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Board and
Staff
About our
Programs
Why Buy
Local?
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Research, Education, Action, and Policy on Food Group (REAP)
is a non-profit organization located in Madison,
Wisconsin.
REAP's Mission:
The REAP Food Group is building a regional food system that
is healthful, just, and both environmentally and
economically sustainable.
REAP connects producers, consumers, policy-makers, educators, businesses
and organizations to nourish the links between land and table.
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What we choose to eat, where our food
comes from, and how our food is grown have impacts on our health, our
regional economy, the health of our environment and the strength of our
communities. |
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A "healthful, just and both environmentally and economically sustainable"
food
system is one that provides:
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Nutritious, safe, and affordable food to all segments of society,
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Fair compensation and safe, healthful working conditions for family
farmers and food producers,
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Support for agricultural and processing practices that protect our
soil, water, and genetic diversity,
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Access to a variety of regional foods that come to our table with minimal
energy-consuming transportation or packaging,
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Public policies that promote a secure and sustainable regional "foodshed."
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REAP is committed to projects that shorten the distance from farm to
table, support small family farmers, encourage sustainable agricultural
practices, preserve the diversity and safety of our food supply and
address the food security of everyone in our community.
About
REAP's Programs
Terms Food System: refers to
food-related processes, transactions,
and policies that connect agricultural
production, food processing, trade, transportation,
marketing, preparation, consumption, and
waste management. Foodshed:
Borrowed from the concept of a watershed, the term was coined as early
as 1929 to describe the flow of food from the area where it is grown
into the place where it is consumed. Recently, the term has been revived
as a way of looking at and thinking about local, sustainable food
systems.
Healthful: refers to
the promotion of the health and well-being
of all participants in the food system
as well as the system as a whole. This
includes ensuring that foods are nutritionally
sound, that foods are free of or have
safe levels of pesticides, bacteria, or
other toxic residues, and that food production
techniques minimize exposure to health-related
risks.
Just: All consumers in the food system should
have access to an adequate amount of
food that is nutritionally sound, culturally
appropriate, and affordable.
People who work in the food system
- including
family farmers; agricultural farm workers;
and owners, managers, and wage laborers
in production, distribution, and sales
- should receive adequate remuneration
and have safe working conditions.
Sustainable: refers to
general styles of production, processing,
and distribution that protect the environment
and economic viability for future generations
and support a high quality of life in
the communities in which food is produced,
processed, and distributed.
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