Food Open Space Discussion: Creating A Food Energy Descent Action Plan for Asheville

Summary of Discussion: Brainstorming
-Reach out to local institutions
-Vacant Urban Land (public and private), rooftops, etc. that could be used to grow food.
-Incentives to change that land into food production. Change in urban land use, cost, or zoning?
-building a volunteer base
-remediate
-Backcasting for an energy descent action plan. Where will be five years from now, ten, etc.
-Collect existing plans and plan-like documents
-Community food processing and storage facilities
-Design: Rights to solar access (trees/buildings)
-Building community food production knowledge.
-Identify local neighborhood experts/elders
acorns, nut trees, rabbits, raising fish, education
-Offer low cost/ free workshops for growing food in neighborhood
-A meeting between Co-operative Extension and Transition
-Cultivating allies
-City Compost (rethink)
-Leaves for compost, mulch.
-Composting school food
-Farmer to school connections
-Mini grants for neighborhoods (Jim Dier)
-Research for EDAP. (ASAP)
-Incentives to minimize lawn area (to turn into useful plants)
-Find Philanthropists aligned with Transition to buy up land for community food production use.
-Also network with churches.

Next Steps:
-Set up a meeting for all those interested in next steps in early January.
-Purchase a copy of Rob Hopkins Energy Descent Action Plan book.