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The Glynwood Center, a nonprofit organization located in Cold Spring, New York that is dedicated to promoting community-based agriculture has for the past six years recognized outstanding groups in four different categories through their National Harvest Awards. The Harvest awards were designed to, “…highlight the creative work by individuals and organizations from across the country that do an exceptional job of supporting local and regional agriculture and increases access to fresh, healthy food. The Awards help to identify and promote ‘best practice’ ideas with the goal of inspiring others to take action within their own communities and build urban-rural coalitions in support of regional farms.” The winners will be awarded at a luncheon this Monday, October 27th at Beacon Restaurant in New York City.

For the 2008 Harvest Awards in particular, the Glynwood Center was seeking nominees that “highlight the farm/food/health connection, the development of innovative policy models, the advancement of agriculture in communities of color and the key roles being played by young leaders.”

Below are the profiles of the 2008 Glynwood Harvest Award winners. Congratulations!

• Glynwood Harvest Farmer Award: Robert Hastings, Farm Manager, Rivermede Farm, Keene Valley, New York. Robert is the manager of Rivermede, a farm that focuses on pesticide-free production and runs on alternative energy sources. He recently opened a local farm store to provide community members with access to fresh local food from all farms in the surrounding area.
• Glynwood Good Food for Health Harvest Award: Garden Resource Program, Detroit, Michigan . The Garden Resource Program is designed to promote urban agriculture by providing seeds, education and support for community gardening. This larger network of community gardens in Detroit provides residents with the tools to harvest their own food and further promotion of eating locally.
  
• Glynwood Harvest Award for Connecting Communities, Farmers and Food: FoodRoutes Network & the Buy Fresh Buy Local Program, a national network based in Pennsylvania. FoodRoutes is a national nonprofit organization that promotes sustainable agriculture through consumer education and providing connections to fresh local food. To this end, FoodRoutes has developed 73 Buy Fresh Buy Local chapters that provide community members with resources to support local food systems in their area.
• Wave of the Future Harvest Award: Nuestras Raíces, Holyoke, MA. Nuestra Raíces is an organization that promotes community development through programs such as community gardens, farmer training, youth leadership, environmental and food policy councils and celebrating Puerto Rican heritage and culture.