <br /> 24 community to check everything they need. All nonprofits need to get their information on line <br /> 25 and this will take time. It will be a warm hand off. <br /> 26 <br /> 27 Chair Rich asked about if Justice United and the faith-based community it they were helping get <br /> 28 out the information out. Ms. Heger said faith-based organizations are important and they have <br /> 29 contact with some, but not all. <br /> 30 <br /> 31 Reflecting on the day Maggie Chotas <br /> 32 Ms. Chotas invited responses from Commissioners about what they learned from the retreat, <br /> 33 including their thoughts about how a Systems Thinking framework might be different from the <br /> 34 way we tend to explore problems. She asked Commissioners to reflect on the deeper <br /> 35 questions/challenges arising. <br /> 36 <br /> 37 Commissioner McKee said he is encouraged by what he heard and what was done during the <br /> 38 day, but wanted more information about the supporting data presented about hunger. One in five <br /> 39 kids or people in the County are hungry—that figure raised questions about how it was gathered, <br /> 40 how it was determined and how it applies to one demographic group or another. He emphasized <br /> 41 gross wages doesn't give a true picture because it is not spendable income—it's not money in <br /> 42 your pocket. He would like more real numbers as close to facts as possible. <br /> 43 <br /> 44 Commissioner Marcoplos noted he appreciated the presentation and the processes. He said he <br /> 45 thought it was true they would make better decisions the more they incorporated systems <br /> 46 thinking and wanted to explore how could they incorporate this into their decision-making. He <br />